This insane Hades-like action RPG inspired by the original God of War looks great on PC — absolutely criminal that it's not on Xbox

Like a sudden sandstorm, a new game supported by Sony's China Hero Project has recently made its extravagant debut, known only as Loulan: The Cursed Sand, coming soon to PlayStation 5 and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store.

This game is an action-RPG where you play as a skeletal warrior dubbed "The Cursed Sand" on a quest to find his beloved princess lost amidst the fallen kingdom of Loulan in a story inspired by the ancient Silk Road from Chinese history.

It's being developed and published by ChillyRoom, a team comprised of veteran developers who previously worked with Santa Monica Studio, FromSoftware, and PlatinumGames.

Loulan: The Cursed Sand - Announcement Trailer | PS5 Games - YouTube

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Their pedigree definitely shows in Loulan: The Cursed Sand's debut trailer as the gameplay looks absolutely insane.

It's like what would happen if you took Hades and combined it with the visceral brutality of the original, PlayStation 2-era God of War, and the sand-manipulation mechanics of the Prince of Persia series.

In this game, you will battle dozens of intimidating foes and giant beasts in melee combat. During battle, you will frequently shift between The Cursed Sand's skeletal and sand forms, each possessing unique fighting styles.

The skeletal form is an aggressive swordsman, charging into the fray with sword in hand, chopping enemies left and right.

The sand form trades power for mobility and magic. In this form, you will conjure deadly sand construct projectiles to blast enemies at range, teleport to avoid attacks or close the gap to deliver vicious spinning chokeslams, and become a literal sandstorm that will blow your enemies off the map.

Across your journey in Loulan, you will need to traverse diverse locales plagued with puzzles and traps that will require careful use of your abilities to overcome.

Then, at certain points, you will engage one-on-one with mighty sub-bosses and gigantic bosses that will push your combat skills to the limit.

In short, I am instantly sold on this game because it looks incredible.

The idea of having a skeletal protagonist is pretty fresh, as it's not often done in video games (the most famous being Sir Daniel Fortesque from the classic PS1 game, MediEvil), and the combat looks so cool and fast-paced.

Not to mention, I love that the developers (as stated in the PlayStation Blog) are mainly inspired by the original God of War when making Loulan: The Cursed Sand.

The PS2-era God of War games were unapologetically brutal and violent, with a greater emphasis on combat compared to the modern, cinematic-heavy God of War games, so I'm happy to know Loulan: The Cursed Sand will be following suit.

The only disappointment is that this game isn't launching on Xbox, as Loulan: The Cursed Sand would make a great addition to Xbox Game Pass.

Thankfully, the newly released Xbox Ally can run Steam games, so I will still be able to play Loulan: The Cursed Sand on the go even without Xbox Cloud Gaming.

Although the developers have stated (via @JaberAltarrah on X) that they are planning to release Loulan: The Cursed Sand on other hardware. Hopefully this means that we'll see it on Xbox in the future, like the other China Hero Project title, AWAKEN - Astral Blade, eventually did.

Either way, I can't wait to get my hands on Loulan: The Cursed Sand when it launches in the far distant future for PlayStation 5 and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store. It is currently available to wishlist on its Steam page.

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