The Siege and the Sandfox is an irresponsibly detailed 'stealthvania' game

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It's no grand secret that indie developers love them some Metroidvania, but even given the genre's popularity, developer Cardboard Sword's The Siege and the Sandfox stands out, and not just because of its name. A so-called "stealthvania," it seeks to blend the freewheeling exploration of Metroidvania with careful, stealthy movement, and if its looks are anything to go by, it may well pull it off.

As you parkour your way around The Siege and the Sandfox's detailed levels, your character will cause thuds and clangs of varying loudness based on how softly or hurriedly you move. You can tell how much noise you're making from the flashing noise bubbles, for lack of a better word, which briefly appear on impact. It's a neat way to integrate a stealth meter without cluttering the UI or distracting from the game's stunning environments.

And stunning really is the word. The sheer amount of detail that's been crammed into levels is staggering, from the mossy brickwork in the foreground to the shaded stone in the background. The bouncy, nimble protagonist looks sharp too. I look forward to stepping into their shoes when The Siege and the Sandfox eventually releases, though without an official release date, there's no telling when that will be. In the meantime, you can read more about it on the official site.

Austin freelanced for PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree, and has been a full-time writer at PC Gamer's sister publication GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize that his position as a staff writer is just a cover-up for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a focus on news, the occasional feature, and as much Genshin Impact as he can get away with.