The year is slowly reaching its end and I want to get one last review on a game that came out in 2024 before it’s finally over. This year was a really good year for games. Specifically for indies as we got to see a lot of genre defining titles and innovators. Lorelei and The Laser Eyes is one of the most inventive puzzle games I’ve ever seen and is so far my game of the year. 1000xResist which sits alongside Nier: Automata and 13 Sentinels for being peak science fiction, and much more. It has been a wonderful year for indie games and I expect to see more amazing works as we enter the new year. Maybe we’ll even get a release date for Silksong. Been about five years since that first trailer was released and nothing has come out from Team Cherry, so I assume they're stuck in development hell. While we wait let’s enjoy other fantastic metroidvanias.
This year we received Ultros, Tales of Kenzera, and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown which are all great and I can strongly recommend them. However, there’s one I’ve been keeping my eye on for quite some time now and that's Nine Sols. Chinese influenced hand drawn adventure by Red Candle Games who' previously developed Devotion. That one horror walking sim that got banned off Steam because a certain place in the world got pissed, and they’d rather go censor things than allow free artistic expression. Rather than make another walking sim horror game the studio decided to go bigger in scope. Delving into a game genre they have never dealt with in the past, and somehow managing to not only succeed but create one of the best in its genre. In 2022 they released a demo for their new game Nine Sols, and when it came to feedback people were amazed with what they’ve accomplished. Influence for Nine Sols outside of cultural inspiration is very clear. A huge sprinkling of Hollow Knight mixed alongside Sekiro. In fact, what they were making was basically a 2D version of Sekiro.
Feedback for the 2022 demo was extremely positive and Red Candle spent the next two years cracking away at it. Trying to make Nine Sols the best it could be without giving away too much of what the end product is. The game finally released in 2024 and folks were amazed with what Nine Sols became. Not just a perfect translation of parry focused combat in a 2D plane, but a title that could stand up against its influencers. Nine Sols is a wondrous work of art, and having now played it myself I can safely say it’s one of my top five favorite games of the year. This is a game that deserves every ounce of love and attention being directed towards it. A game that may not click with you within the first few hours, but rewards players for taking the time to understand how every opponent works. Much like Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice it requires dedication and user mastery, and once you finally pull it off it feels rewarding and memorable. Let's talk about Nine Sols, and by the end of this review I hope you go out and play it.
Story
So this section is going to spoil bits of the lore, but it’s to help make understanding the plot easier. I won’t spoil anything aside from general information. Are we good? Good.
The game opens up with our main protagonist dangling over a cliff for their dear life. Half of his head having been burned off and a rifle being pointed towards their head. We do not know of the figure holding him at gunpoint, but we see it go off and our protagonist falls to his death towards the rocks below. He could’ve died and rotted away, but instead mysterious black vines wrapped around him and with time he fully recovered. Awakening five hundred years later with a white haired child finding him strapped to the walls of the earth. This child is named Shuanshuan and he has just uncovered what is one of the few Solarians left in the universe. The Solarians are a species of humanoid space cats. Their culture is much like that of ancient China, and they were a propersporous race. Making technological advancements faster than that of mankind and one day learning how to sail across the stars after a tragic event occurred on their home planet. A terrible disease arose and took more than half their population. Unable to find a cure they devised a plan to slow down the death rate and have more time. A cure was never found and chaos emerged amongst the remaining colony.
These Solarians were led by ten powerful figures, the Sols, and they were basically governors of the Solarians. Doing what they thought was right for the people while pursuing their own ideals. One of those governors you learn through hinting is Yi, the Solarian you witnessed get shot in the intro and fall to his death. Yi was awakened by Shuanshuan and for the last few years he’s been living alongside him. Looking after the kid as if he were his family. Shuanshuan lives in a small village and every so often there is a ritual. Inhabitants of the village are chosen to sacrifice themselves to their gods, and the contraption they use for sacrifice is a giant deheading machine. One of the Solarian cultures that none of the humans understand. Turns out we’re not on earth, but instead the colony caring what remains of the Solarians. They were put to sleep while the machines they set up harvested human parts, and if the process were to be disrupted the Sols were to be awakened. Shuanshuan had been chosen for sacrifice and Yi, not wanting to see his friend die, destroys the machine. This awakens the Sols.
Yi had been planning for this for a while. Saving his strength up and staying hidden. He wants to get revenge on the government and friends who betrayed him. For the chaos they have created and terrible sacrifices they’ve made to keep their race going. They’ve gone mad, and Yi wants to undo everything he and the Sols have done. So now he journeys deep into Solarian turf. Beating and slicing anything that stands in his wake. He then locates his old sanctum where an artificial assistant activates to help him on his journey. Yi prepares for what is to come, but before he can leave he is greeted by Shuanshuan within his own home. Shuanshuan has followed Yi and wishes to help him. If not then provide him company within his home, because Shuanshuan’s family is gone and he has nowhere left to go. Yi decides to let Shuanshuan stay and overtime new folks come to stay in his home. A reminder of the friends and family he once had. What he left behind to pursue the life he strived for. The past that let go in order to be better.
Gameplay
If you’ve played a metroidvania before then you know the staple rules and mechanics. Explore a vast interconnected world, fight a barrage of enemies, and unlock new powers that allow you to open up new routes and defeat enemies you weren’t able to before. The difference here though is the combat is more parry focused similar to that of Sekiro or Ghost of Tsushima. Enemy attacks can either be dodged or parried, and more often than not parrying is the better option unless you don’t have a choice. The reason why is because parrying fills up a gauge, and when the gauge is full allows you to latch onto enemies talisman. These talismans can be detonated and when they are detonated properly they can deal colossal damage to a foe. That’s why it’s important to parry enemy attacks rather than dodge. Dash through a foe with a talisman, detonate, and possibly see them explode. You will take damage during combat, so thankfully you have a herbal smoke pipe to quickly recover. You stand still while smoking, so be careful when whipping this out during a fight. You also only have so many smoke usages, and the only way to replenish is to rest at one of many checkpoints. So this is by all means a 2D version of FromSoft’s 2019 hit Sekiro.
However, there are distinctions that tie Nine Sols back to Hollow Knight and in other cases stand out on its own. Instead of charms you have relics and these allow you to give Yi different perks and traits. Create a build that allows you to quickly adapt in the field you are on and not perish so much. Over time you unlock new skills which not only affect traversal but also combat. A midair spin to parry red thrust attacks. A charged parry which when released correctly allows you to block red perilous attacks that normally do a lot of damage. A midair dash, a double jump, and a charge attack to break through shields. Once you beat the first boss you unlock Kuafu, Yi’s old friend and engineer, and he can upgrade some of your equipment in exchange for parts and gold you collect in the field. This includes a bow which has three different attacks, bigger ammunition capacity for the bow, being able to recover more health with the smoke pipe, and more. The more enemies you kill in the field the more experience points you earn, and when enough are obtained you earn skill points. These can be spent on a skill tree to unlock new skills and improve already earned skills. For example, the talisman gauge will fill up faster when using certain parries. The talisman latch can be swapped for different kinds. The default latch has you hold a button down or else it doesn’t work. You can swap it out for one that automatically detonates but isn’t quite as strong, or a latch that is much stronger but takes longer. Whatever works best for the player.
As you progress through areas and fight different kinds of enemies you’ll eventually run into the boss of a domain, the Sols. These are powerful opponents with multiple phases, attacks, and will keep you on your toes. You will die a lot to these guys and the only way to bring them down is to use every tool you have in your arsenal. Every kind of dodge, parry, and maneuver so that you can find openings and get the edge on them. It may get frustrating at times with how much they can do at once or flooding the screen with bullsh*t, but it’s when you finally master the flow of a fight and land the final critical hit that it feels satisfying. Like you uncovered this ever twisting and bending puzzle. It’s rewarding, self satisfactory, and pushes you on to whip more ass. Aside from that there’s not much else for me to say. There are items outside of upgrade materials to go find those being gifts for Shuanshuan. Warping home allows you to strengthen your relationship with him and other characters, and this may affect one of the several endings you can get in this game. Won’t spoil it, because I haven’t obtained the true ending myself. Just keep on fighting. You shall end the madness. One by one the Sols shall be brought to an end and you shall redeem yourself for all you have done.
Thoughts
As much as I hate to use comparisons, Nine Sols is very much like Hollow Knight. Not in terms of gameplay and mechanics, but the foundation of what it is. Nine Sols isn’t a very original game nor is it trying to redefine its respective genre, but somehow it did and part of the reason why it did just that is because of the quality and how it handles its ideas. It’s such an astoundingly well made game and it finds cool ways to either improve or fix ideas that came before it. There were a couple moments I got frustrated playing Nine Sols, specifically the first hours. Just like Sekiro if you’re not good at parry focused combat this isn’t going to click for you. The game does come packed with a story mode though for those who just want to enjoy Yi’s journey. Modifiers for how much damage Yi takes and outputs, and I appreciate that they give you this option as unlike most soulslikes I’ve played Nine Sols puts a bit of emphasis on it’s plot. In fact, this is one of the best soulslike stories that I’ve heard in awhile and alongside Lies of P proves not every soulslike needs to be obscure to tell a good story or world building.
Yi’s story is less about revenge and more about learning who he is as a person. We’re not given anything about his background at the beginning, but everytime we learn of his childhood and to be more specific his younger sister. How he did whatever he could to make her happy and live a meaningful life. All for it to go in the wrong direction and see Yi make terrible decisions so that he can prove to not just others, but to himself that everything he worked for was worth it. It’s a story of regret, accepting what you have done, trying to learn, and yet still appreciate the ones you currently surround yourself with. That you are not alone and there are those willing to help you with the struggles you face. A very beautiful tale and I don’t mind seeing people turn down the difficulty just so they can appreciate what Nine Sols is about. Another thing that makes Nine Sols stand out is its art direction. This is a very beautiful game that mixes ancient Chinese art with a little bit of anime character design. Everything is hand drawn, colored as if it were said paintings, and flows smoothly. I’d say that the animation even adds to the combat as determining when to parry and what type of parries to use is either to determine based on character frames and positions. Compare that to Sekiro where it’s a little harder to determine what an enemy is about to perform during a given moment.
Most of the game takes place in factories, laboratories, or dark areas but Nine Sols finds a way to make each area visually stick out. Whether that be the colors they use, the architecture, or even just the gimmicks and enemy types of an area. The world is vast and exploration is rewarding as each jade and upgrade you unlock feels meaningful. I feel like skill trees these days tend to have stuff that is either useless or could’ve been given to the player through in-game progression. Here every upgrade you get actually makes you character stronger and allows later fights in the game to be more manageable rather than unfair. That’s the thing I want people to take away the most from soulslikes like Nine Sols and Lies of P. A game can be difficult, but it never is hard to the point it feels unfair. I will say major bosses midway through Nine Sols can get a bit crazy. With attacks that clutter the screen or unlike earlier bosses are harder to read. Yet, there’s still openings to be found and when you finally bring them down it feels utterly rewarding. Learning bosses in Nine Sols is much like a rhythm game where once you get the flow down you go through the process automatically.
I appreciate how Nine Sols managed to find a balance between standard mechanics and parrying. Parrying is incentivized, but that doesn’t mean dodging or running away is not a choice. Some attacks have to be dodged or jumped over, and there are times when you can use the charged parry but trying to do so is worse than dodging. I liked how the talisman maneuver can be swapped out for different types as getting used to the one in the early game is tricky. Then I got the one that detonates automatically and that’s when combat worked better. Nine Sols is a shonen anime turned into a video game, and it’s when you get on the same level that the power fantasy is achieved. The different parries not only change how fights work, but how you traverse the world and some areas have gimmicks that make use of these moves. There is this one area where every few seconds hot fumes flood the open space, and you need to hit contraptions to activate small bubbles you can stand in. At the same time you have to fight enemies and it’s not until you get the charged parry that you can deactivate the time heating.
The soundtrack for Nine Sols is outstanding as it tries to replicate that of Asian music, and it is some of the best work I’ve seen in 2024. There is a lot to love about Nine Sols and any critiques I have with the game are either nitpicks or problems I see other people having. Later you unlock the ability to fast travel to any checkpoint in the world, but for some sections with two it’s hand selected and you can only do so through Yi’s sanctum. It’s like Hunter’s Dream in Bloodborne and I know people hate how it works, but at the same time I like it personally. One so that you don’t go running around crazily with currency you can lose easily, so going back gives you the reminder to spend some of it. Two it offers downtime between the combat and monotony, and three is that fun stuff can happen when you return home. You can give gifts to characters and as time passes they’ll perform activities with them. Allowing you to participate and grow better connections with folks like Shuanshuan and Kuafu. I like how as you progress further into the game Yi’s home fills up with more furniture. Becoming cozier since you let Shuanshuan stay around. I like Shuanshuan because despite being the stereotypical child filled with innocence as he serves as a reminder of what Yi should fight for. Family.
I said earlier major story bosses around the midway point of Nine Sols get crazy. They’re some of the best fights in the game, but it was around then I realized a majority of people would not be able to beat them even with full understanding of the mechanics. If you played Nine Sols you’d know one fight is basically the Mantis Lords from Hollow Knight. It’s a visually stunning fight I found fun to learn. The lore behind it is sad and it’s my favorite boss of 2024. However, there’s so much going on during the fight. Even Hollow Knight would not go to this length of boss fight difficulty of visual spectacle. Final boss specifically nailed this belief down and that was when I decided to crank down the difficulty. I feel bad, but around that time I was hitting the twenty hour playtime mark. That and I learned every other boss fight, so cheating this one was fine. In the end I strongly recommend Nine Sols. It is a splendid game that rewards dedication and mastery, and I would go as far to say that I like it more than Sekiro. It’s easily one of my top five games of 2024 and metroidvanias now. This game lived up to the hype. In the end I am going to give Nine Sols a 10/10 for being incredible.
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