Some things were made to go together. Mario and Luigi, Ratchet and Clank, Graymanes and suplexes to name but a few excellent pairings! Now with a brand-new playtest available for free, we’re seeing a combination of gameplay that seems so perfect that it should have been obvious. Gunslingers and post-apocalyptic survival. Combining the multiplayer gun play of Red Dead Online with vehicle crafting and survival of Mad Max is a touch of genius.
SAND: Raiders of Sophie is running a free playtest from June 10, 2026, on Steam, and the early impressions are quite impactful. Set in an alternate 1910s, the game will see you play solo or with friends as you scavenge, hunt and survive the savage desert wastelands. However, your gunslinger will be swapping their horse for a mobile mecha fortress built by your own hands as you traverse the dusty landscapes and mow down your foes in the search for treasures, priceless artifacts and game loot to progress.
Building your very own trampler is what sets this apart from your average spaghetti western though. This mech walker, constructed from scraps and stolen loot, can be built from the ground up and acts as your primary method of transport as well as your home base, storage facility and a weapon to fend off your enemies. A walking fortress of your own design that can protect you from the elements and bandits who want to see you buried in the sand.
The desert map itself in SAND: Raiders of Sophie will be procedurally generated, and the game supports PvPvE, so you and your friends can take up arms and lay waste to other players online as well as enemy AI. Playing solo as a lone gunslinger is also an option and the visuals offer a mash-up of the old wild west of Red Dead Redemption 2, blended with steam punk style mechanical monstrosities which very much remind us of the world of Mad Max.
Designing your own trampler looks incredibly detailed too. At first glance, it seems similar to the modular design mechanics seen in Starfield for building your ships, but it seems to go even further, offering more ways to build out your base, weapon attachments and storage, meaning you can build the badass metal cowboy crunching monster of your dreams (or nightmares). As your trampler also acts as your base, means of storage and method of traversal, spending the time designing a fortress you feel comfortable with is a must. With the upcoming Fallout 5 being unplayable for millions, SAND: Raiders of Sophie might be the next best alternative for your dystopian fix.
SAND: Raiders of Sophie combines FPS gun play with mech building and blends old-time western weapons with more modern load outs. You can try taking down your enemies with your six-shooter or go completely nuclear with a rocket launcher. SAND: Raiders of Sophie is shaping up to be something really special. Red Dead Online mixed with Mad Max, what’s not to love? Getting the chance to design a metal monster mech and pitting it against another player’s own moving fortress is a delicious prospect. And if the free play test can keep us busy while we wait for more Grand Theft Auto VI content to come out, then we’re all in!
- Released
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March, 2026
- Developer(s)
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Hologryph, TowerHaus
- Publisher(s)
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tinyBuild