Black Sand Drift
Released Sep 2016
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.
67% positive · 250 reviews
Done
All announced content has been released
High confidence
Done
All announced content has been released
High confidence
Where to buy
Steam $0.99 IndieGala Steam key $0.99
Can't confirm — worth a look
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Evaluation
Black Sand Drift launched on September 8, 2016 as a complete shoot-'em-up with 25 levels, a full narrative, and a music soundtrack. The only DLC ever released — a Collector's Edition Content pack — shipped on the same day as the game itself, indicating it was bundled as a day-one purchase option rather than post-launch content.
After launch, the developer shipped three feature patches: v1.2 in December 2016 (adding controller support and optimizations), v1.3 in April 2017 (unlocking all levels from the start and fixing text errors), and v1.4 in August 2017 (fixing a Windows 10 black-screen bug and adding visual polish). These were maintenance and quality-of-life improvements — no new story content, levels, characters, or named expansions were ever announced or released.
The last developer communication was on August 17, 2017. There have been no posts, announcements, or updates of any kind since then. The developer has never announced additional content for the game, and the store description reads as a complete, self-contained product. The game launched as a finished package and the post-launch patches only refined what was already there. Black Sand Drift is a complete game.
Evidence
Store description presents the game as a complete, self-contained product: 25 levels across 5 locations, 25 music tracks, 15 special weapons, and collectible concept art — no mention of future content or expansions.
v1.4 patch fixed a Windows 10 black-screen bug and added minor visual feedback for shader/turbo modes. This is the last known developer communication.
Content
1 of 1 released · no outstanding content
Media
Details
Developer
Publisher
Sometimes You
Achievements
—
Platform
Windows
Controller
partial support
Steam Deck
Not rated
Players
Single-player
About this 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.
Are these done yet?
Last evaluated Jun 27, 2026
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