Black Sand Drift
For over 300 years, the five planets of the Kotiro galaxy have struggled under the heavy hand of maniacal, mechanical bots called Spiral. As the metallic army's relentless pursuit of the resource Black Sand begins ramping up exponentially, a few brave heroes decide to fight back.
Developer
Publisher
Release
September 8, 2016
9 years and 330 days ago
Steam Reviews
Mixed250 reviews67.6%
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Game contextLatest: IGF Team
| ContextThe evidence factors used to assess whether this game belongs on IndieGame.Fan. | Status | Notes Latest Contributor: IGF TeamEdit notes |
|---|---|---|
Updated: Jul 14, 2026Developer scaleThe operating scale of the game's developer. | ||
Updated: Jul 14, 2026Publisher scaleThe operating scale of the game's publisher. | A separate publisher is listed without a proven bounded regional or service-only role. | |
Updated: Jul 14, 2026Release statusWhether and how the game has been released. | The title released with a separate publisher relationship. |
Media
21 itemsAbout the Game
For over 300 years, the five planets of the Kotiro galaxy and its citizens have struggled under the heavy hand of maniacal, mechanical bots called Spiral. As the metallic army's relentless pursuit of the resource Black Sand begins ramping up exponentially, a few brave heroes decide to fight back.
Enter Black Sand Drift: A wholly unique shooter built from the ground up with the PC in mind. So what makes this SHMUP stand out from the crowd? Well, to begin with, there is a heavy emphasis on characters and story; and through the 25 levels spanning 5 different locals, the dialog driven narrative will play out with lots of interesting and strange revelations culminating in a spectacularly whimsical finale.
Created with the keyboard in mind, using the WASD in combination with the SPACEBAR feels tight and responsive; a must for any game challenging you with leaderboards. And because there are 25 separate local and online boards to tackle, you will appreciate the smooth controls. The ARROW keys and CONTROLLER support are also available as alternatives!
The music consists of 25 tracks—1 for each level—featuring guitars, bass, drums and vocals; a rarity for such games of the same creed. Every aspect of Black Sand Drift has been intentionally tweaked to present you with something wholly unique from anything you've played before.
Between the music, controls, graphics, breadth of story and overall experience, I hope you find something here that truly inspires and evokes the emotions we all crave as dedicated gamers. Thank you for checking out Black Sand Drift!
The Tilda’s default weapon's system fires an automatic stream of bullets, giving the player a means to fight the deadly Spiral forces. However, this is not the only weapon at your disposal; there are also 15 powerful Special Weapons spread out among the 25 levels.
Characters:
Extras:
For every level you beat (without cheating), you will unlock a special image accessible from the main menu; everything from concept art to alternate versions of characters and more, all straight from the pages of our sketchbooks.
Enter Black Sand Drift: A wholly unique shooter built from the ground up with the PC in mind. So what makes this SHMUP stand out from the crowd? Well, to begin with, there is a heavy emphasis on characters and story; and through the 25 levels spanning 5 different locals, the dialog driven narrative will play out with lots of interesting and strange revelations culminating in a spectacularly whimsical finale.
Created with the keyboard in mind, using the WASD in combination with the SPACEBAR feels tight and responsive; a must for any game challenging you with leaderboards. And because there are 25 separate local and online boards to tackle, you will appreciate the smooth controls. The ARROW keys and CONTROLLER support are also available as alternatives!
The music consists of 25 tracks—1 for each level—featuring guitars, bass, drums and vocals; a rarity for such games of the same creed. Every aspect of Black Sand Drift has been intentionally tweaked to present you with something wholly unique from anything you've played before.
Between the music, controls, graphics, breadth of story and overall experience, I hope you find something here that truly inspires and evokes the emotions we all crave as dedicated gamers. Thank you for checking out Black Sand Drift!
The Tilda’s default weapon's system fires an automatic stream of bullets, giving the player a means to fight the deadly Spiral forces. However, this is not the only weapon at your disposal; there are also 15 powerful Special Weapons spread out among the 25 levels.
Characters:
Extras:
For every level you beat (without cheating), you will unlock a special image accessible from the main menu; everything from concept art to alternate versions of characters and more, all straight from the pages of our sketchbooks.
