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Gorgeous Hand-Drawn 2D Action Platformer ‘Nine Sols’ Launches on Steam; New Trailer Highlights Gameplay

Thick Thighs Save Lives

NeoGAF's Physical Games Advocate Extraordinaire


Via Noisy Pixel

Red Candle Games has launched its 2D action platformer Nine Sols on PC via Steam. A new trailer showcases some of the game’s animated cinematics alongside a showcase of the various environments and combat systems.

Those who have played the game have already shared positive reviews of the visuals and boss encounters​


ABOUT THIS GAME​

Nine Sols is a lore rich, hand-drawn 2D action-platformer featuring Sekiro-inspired deflection focused combat. Embark on a journey of Asian fantasy, explore the land once home to an ancient alien race, and follow a vengeful hero’s quest to slay the 9 Sols, formidable rulers of this forsaken realm.​

Story​


In New Kunlun, hero Yi has awakened the 9 rulers of this forsaken realm. To defeat the 9 Sols in the deserted city.

“Becomes one with the way of Tao…”

New Kunlun, the Solarian’s last sanctuary, has remained quiet for centuries. Inside this vast realm, the ancient gods left mortals with a promised land that is forever protected by the sacred rituals, yet the truth of this world remains unknown to most. Everything changes when Yi, a long forgotten hero from the past, is awoken by a human child.

Follow Yi on his vengeful quest against the 9 Sols, formidable rulers of this forsaken realm, and obliterate any obstacles blocking your way in Sekiro-lite style combat. Explore in unique “Taopunk” setting that blends cyberpunk elements with Taoism and far eastern mythology. Unravel the mysteries of an ancient alien race and learn about the fate of mankind.

story.png

Features​


2D Sekiro-lite Combat: Slash, deflect, charge into enemies and blow them up with the Taoist talisman! Each fight combines fast, brutal action sequences with classic platforming mechanics.

deflection.gif


chargingattack.gif


Intriguing Boss Fight: Ready yourself to fight the vicious ancient guardians and gruesome creatures. Be patient and utilize every move in your arsenal, mix up with Yi’s godly bow to defeat these larger than life figures.

enemies_boss.png


Taopunk Setting: When cyberpunk clashes with Taoism, melding sci-fi elements with eastern mythology/fantasy, the experimental genre of Taopunk was born.

Exploration: Traverse in the interconnected regions of New Kunlun. Discover secrets, piece together the story behind Yi’s revenge.

newkunlunmap.png


Aids from inhabitants: Meet interesting NPCs of this world and interact with them to receive upgrades, gain new abilities, and discover useful technology.

Hand-drawn Environments/Animations and Manga: Nine Sols is filled with meticulous hand-crafted, anime style landscapes, sprite based hand-drawn animations, blending with Japanese manga inspired cutscenes.

hand-crafted-art.gif

Red Candle Games​


From the creators of award-winning psychological horror games Detention and Devotion, comes Red Candle Game’s latest title Nine Sols. The studio aims to deliver a stylized action platformer that’s cohesive and complementary to its lore-rich narrative. It’s an ongoing, most ambitious project from this indie studio.

 
I'm getting Hollow Knight vibes from the gameplay and the animations, it looks really smooth. Based on the description it may not be metroidvania so much as a linear action platformer. I'm ok with that too, focus on challenge and combat rather than exploration.
 

GHG

Gold Member
Anyone here playing this?

The reviews on Steam so far look really good. Might take the plunge.
 

near

Gold Member
On my wishlist, too many games to play this month. Elden Ring DLC, Still Wakes the Deep, SMT V: Vengeance, and I'm currently playing Dave the Diver and Cuphead. I'll eventually get around to this, looks fun, and I really like what they did with Devotion.
 

near

Gold Member
another-one.jpg


Here is another very similar game in the "Hollow Knight" Hand drawn Metroidvania "style":


There is also a playable demo on the page as well.



ss_63d4b1e2b6f7bbcba5569bf6ce664972f3a09413.1920x1080.jpg

ss_6dd1860dd2ea0d535fea3d8fb70e58ad5aa72e45.1920x1080.jpg

ss_c0a1a67c8626990295fa5538c9d90de1707ed283.1920x1080.jpg

ss_58235182da6e072a333562ca1f2db0e7e679c157.1920x1080.jpg

Thanks for sharing. Indie scene is soooo exciting right now. Art direction looks tight, added to wishlist. I will wait and see what the consensus is on this one.
 

Thief1987

Member
another-one.jpg


Here is another very similar game in the "Hollow Knight" Hand drawn Metroidvania "style":


There is also a playable demo on the page as well.



ss_63d4b1e2b6f7bbcba5569bf6ce664972f3a09413.1920x1080.jpg

ss_6dd1860dd2ea0d535fea3d8fb70e58ad5aa72e45.1920x1080.jpg

ss_c0a1a67c8626990295fa5538c9d90de1707ed283.1920x1080.jpg

ss_58235182da6e072a333562ca1f2db0e7e679c157.1920x1080.jpg

More interested in this game as it seems from the demo that I watched it have more emphasize on platforming, which I prefer. And combat in None Sols from what I saw looks pretty simplistic, like - hit-hit-parry, hit-hit-parry, hit-hit-dash through the red attack, repeat. Pretty boring, though I only watched the first 2 hours of the game, maybe it become more interesting later in the game.
 
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