Nine Sols

Visit game websiteVisit Steam store
Nine Sols game image

Overwhelmingly Positive

Total: 11.2 ThousandPositive: 10.8 ThousandNegative: 413
96%
4%
Steam review score: 9

Sorry!

This game is not fully supported yet!

If you are interested in having this game completly analysed please contact us.

Community review

Nine Sols scored 90.29 % rating
Nine Sols is a visually stunning, hand-drawn 2D action-platformer that combines Sekiro-inspired deflection combat with a rich narrative set in a unique 'Taopunk' world. Players follow Yi, a vengeful hero, on his quest to defeat the 9 Sols, formidable rulers of a forsaken realm. With an AI Community Rating of 89.98%, the game is praised for its engaging story, beautiful art, and satisfying combat. Fans love the blend of cyberpunk and Taoism, as well as the challenging boss fights and intricate exploration. However, some players find the difficulty spikes frustrating, and hitbox inconsistencies can lead to unfair deaths. Suggested improvements include better map tracking, more impactful skill trees, and smoother boss phase transitions. If you enjoy lore-rich Metroidvanias with a mix of fast-paced combat and exploration, Nine Sols is a must-try.
ActionAdventureIndie
Single-playerSteam AchievementsFull controller supportSteam CloudSteam LeaderboardsFamily Sharing

What the community wishes

We analysed the 11 most impactful community reviews and collected 20 ideas and suggestions on how the game could be better.
Adjust in-game currency loss on death
Losing in-game currency after death is frustrating, especially when areas are cleared and farming gold is difficult. Consider reducing or eliminating currency loss to improve player experience.
Fix boss attack hitboxes
Some boss attack hitboxes are too large and unintuitive, leading to unfair deaths. Adjust hitboxes to better match visual cues for a fairer combat experience.
Improve map tracking in Metroidvania
Opening too many locations at once makes it hard to track progress. Add better map markers or a progress tracker to help players navigate.
Shorten repetitive boss phase transitions
Boss phase transitions, like healing animations, become tedious after multiple attempts. Add an option to skip or shorten these sequences after a certain number of retries.
Balance boss difficulty spikes
Some bosses have inconsistent difficulty, with mid-game bosses being harder than later ones. Rebalance boss difficulty to ensure a smoother progression curve.
Add NG+ or boss rush mode
Players want to replay boss fights or try different builds. Adding a New Game Plus or boss rush mode would enhance replayability.
Improve skill tree impact
The skill tree feels underwhelming and lacks meaningful impact. Enhance skill tree options to provide more noticeable gameplay changes.
Fix occasional hitbox issues
Some attacks have wonky hitboxes, leading to unfair hits. Refine hitboxes to ensure they align with attack animations.
Add more exploration focus
The game is more linear compared to other Metroidvanias. Increase exploration opportunities and hidden areas to appeal to exploration-focused players.
Improve early-game backtracking
Backtracking early in the game feels tedious until fast travel is unlocked. Consider adding earlier fast travel options or reducing backtracking requirements.
Enhance charm system customization
The charm system lacks impactful or original upgrades. Add more unique and customizable charm effects to allow for diverse builds.
Address final boss difficulty spike
The final boss has a significant difficulty spike. Adjust the difficulty curve to make the final boss challenging but fair.
Add toggle for story mode achievements
Switching to story mode locks players out of achievements. Allow achievements to be earned in story mode to accommodate less skilled players.
Improve early boss difficulty
The first boss is excessively difficult for new players. Lower the early boss difficulty to provide a more welcoming introduction to the game.
Add more antagonist development
Some antagonists feel underdeveloped. Provide more backstory or interactions to make them more compelling.
Fix occasional bugs and glitches
The game has some bugs and glitches. Address these issues to improve overall stability and player experience.
Enhance platforming challenge
Platforming sections are relatively basic. Add more challenging and creative platforming sequences to engage players.
Improve fast travel system
Fast travel involves multiple loading screens. Streamline the fast travel system to reduce downtime between areas.
Add more lore integration
Some lore is infodumped in log entries. Integrate lore more naturally into the game world and narrative.
Expand character interactions
NPC interactions are limited. Add more dialogue and relationship progression options to deepen player engagement with characters.

Reviews

Toxicity trend

N-Grams

Most relevant voices from the community
modern classic ingreat game withdifficulty is unevenperfect game fromexcellent game withengaging emotional storyfantastic highly recommendoutstanding i neverabsolutely stunning worldbeautiful visuals excellentamazing a masterpieceepic boss fightsbeautiful soundtrack beautifulexcellent metroidvania withwonderful and funnyawesome game withmemorable characters andmasterpiece easy recommendlosing in-game currencyboss fight are

Keywords

Top 15 keywords for sentiments
What the community loves
We collected 385 positive keywords.
story
14
fun
13
recommend
10
engaging
10
great
9
art
8
music
8
combat
8
beautiful
7
satisfying
7
love
6
enjoyed
6
gameplay
6
gorgeous
5
characters
5
Where the community is undecided
We collected 287 neutral keywords.
boss
14
combat
10
story
10
difficult
9
difficulty
8
exploration
8
bosses
8
parry
7
parrying
5
linear
4
metroidvania
4
platforming
4
gameplay
3
enemies
3
enemy
3
What the community dislikes
We collected 292 negative keywords.
frustrating
12
annoying
6
tedious
6
hitboxes
6
combat
5
difficult
5
difficulty
5
hard
5
inconsistent
3
boring
3
parry
3
bosses
3
dialogue
3
checkpoints
3
uninteresting
3

In-depth analysis of most impactful community reviews

Positive

I would give this game two thumbs up if I could, this is genuinely a modern classic in my eyes. I usually write joke reviews for games, even for games I love, but I feel like this one deserves genuine straightforward praise. beautiful visuals, excellent music, fantastic gameplay and combat, good storytelling, interesting character writing, engaging setting, I could go on and on about how great this game is. Please, if you're scrolling through the reviews and wondering if you should play Nine Sols, I urge you to do so. If you have already played the game and you are reading reviews out of curiosity, I don't need to convince you, you already understand where I'm coming from. Highly recommend.

  • Sentiments

    • I genuinely believe this game is a modern classic and deserves straightforward praise, which is rare for me as I usually write joke reviews even for games I love.
    • I find the visuals of the game to be beautiful and highly appealing.
    • I think the music in the game is excellent and adds significantly to the overall experience.
    • I feel the gameplay and combat are fantastic and contribute greatly to the enjoyment of the game.
    • I appreciate the good storytelling and find it engaging and well-executed.
    • I find the character writing to be interesting and well-developed.
    • I am highly engaged by the setting of the game and find it immersive.
    • I strongly recommend this game to anyone scrolling through reviews and considering whether to play it.
    • I believe those who have already played the game will understand and agree with my praise for it.
    • I could go on and on about how great this game is, as it has so many outstanding qualities.

Positive

[h1] Game of the Year[/h1] A great game with an intriguing story, memorable characters, and a combat system that feels like an extension of your thoughts. It’s an excellent game, but it has a few flaws: - Losing in-game currency after death is just frustrating, especially since there aren’t easy ways to farm gold. If you lose 2-5k, for example, and all the areas are already cleared — good luck getting those achievements that require purchases... - The hitboxes of some bosses’ attacks are questionable (they're too large and unintuitive). - This is personal, but I don’t like it when Metroidvanias suddenly open up a lot of locations at once. It becomes hard to keep track of where you've been and where you haven’t.

  • Sentiments

    • I found the game to be great overall, with an intriguing story and memorable characters that left a lasting impression on me.
    • The combat system felt like an extension of my thoughts, which made it very intuitive and enjoyable to use.
    • Losing in-game currency after death was frustrating, especially since there weren't easy ways to farm gold, making it hard to recover lost progress.
    • The hitboxes of some bosses’ attacks felt questionable, as they were too large and unintuitive, which made certain fights unnecessarily difficult.
    • I didn’t like it when the game suddenly opened up a lot of locations at once, as it became hard to keep track of where I had been and where I hadn’t.
    • The game is excellent overall, but it has a few flaws that slightly detract from the experience.

Positive

Great game with epic boss fights, 10/10 worth a play. I'd say on par with hollow knight if not better (that's coming from somebody who has 300+ hours on hollow knight, it's one of my favorite games of all time :)) Thx for the experience! Now we can keep waiting for silksong : D

  • Sentiments

    • I found the game to be great, with epic boss fights that made the experience highly enjoyable.
    • I rate the game 10/10 and believe it is worth playing, as it provided an exceptional experience.
    • I consider the game to be on par with Hollow Knight, if not better, which is high praise given my love for that game.
    • I have over 300 hours in Hollow Knight, which is one of my favorite games of all time, and I still think this game compares favorably.
    • I am grateful for the experience the game provided and feel it was a memorable addition to my gaming library.
    • I am now eagerly waiting for Silksong, which shows how much this game has heightened my anticipation for future releases.

Positive

I cannot wrap my arms around Nine Sols. It just keeps being "more." It stands with Lies of P as a non-From Souls-like but it is wonderful and funny and cute and dark and cruel and reviling and amazing. I am really blown away. I have always been a fan of Red Candle Games since Detention, but this is truly next level. Amazing. A masterpiece.

  • Sentiments

    • I cannot wrap my arms around Nine Sols because it just keeps being 'more,' which makes it feel overwhelming in a positive way.
    • I feel that Nine Sols stands with Lies of P as a non-From Souls-like game, which is a significant achievement.
    • I find Nine Sols to be wonderful, which highlights its exceptional quality and appeal.
    • I think Nine Sols is funny, adding a layer of enjoyment and charm to the experience.
    • I feel that Nine Sols is cute, which contributes to its unique and endearing aesthetic.
    • I perceive Nine Sols as dark, which adds depth and intensity to its narrative and atmosphere.
    • I find Nine Sols to be cruel, which enhances its challenging and immersive nature.
    • I feel that Nine Sols is reviling, which suggests it evokes strong emotional reactions and engagement.
    • I am really blown away by Nine Sols, indicating it has exceeded my expectations in every way.
    • I consider Nine Sols a masterpiece, which reflects my belief in its exceptional quality and artistic value.

Positive

This game is mixture of Hollow Knight and Sekiro but dont be mistaken to think that its a bad copy. The game has its own footings and given their older games, its a great deviation from their former projects. The game has beautiful soundtrack, beautiful gameplay, beautiful artsyle and whatnot. The game has well written lore about the world. A 10/10, totally recommended. Also credit soundtrack is a banger. Edit: Now with Battle Memories, it's even better.

  • Sentiments

    • I feel that the game is a unique blend of Hollow Knight and Sekiro, but it stands on its own merits and is not a bad copy.
    • I believe the game represents a great deviation from the developers' previous projects, showing their growth and creativity.
    • I think the game has a beautiful soundtrack that enhances the overall experience.
    • I find the gameplay to be beautiful and engaging, making it a joy to play.
    • I appreciate the beautiful art style, which adds to the game's visual appeal.
    • I admire the well-written lore about the game's world, which adds depth and immersion.
    • I would rate the game a 10/10, as it exceeds expectations and delivers a fantastic experience.
    • I highly recommend the game to others, as it is a standout title worth playing.
    • I think the credit soundtrack is a banger, leaving a lasting impression.

Negative

In order to force players into parrying rather than dodging attacks (especially late-game), the devs decided to give most attacks (especially boss attacks) absolutely HUGE hitboxes that do not correspond to the attack animation. This is on top of the already extreme tracking with enemies sliding around the screen toward your position with each attack. If you try to dodge, you will frequently get hit with a sword slash that is animated as being in front of the enemy when you are BEHIND the enemy. If the devs want to make a difficult game, that's fine! But they actively make it harder to learn attacks with bad animations that do not accurately convey the dangerous parts of the screen.

  • Sentiments

    • I feel frustrated that the developers force players into parrying by giving most attacks, especially boss attacks, huge hitboxes that do not match the attack animations.
    • I find it annoying that enemies have extreme tracking, sliding around the screen toward my position with each attack, making dodging ineffective.
    • I am disappointed that dodging often results in getting hit by attacks that are animated as being in front of the enemy but actually hit me when I am behind them.
    • I believe the developers are making the game unnecessarily harder by using bad animations that do not accurately convey the dangerous parts of the screen.
    • I think the game's difficulty is acceptable, but the methods used to increase difficulty, such as misleading animations, are poorly implemented.
    • I feel that the game's mechanics, particularly the hitboxes and tracking, are designed in a way that makes it harder to learn and adapt to enemy attacks.
    • I am critical of the decision to prioritize parrying over dodging, as it limits player choice and makes combat feel less dynamic.
    • I find the inconsistency between attack animations and hitboxes to be a major flaw that detracts from the overall gameplay experience.
    • I feel that the game's difficulty is artificially inflated by mechanics that do not align with visual feedback, making it harder to enjoy.
    • I think the developers' approach to increasing difficulty by using misleading animations and hitboxes is a poor design choice.

Negative

probably stupid review and a tiny early game spoiler but compared to hollow knight and this game its 2-3x harder if you like hollow knight and able to deal with perfect parry and maybe few enemies with hard to read or time to parry enemies BS would probably be a 7-8/10 i havent managed to progress much into the story when i hit (i think it was 1.9 hour mark (idk how it tracks) when i got stuck on a boss (if you curious its the 6th image not counting the trailer video the soundtrack is really good now the reason i have a huge complaint on this game the parrying is good but it has an extra system which makes it unreasonably difficult there are normal parries and perfect parries, when you do a normal parry your a portion of your health becomes red until after repeated normal attemps red health covers 99% of your bar, and if you mistime a normal parry ONCE you die and have to start over, they only start to regenerate your normal health to a remaining red bar when you dont parry, dont take damage, or do a perfect parry, perfect parries have a really small window (shorter than sekiro parry time) and i cant tell if im clicking to early or to late, when doing a perfect parry it plays a diffrent sound and you start to regenerate your normal health up to the remaining red bar and the boss im stuck on kills you on 3-4 hits if you dont parry and if you only do normal parries you are bassicly forced to do a no-hit fight im gonna try again for a few days on other areas so i would level up my character to try again

  • Sentiments

    • I find the game to be significantly harder compared to Hollow Knight, estimating it to be 2-3 times more difficult, which might appeal to players who enjoy a challenge.
    • I appreciate the soundtrack, which I find to be really good and adds positively to the overall experience.
    • I have a huge complaint about the parrying system, which I find unreasonably difficult due to the added complexity of normal and perfect parries.
    • I feel frustrated with the normal parry system, as mistiming a single normal parry results in death, forcing me to start over, which feels punishing.
    • I find the perfect parry window to be extremely small, even shorter than Sekiro's, making it hard to time correctly and adding to the difficulty.
    • I am stuck on a boss that kills me in 3-4 hits if I don't parry, and even with normal parries, I feel forced into a no-hit fight, which feels unfair.
    • I plan to try again by leveling up my character in other areas, showing my determination to overcome the game's challenges despite the difficulty.
    • I think the game could be a 7-8/10 for players who enjoy Hollow Knight and can handle the difficulty of perfect parries and hard-to-read enemies.
    • I find the health regeneration system frustrating, as it only works when I don't parry, take damage, or perform a perfect parry, which feels restrictive.
    • I feel the game's difficulty spikes are excessive, especially with the boss I'm stuck on, which feels unbalanced and discouraging.

Negative

Amazing game, but the overall impression is somewhat ruined by the fucking ridiculously shitty design of the final boss, pardon my French. I eventually beated her on the intended difficulty (standard my ass!), but got no satisfaction whatsoever, because the time and efforts it took made it feel like a terrible chore, hence don't recommend.

  • Sentiments

    • I found the game to be amazing overall, which gives a very positive impression of the experience.
    • The final boss design felt fucking ridiculously shitty, which significantly ruined my enjoyment of the game.
    • I eventually beat the final boss on the intended difficulty, but it felt like a terrible chore rather than an accomplishment.
    • The difficulty of the final boss was described as 'standard my ass,' indicating frustration with the challenge level.
    • I got no satisfaction from beating the final boss, which left me feeling disappointed and unfulfilled.
    • The time and effort required to beat the final boss made the experience feel unrewarding and tedious.
    • I do not recommend the game due to the frustrating and unsatisfying final boss experience.

Negative

Overall I think the game is great and I've enjoyed the hell out it, however I have tried literally everything in my power to make the game to stop dropping frames and I've been unsuccessful. It's hindered me a lot throughout my play through and I find myself always in the menu having to adjust some graphics settings. It's very frustrating and it's unfortunate that I can't recommend the game based on that reason alone. There's no reason that I should be experiencing frame rates dropping for this type of game when I'm running a 4070 Super. It makes no sense.

  • Sentiments

    • I think the game is great and I've enjoyed the hell out of it.
    • I have tried literally everything in my power to make the game stop dropping frames, but I've been unsuccessful.
    • The frame drops have hindered me a lot throughout my playthrough.
    • I find myself always in the menu having to adjust some graphics settings, which is very frustrating.
    • It's unfortunate that I can't recommend the game based on the frame rate issues alone.
    • There's no reason I should be experiencing frame rate drops for this type of game when I'm running a 4070 Super.

Negative

Love everything about the game except the awful hitboxes. After getting every ending in Sekiro, I am familiar with the aggressive parrying style this game goes for. It just feels really janky and like the game lies to you to get cheap shots in.

  • Sentiments

    • I love everything about the game, which indicates a strong overall positive sentiment toward the game.
    • I find the hitboxes to be awful, which creates a negative sentiment about the game's mechanics.
    • I am familiar with the aggressive parrying style from playing Sekiro, which gives me a neutral sentiment about the gameplay style.
    • The game feels really janky, which creates a negative sentiment about the overall feel and responsiveness of the game.
    • I feel like the game lies to you to get cheap shots in, which creates a negative sentiment about the fairness and design of the game.

© 2024