Cursed Sands is coming to PS5 – PlayStation.Blog

Loulan: Cursed Sands is an action RPG set along the ancient Silk Road in the Western Regions of China. You play as Cursed Sand, a skeleton warrior who wields the power of sand and sets out to explore the lost kingdom of Loulan, fight mighty enemies, and search for his beloved princess.

Inspired by the archaeological discovery of “Princess Xiaohe”, the story follows Cursed Sand, a royal guard resurrected after death, as he embarks on a tragic journey to find the missing Princess Loulan.

For the protagonist, we drew inspiration from Loulan mummies and the iconic desert sands of the Western Regions, creating a dual-form warrior:

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In Sand Form, golden sand encases his body — a balanced fighter who uses the power of sand.

As he releases the sand and forges a giant blade of sand, he transforms into Bone Form—a powerful stance made for one-on-many combat.

On his journey, he will encounter powerful factions ranging from the Loulan royal family, which embodies the power of the sun, to the frozen spiders of the Western Regions.

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We’ve re-imagined iconic western landscapes through a stunning lens, from vast deserts to flowing rivers of sand.

Loulan is supported by SIE as part of the China Hero Project. We are a cross-regional team of 16 people, aiming to bring you the rich world of ancient Loulan and a unique and immersive gaming experience.

Our core team consists of veteran gamers born in the 80s and 90s. We grew up playing action games and were heavily inspired by classics like the original God of War and arcade action games. Many of us have worked on action titles at studios in the US and Japan, including Santa Monica Studio, FromSoftware, and PlatinumGames. We are passionate about this genre and dedicated to pushing its boundaries.

At the same time, we’ve always been fascinated by fantasy worlds inspired by the ancient Silk Road — especially the mysterious and brilliant kingdom of Loulan, once a shining jewel along the route. With this project, we aim to bring to life the beauty and enigma of ancient Loulan through a top-down retro camera perspective. Our goal was to combine classic arcade-style combat with modern gameplay innovations — such as unique interactions between the protagonist and his sand sword. We really hope players will enjoy this experience.