Nine Sols

I went in expecting a competent genre exercise. What I got was a game that genuinely reconfigured how I think about 2D combat. Nine Sols is a Metroidvania built around a parry-centric system clearly inspired by Sekiro, but Red Candle Games did not simply transplant FromSoftware's ideas into a side-scrolling frame and call it a day. The deflection loop here has its own internal logic: parrying enemy attacks fills Yi's Qi meter, which he then expends by dash-attaching talismans to enemies and holding the charge until they detonate. That talisman mechanic is the game's real invention. It creates a rhythm where offense and defense are inseparable, and mastering it feels genuinely earned rather than rote. Yi also carries a bow for ranged pressure, can perform a jumping parry to counter unblockable red attacks, and gradually gains platforming tools including wall runs, air dashes, and a grapple. The movement vocabulary grows satisfyingly as the map of New Kunlun opens up. The world itself is called "Taopunk" by the developers, a fusion of Taoist philosophy, Eastern mythology, and cyberpunk sci-fi. Neon factory ruins sit alongside sacred groves; the Solarians, a race of cat-like aliens, built this island-ship over centuries of moral rot. The story of Yi, a former member of the ruling council now hunting his nine former peers, is darker and more layered than most games of this type bother to be. There are horror-adjacent moments early on that will not surprise anyone who played Detention or Devotion, and the writing mostly earns its weight. One mild caveat: some recurring fat-shaming humor involving a supporting character reads as genuinely immature and out of place in an otherwise thoughtful script. It is a small but noticeable misstep. The hub at Four Seasons Pavilion deserves its own mention. As Yi clears objectives, a small community gathers there: a sentient ex-battle robot turned scholar-merchant named Chiyou, an AI caretaker called Ruyi, a human conspiracy theorist, and Shuanshuan, a child Yi essentially adopts as a ward. The fast-travel system routes you back through this hub intentionally, ensuring these relationships deepen at a steady, organic pace rather than feeling like a side menu. It is one of the quieter design decisions in the game, and it is one of the best. The soundtrack compounds the atmosphere beautifully, threading traditional Eastern instruments through dark electronic textures in a way that feels purposeful rather than decorative. Difficulty is the loudest conversation around Nine Sols, and it deserves a frank take. The game is hard, and the boss gauntlets demand genuine pattern literacy. There is a Story Mode with adjustable damage sliders for those who want the world without the punishment, and that is a genuine addition, not an afterthought. The map is the weakest element: it can be imprecise, and foreground art occasionally obscures what you need to see during combat. Some boss arenas also sit just far enough from save points to make runbacks sting. These are friction points, not deal-breakers, but players who bounced off Hollow Knight's difficulty curve should know what kind of commitment this asks for. The console launch in November 2024 also added a boss rush mode called Battle Memories, which gives returning players a structured way back into the deep end.

Kai · Scout Team

Indie & narrative

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