Nine Sols, an action platformer inspired by eastern fantasy, will officially launch on May 29th. Indie developer and publisher RedCandleGames unveiled a new release date trailer for the announcement. It breaks down the premise and central gameplay features.
In Nine Sols, a vengeful hero must explore New Kunlun to defeat nine rulers. Players will need to upgrade their skills, earn new abilities, and master Sekiro-inspired combat to overcome a variety of enemies and bosses. Both the world and cutscenes are hand-drawn.
Nine Sols will be available on PC via Steam, with no word on ports for other platforms just yet.
To begin with, today’s trailer for Nine Sols boasts gorgeous cinematics, possibly among the best I’ve ever seen.
The artwork and soundtrack are reminiscent of many classic anime and Manga hits. Anything that successfully channels the likes of Princess Mononoke is welcome in my book.
The characters and level design look truly inspired and lived-in, reinforcing that there’s probably a lot of original lore for players to unpack.
Nine Sols features a “Taopunk” setting, blending Taoism with cyberpunk. Thanks to some thoughtful contrast, the two promise to mesh well together.
The Steam page mentions that players will “unravel the mysteries of an ancient alien race and learn about the fate of mankind”. The human connection was a neat surprise.
I find myself genuinely curious about why the hero Yi wants revenge in Nine Sols’ world. They were even “awoken by a human child”, which could be a very interesting relationship to explore. Otherwise, mysterious vengeance is becoming a pretty tired trope.
Nine Sols seems to offer just enough twists on the genre to bolster the lush art design. The imagery already has me invested enough to want actual Manga set in this world. The sheer effort behind Nine Sols is instantly visible and inviting.
Support LBR and artists by reading more of our Tabletop and Video Game posts!
Leaderboard Reviews 