I openly admit to not being much of a fan of the Soulslike subgenre. So I’m reviewing Sands of Aura from Chashu Entertainment and indie.io, an isometric Soulslike.

“Sands of Aura is an open-world action adventure with a fantasy setting of a realm in its twilight–a world buried beneath a sea of sand. Sail across the sandseas to return life to a dying world in an unforgettable experience that is equal parts engaging story and unrelenting, souls-like combat.”

Sands of Aura isn’t a new title on the gaming shelf, it launched on PC back in 2023, but its recent arrival on consoles gives it a second chance to make an impression. On paper, it has all the ingredients for something that could tick a lot of boxes, combat, crafting, exploration, and an entire world swallowed by sand. You step into the boots of the newest recruit of the Order of the Remnant Knights, sworn protectors of Talamhel, a once-thriving land now reduced to a desert ocean. Your main mission is simple enough, track down the source of the Night Plague and put an end to it. The execution, however, is where things get messy.

I’ve said before that I’m not a huge Soulslike fan, but I do understand what makes the good ones tick (I think). They’re not “hard for the sake of hard”, a good Soulslike is deliberate, balanced, and built around learning through failure. Sands of Aura, by contrast, feels like it throws difficulty spikes at you because it thinks that’s what a Soulslike should do… be difficult. The world of Talamhel itself is genuinely fun to explore, with scattered islands, settlements full of NPCs, and strongholds begging to be plundered. Travelling between them on your sand‑skiff is a highlight—smooth, stylish, and surprisingly relaxing.

Combat, unfortunately, never quite finds its footing. You get the usual light/heavy attacks, dodge, and parry/block, but something about the defensive timing feels off, or it did to me. Parrying was frustratingly inconsistent, and the block animation drags just a few beats enough to get you punished. Eventually, I gave up on defence entirely, not ideal, but oddly effective for me. Once you’ve upgraded your weapons, fights stop being about finesse and devolve into mashing the attack button. Bosses, meanwhile, recover instantly from their own combos, letting them chain attacks with barely a breath in between. Add in the fact that hiring NPC allies can trivialise encounters, and the whole combat balance starts to feel scattershot.

The upgrade system doesn’t help. Instead of being focused and meaningful, it’s bloated. The game showers you with runes, far too many of them, and most feel like slight variations of each other. They slot into your armour, but few make any noticeable difference. It’s the classic case of quantity over quality, you’ll have mountains of loot you’ll never use, when a smaller pool of distinctive, impactful items would’ve served the game far better.

Visually, though, Sands of Aura has charm. The isometric viewpoint works beautifully, and the ability to rotate the camera keeps exploration smooth. The graphics aren’t jaw‑dropping, but they’re clean and cohesive, and the world design is strong enough to pull you deeper in. It’s a place you want to see more of, even when the combat, at times,  tries to push you away.

At £20, Sands of Aura is a good, but undeniably flawed, RPG adventure. There’s a compelling world here, and moments where the game genuinely shines. But with tighter combat, a more disciplined upgrade system, and a clearer sense of balance, it could’ve been something truly memorable. Instead, you get a decent title that will scratch and itch, but provide only fleeting satisfaction. For £20, you could do worse.