BlackSands

BlackSands

Rotting Brains Studio · March 4, 2026 · Action, Shooter, Action-Adventure, FPS, Indie

BlackSands is free to play — no purchase needed. We track it so you know if that ever changes.

PC
Positive92% · 13
This game is free to play. Get it on Steam →

Screenshots

BlackSands price

BlackSands is free to play — there is no purchase price, on Steam or anywhere else we track. We keep watching it, so if it ever stops being free the price history on this page will show when that happened and what it changed to.

About BlackSands

✦ AI summary

BlackSands is a knowledge-based FPS where you fight through relentless enemy waves in a mysterious arena trapped in a temporal loop, armed with only a strange energy relic and fluid movement mechanics. Each loop lets you explore and decode the arena's complex structure, discovering environmental puzzles and secret paths that unlock new routes and bring you closer to escape.

Blacksands is a Knowledge-based FPS imposing a nervous and thoughtful challenge to all Gladiators that wishes to venture here.Prisoner of space and timeThe unknown keep you prisoner in a temporal loop, condemned to relive the same fight again and again in an arena you ignore the depths. Lost in this environment you don’t understand, your only wish is to find a way out.Fight your way throughArmed with nothing but a strange energy relic, dash and shoot through relentless waves of enemies in this fast-paced, nerve-shredding FPS. Fluid movement meets classic gunplay combined to deliver the most pure, unfiltered action.
Face dangerous and mysterious enemies: constant waves of harassing foes harassing you constantly in close range, or deadly turrets keeping you from approaching. Explore and learnEach loop is an opportunity to explore and decipher the arena’s complex structure. More intricate than it first appears, you will be challenged by different puzzles, finding secret interactions and unexpected paths.
Don't fear, every discovery you'd make will be carefully noted into an interactive map as you progress. Once understood, its systems will organically offer you new paths, enabling fast and seamless traversal through previously explored areas.Use your environmentDestroy walls, activate jump pads, moving platforms and other mechanisms: use your creativity to think and discover new pathways, shortcuts and secrets under your feet, which may be the keys to freedom.

BlackSands — game info

Platforms
Windows
Player modes
Single-player
PC Game Pass
Not included

What Steam players say

Recent verbatim reviews from Steam — separate from playze.io community reviews below.

Recommended Mar 4, 2026
An interesting concept that I feel doesn't work due to poor level design. If they can work on the level design it could be a solid game. Shooting mechanics are fine game didn't run great on the Steam Deck roughly 25 FPS would call it playable. This is 1 of those games where I wish we had an in-between option instead of thumbs up or down. Level design is definitely a thumbs down right now but everything else is a thumbs up. I think I will give it a thumbs up with a lower score in the end. 6/10
10 found this helpful
Recommended Apr 2, 2026
uh its ok, i can see its appeal but trial and error games like this im not a fan of, but i thinks alright. I both like and dislike this game (60% dislike 40% like)
1 found this helpful
Not recommended Sep 26, 2026
BAD
Recommended Jul 17, 2026
A at first interesting shooter where you run around the map killing robots trying to solve mazes/puzzles with the goal of deactivating a big explosion in time that often runs out but usually you've solved a little more of a puzzle so you get further each time the timer ends. However it is hard to figure it all out on your own, there is little hints or guidance and so it gets pretty boring once you've run out of ideas 3.4/10
Recommended Apr 30, 2026
It is a really cool idea and for a student game is very impressive. But it is not fun to play or explore when the initial excitement of exploration is done because you just never have enough time to get your bearings and not enough shortcuts or level skips exist to quickly get to where you were, unless I missed an explanation for that or something (speaking of, not sure why you guys made it so cryptic with the symbols, the mental load of understanding the loop and progressing I think is already enough to ask the player). Want my advice? Do this again, just make the time limit longer. It's not a perfect solution, but a LOT of the friction would go away and make the rougher parts fine if you just had more time to get your bearings, figure out what you even need to do, and execute. It's not the best win, but it is a really easy one. Just a thought. Also might want to include a way to self destruct on a run, avoid the tedium of waiting out the clock if you mess up. Still a recommend because taken only as a student project and a proof of concept, this is super cool and you should still be proud.
Recommended Mar 8, 2026
Good game, kinda confusing but neat

Community reviews

—

0 reviews

Sign in to write a review.

No reviews yet. Be the first to review this game.

More like BlackSands

News

All news →
Games like Undertale that remember what you didPC

Games like Undertale that remember what you did

Undertale's own listing calls it the RPG where you don't have to destroy anyone. Games like Undertale that keep that idea: permanent choices, fights you can talk past, worlds that notice.

Nov 14, 2026
Games like Slay the Spire that keep the branching climbPC

Games like Slay the Spire that keep the branching climb

Most games like Slay the Spire copy the cards and lose the map. These keep the risky-or-safe choice, from a three-floor train to a deck made of poker hands.

Nov 14, 2026
Bodycam game price: what the zombie update changes about buyingPC

Bodycam game price: what the zombie update changes about buying

The Dead & Damned put Bodycam's zombies back on 13 November. What our dated record says about the Bodycam game price, and why the store's end date matters more than the sticker.

Nov 14, 2026
SilkMU is our new partner: MU Online Season 6 in a browser tabBlog

SilkMU is our new partner: MU Online Season 6 in a browser tab

SilkMU, a MU Online Season 6 server that runs in a browser tab or as an app, opened on 6 November 2026 and is now our partner. What it offers, what is free and what costs WCoin.

Nov 13, 2026
Games like Dying Light, where nightfall changes the rulesPC

Games like Dying Light, where nightfall changes the rules

Games like Dying Light are easy to find if you only want parkour or only want zombies. These eight keep the part that matters: a city that becomes a different place after dark.

Nov 13, 2026
Games like Portal 2, where one idea carries the whole gamePC

Games like Portal 2, where one idea carries the whole game

Games like Portal 2 all share one habit: teach a single impossible trick, then spend a campaign breaking it. From rewinding objects through time to Escher geometry that loops back on itself.

Nov 13, 2026
Planet Coaster DLC: skip the collection, buy the packsBundles

Planet Coaster DLC: skip the collection, buy the packs

The Planet Coaster DLC catalogue closed in 2019, so there is no curve left to wait out. Our record shows the collection bundle costs far more than assembling the same packs one by one.

Nov 13, 2026
Toxic Commando Game Pass: subscribe, or buy the key?Xbox

Toxic Commando Game Pass: subscribe, or buy the key?

The Toxic Commando Game Pass add landed on 12 November. Our price record since late September shows the key route barely moved, which changes what a subscription is worth.

Nov 13, 2026

Top games right now

All rankings →
  1. 1Counter-Strike 2Free
  2. 2Dota 2Free
  3. 3PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDSFree
  4. 4Grand Theft Auto V Legacy—
  5. 5Terraria$2.11
  6. 6Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six SiegeFree
  7. 7Rust$20.19
  8. 8Garry's Mod$6.19
  9. 9Team Fortress 2Free
  10. 10Black Myth: Wukong$35.72
  11. 11HELLDIVERS™ 2$23.99
  12. 12ELDEN RING$38.88
  13. 13Apex Legends™Free
  14. 14Left 4 Dead 2$9.99
  15. 15Stardew Valley$12.11
  16. 16Wallpaper Engine$3.99
  17. 17Cyberpunk 2077$17.99
  18. 18Euro Truck Simulator 2$4.99
  19. 19Dead by Daylight$6.81
  20. 20Red Dead Redemption 2$12.97
  21. 21The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt$9.77
  22. 22Baldur's Gate 3$53.52
  23. 23Phasmophobia$15.60
  24. 24War ThunderFree