Sony just shadow-dropped the announcement trailer for Loulan: The Cursed Sand on October 27, 2025, and the internet immediately started making God of War comparisons. This top-down action RPG comes from ChillyRoom, a 16-person Chinese development team that includes veterans from Santa Monica Studio, FromSoftware, and PlatinumGames. The game launches as a PS5 console exclusive and PC title with no specific date beyond soon, but what’s shown so far has fans excited.
The announcement trailer showcases fast-paced melee combat where you control a skeletal warrior who wields sand as both weapon and tool. Enemies swarm from all directions while you slash through hordes, burrow underground to dodge attacks, transform into a massive sand tornado, and face off against colossal bosses including a giant sand serpent. The visual style blends ancient Chinese aesthetics with dark fantasy, creating atmosphere reminiscent of early God of War games but with its own distinct identity.
The Story Behind The Cursed Sand
Loulan: The Cursed Sand takes place along the ancient Silk Road in the Western Regions of China, specifically in the fallen kingdom of Loulan. The story was inspired by the archaeological discovery of the Xiaohe Princess, whose 3,800-year-old mummy was found in a Chinese cemetery in 2003. Game director Hongwen Huai adapted this historical foundation into a tragic love story about an exiled royal guard resurrected after death.
You play as The Cursed Sand, that resurrected guard now trapped in skeletal form, searching for the lost Princess of Loulan amidst the chaos of war. The protagonist’s design draws directly from Loulan mummies discovered in archaeological digs and the iconic desert sand of Western China. This creates what Huai describes as a dual-form warrior who wraps himself in golden sand to take on human-like appearance but can unleash that sand for devastating combat power.
Dual Forms Change Everything
The core mechanic revolves around switching between Sand Form and Bone Form mid-combat. In Sand Form, golden sand wraps around the skeletal warrior creating a balanced fighter who wields sand manipulation abilities. This form handles exploration, puzzle-solving, and standard combat encounters with a mix of melee attacks and sand-based powers.
When you unleash the sand and forge a massive sand blade, the transformation into Bone Form happens. This powerful stance is built specifically for one-versus-many combat, the exact scenario you’ll face constantly in Loulan’s dangerous world. The trailer shows Bone Form shredding through enemy hordes with wide sweeping attacks, while Sand Form handles more tactical situations requiring precision and environmental manipulation.
Sand Powers Beyond Combat
Sand manipulation extends far beyond just hitting things harder. The game features diverse and creative sand abilities for solving puzzles, exploring intricate levels, and experimenting with multiple combat styles. The trailer shows the protagonist burrowing underground to move beneath obstacles and escape danger, transforming into a sand tornado to clear entire enemy groups, and manipulating terrain to access new areas.
This puzzle-solving integration suggests Loulan won’t just be mindless combat. Environmental challenges will require understanding how sand interacts with different materials and structures. The handcrafted levels promise atmospheric exploration through ruined cities, vast deserts, flowing rivers of sand, and mysterious caverns that hide secrets of the lost kingdom.
The China Hero Project Connection
Loulan: The Cursed Sand is part of Sony Interactive Entertainment’s China Hero Project, an incubation program designed to support Chinese developers creating games for global audiences. The program has produced several standout titles, and Sony clearly has confidence in ChillyRoom’s vision given the prominent promotional support including a dedicated PlayStation Blog post and featured trailer placement.
The program allows smaller studios to access resources, funding, and mentorship that would otherwise be impossible for indie teams. ChillyRoom’s 16-member cross-regional team punches well above its weight class partly because of this support structure. The collaboration aims to deliver what the developers call a rich, ancient Loulan world with unique, immersive gameplay that can compete with much larger studio productions.
Veteran Developers From Legendary Studios
What makes ChillyRoom particularly interesting is the pedigree of its team members. The studio includes developers who previously worked at Santa Monica Studio on God of War, FromSoftware on titles like Dark Souls and Elden Ring, and PlatinumGames on character action classics like Bayonetta. This explains why the combat feels so polished and responsive despite coming from a relatively small indie team.
The God of War influence shows most clearly in the top-down perspective and one-versus-many combat design. Early God of War games on PS2 and PS3 perfected this formula, and Loulan appears to be taking that foundation and adding sand manipulation mechanics on top. The FromSoftware influence likely contributes to the grounded, realistic melee combat where timing and positioning matter more than button-mashing. And PlatinumGames’ DNA probably appears in the smooth animations and fast-paced action that never feels sluggish.
Combat That Tests Skill and Strategy
The announcement trailer emphasizes realistic melee combat against overwhelming odds from a dynamic top-down perspective. Terrain design, enemy composition, and combat mechanics intertwine to test both skill and strategy. You’re not just fighting enemies, you’re managing space, manipulating the battlefield with sand powers, and choosing when to transform between forms for maximum effectiveness.
Boss battles take center stage in the promotional materials. One sequence shows a massive sand serpent emerging from the desert, its scale dwarfing the protagonist. These formidable elite enemies and colossal bosses promise thrilling one-on-one encounters that challenge mastery and reflexes in ways different from crowd control situations. The variety in enemy design suggests each major fight will require learning attack patterns and adapting strategies rather than relying on single tactics.
An Ancient Fantasy World
Director Hongwen Huai explained that the team reimagined iconic landscapes of Western China through a fantastical lens. Players will explore mysterious ruins, vast deserts, flowing rivers of sand that behave like liquid, and diverse regions each with distinct atmospheres. The lost Kingdom of Loulan serves as the central location, but the journey spans multiple environments along the Silk Road.
The enemies you’ll face include powerful factions like the Loulan royal family who embody the power of the sun, and frost-bound spiders native to the Western Regions. This suggests environmental variety beyond just desert landscapes, with ice-based areas contrasting against sun-scorched ruins. The handcrafted levels promise attention to environmental storytelling where the architecture and terrain communicate lore about the kingdom’s fall.
Why People Are Excited
The Reddit and social media response to the announcement trailer has been overwhelmingly positive. Players are drawn to the unique setting that rarely gets represented in mainstream games, the polished combat that looks genuinely fun to execute, and the visual style that feels fresh despite clear inspirations from established franchises.
Many comments compare Loulan favorably to other recent action RPGs, noting that the top-down perspective provides better spatial awareness for crowd control than third-person views while still maintaining cinematic presentation. The sand manipulation mechanic offers distinctive flavor compared to yet another game about swinging swords or casting magic spells. And the China Hero Project branding carries weight after previous successes from the program.
Technical Considerations
While not officially confirmed, observers note the trailer appears to be running on Unreal Engine 5 based on visual signatures common to that engine. This could be both good and bad news. UE5 enables stunning graphics and complex particle effects perfect for sand simulation, but many UE5 games suffer from traversal stutters that break immersion during exploration.
However, the announcement trailer runs silky smooth with no obvious hitches during fast camera movement or particle-heavy sequences. If ChillyRoom can maintain that performance in the final release, Loulan could showcase UE5’s strengths without the technical problems plaguing other titles. The top-down perspective might actually help here, as you’re not constantly rotating the camera in ways that stress shader compilation.
Release Window and Platforms
Loulan: The Cursed Sand launches as a PS5 console exclusive, meaning it won’t appear on Xbox but will release on PC via Steam and Epic Games Store. This makes it accessible to both PlayStation fans and PC gamers while allowing Sony to market it as part of their exclusive lineup. No specific release date was announced beyond descriptions of soon, which in game marketing speak could mean anywhere from three months to over a year.
The game is available to wishlist now on Steam and the PlayStation Store. ChillyRoom will likely provide more concrete timing as development progresses toward completion. Given that this is the first major gameplay reveal after a July 2024 announcement, the project appears to be in later stages of development rather than early conceptual phases.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does Loulan: The Cursed Sand release?
No specific release date has been announced. Sony and ChillyRoom described it as coming soon, but provided no timeline beyond that. The game was first announced in July 2024 and received its first gameplay trailer October 27, 2025.
What platforms is Loulan: The Cursed Sand on?
Loulan launches as a PS5 console exclusive and will also be available on PC via Steam and Epic Games Store. There are no announced plans for Xbox versions.
Who is developing Loulan: The Cursed Sand?
ChillyRoom, a 16-member cross-regional Chinese development team, is creating Loulan. The team includes veterans from Santa Monica Studio, FromSoftware, and PlatinumGames. The project is part of Sony’s China Hero Project incubation program.
What kind of game is Loulan: The Cursed Sand?
Loulan is a top-down action RPG with souls-like elements. You play as a skeletal warrior who can switch between bone and sand forms, fighting through hordes of enemies while using sand manipulation powers for combat, exploration, and puzzle-solving.
Is Loulan: The Cursed Sand based on real history?
The game is inspired by the archaeological discovery of the Xiaohe Princess mummy and the historical Kingdom of Loulan along the Silk Road in Western China. However, it’s a fantasy interpretation rather than historical recreation.
How does the dual-form system work?
Players can freely switch between Sand Form and Bone Form. Sand Form wraps the skeletal warrior in golden sand for balanced combat and exploration. Bone Form unleashes that sand to create a massive blade designed for one-versus-many combat situations.
What is the China Hero Project?
China Hero Project is Sony Interactive Entertainment’s program supporting Chinese developers creating games for global audiences. It provides funding, resources, and mentorship to help smaller studios produce console-quality titles.
Will Loulan have English voice acting?
This hasn’t been confirmed yet, though trailers have been released in English, Japanese, and Traditional Chinese, suggesting multiple language support is planned.
A Promising Addition to PS5’s Lineup
Loulan: The Cursed Sand arrives at an interesting time for PlayStation. With major first-party titles facing delays and the PS5 generation entering its fifth year, Sony needs compelling exclusives to maintain momentum. China Hero Project games like Loulan provide exactly that – unique experiences that differentiate PlayStation’s library from competitors while showcasing talent from regions underrepresented in mainstream gaming.
The combination of veteran developers, distinctive setting, polished combat mechanics, and Sony’s backing suggests Loulan has real potential to become one of those surprise indie hits that dominates discussion for weeks after launch. The top-down perspective might initially turn off some players expecting modern third-person action, but those willing to engage with the format will likely find depth and responsiveness that justify the design choice.
ChillyRoom has wishlisting open across Steam, Epic Games Store, and PlayStation Store. If the announcement trailer resonated with you, adding it to your wishlist ensures you’ll get notified when a concrete release date emerges. Based purely on what’s been shown, Loulan: The Cursed Sand looks like it could be special. Whether it lives up to that potential remains to be seen, but the foundation appears solid and the team clearly has both the vision and talent to execute on ambitious ideas. Keep this one on your radar.