Today, June 22, at 5:00 PM, one of the most anticipated Ukrainian game projects of recent times — the online extraction shooter SAND: Raiders of Sophie — will be released in Steam Early Access. Developers from Lviv studio Hologryph and Kyiv studio TowerHaus also presented the official release trailer.
Today, June 22, at 5:00 PM, one of the most anticipated Ukrainian game projects of recent times — the online extraction shooter SAND: Raiders of Sophie — will be released in Steam Early Access. Developers from Lviv studio Hologryph and Kyiv studio TowerHaus also presented the official release trailer.
At the time of release, the game was among the top 30 most desired products on Steam in terms of the number of additions to wishlists among platform users around the world.
SAND takes place in an alternate version of the early 20th century, where the Austro-Hungarian Empire led the space race. Players control adventurers from Galicia who arrive on the semi-desert planet Sofia, a former jewel of the imperial colonies that has suffered a massive ecological disaster. The main task is to explore the ruins of cities, collect resources, and evacuate with valuable loot.
The main feature of the gameplay is the Tramplers — giant diesel-powered walkers that serve as a base, transport, and battle fortress for the team. Players can fully customize and rebuild their vehicles to suit their own playstyle, creating both light high-speed platforms and heavily armored monsters. You can travel the sand dunes alone or in teams of up to 6 people.
At the start of early access, the developers offer two key modes:
«Voyage» is a leisurely exploration of the world and testing of new Trumpler builds without strict time limits.
«Eye of the Storm» is a mode with increased danger, where the playing area gradually narrows due to a sandstorm, but the value of the trophies found increases significantly.
An important advantage for players is the progress saving system: at the end of each session, the walker is evacuated along with the crew, so users do not have to worry about the safety of their mobile base while offline. The developers plan to develop and refine the project during the early access period, actively interacting with the gaming community.
SAND: Raiders of Sophie will launch with a full Ukrainian localization, and its cost for the local community will be 315 hryvnias. At the same time, the project will not be sold on the Russian market.
The main developer of the project is Lviv studio Hologryph, which already has experience of cooperation with publisher tinyBuild on such titles as Party Hard, Hello Neighbor and Secret Neighbor. The game was co-authored by Kyiv outsourced studio TowerHaus (founded in 2013 as Velcro Games, rebranded in 2023), which helped Lviv developers with the technical implementation of SAND.
