Contributed by Isabella Jiangcheng
After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Tokyo Sandbox has finally returned to Akihabara, the center of Japanese ACG culture. This small exhibition, which focuses on indie games, brought more than a hundred exciting indie games from more than fifty game developers this year. Among them are many of the best products that players around the world have been waiting for.
Pathea Games, a well-established name in simulation games, has shown up at Tokyo Sandbox and brought us their upcoming game My Time at Sand Rock. Like its predecessor My Time at Portia, My Time at Sand Rock is a very interesting simulation game in which players need to collect resources in the town called Sand Rock by cutting, gathering, digging, fighting, planting, farming, etc., and process them in their workshops, complete the tasks ordered by the Chamber of Commerce as well as the town residents, and make their workshops better and better along with the construction of the town. Another very interesting point of the game is that NPCs have a very random behavior logic, they will learn, work, and play, players can also interact with them randomly at any time and any place, make friends with them or even get married. The game will be available on Steam and Epic on May 26th.
Rivals of Aether is another popular game in Tokyo Sandbox, this multiplayer game with excellent platform fighting and cute animal characters has attracted lots of players to try it out. The game supports up to four players to play online, players can choose from four elements including water, fire, earth, and air, and different animal characters to play the game. Previously, Rivals of Aether has also collaborated with great indie games like Ori and Shovel Knight. Players can purchase DLC to unlock these characters.
Whether you enjoy the feeling of driving a giant mecha in battle or not, Tokyo Sandbox players must like it. Wolfstride, an indie game about three troublemakers driving mechas in a futuristic wasteland world for fighting matches, has gained a lot of popularity on Tokyo Sandbox. The game has a very unique art style and very wild stories, all the NPCs got funny dialogues and hidden stories for players to explore. As an indie game, the combat system is simple but interesting, the turn-based system gives players more time to think about how to use limited mechas and equipment to win more victories and bonuses.
A Short Farewell Is a 2D platformer about a mouse who tries to meet her dead grandparents at the bottom layer of her dream under the instruction of her oneirology therapist. The game was made by an independent game producer from China in four months, the game's art style is very cute and has a lot of very nostalgic Chinese elements, for example, the BOSS clockwork frog that appears in the demo is one of the most popular toys for children in the early years of China.
As an ancient means of entertainment, paper folding is known for its complex variety and skills, and now, people can rediscover the fun of paper folding in Paper Trail. Paper Trail is a top-down puzzle adventure about leaving home, set in a paper world. You must fold and tear your way through a diverse, populated paper world. As you progress, new gameplay opportunities emerge, enhanced by the folding mechanics. Drag objects, shine lights, and push boulders across the paths you create through folding.
The protagonist, Paige, excelled in school and aims to be the first in her village to be offered a place at University. To the mixed reaction from her family, she sets off on an epic journey to start her first semester, mastering her unique ability to fold the world along the way.
Dolmen, the Soul-like ARPG that was exhibited at PAX East a few days ago, also appeared at Tokyo Sandbox. This game by Massive Work was first announced via a Kickstarter campaign in 2018 and was recently confirmed to release on May 20, 2022.
