9.5 /10 21

Nine Sols represents 2024’s most impressive indie action platformer, emerging from Taiwan’s Red Candle Games with ambitions exceeding typical crowdfunded projects. The studio, known for psychological horror achievements like Detention and Devotion, shifted genre entirely to craft a 2D Metroidvania breathing Taopunk aesthetic—a fusion of Eastern Taoism and cyberpunk futurism that feels genuinely original. Released May 29, 2024 on PC Steam, Nine Sols expanded to PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch on November 26, 2024, expanding its reach significantly.

Critics awarded it an 84 Metacritic score (86 OpenCritic), praising visceral deflection-based combat, hand-drawn animation quality, and world-building depth. The game demands precision, patience, and pattern mastery from players, rewarding those who embrace its Souls-like philosophy. It won Best Narrative at Indie Game Awards 2024, validating Red Candle Games’ commitment to storytelling alongside demanding gameplay. Players seeking challenging, beautiful, narratively rich indie experiences found their 2024 masterpiece.

How to Play Nine Sols

Nine Sols challenges players with fast-paced, 2D action demanding timing and deflection mastery. You control Yi, a vengeful warrior seeking the Nine Sols—ancient deities ruling the forsaken realm. Combat emphasizes parrying enemy attacks to build energy for devastating counter-strikes. Progression combines Metroidvania exploration with Souls-like boss encounters, creating a uniquely engaging flow between world navigation and skill-based combat.

1. Controls – Intuitive keyboard or controller input enables fluid movement, jumping, and deflection timing. Learning curve is steep; early boss encounters punish careless aggression. Practice parrying against basic enemies before tackling bosses. The control responsiveness directly impacts success rates.
2. Progression – Advance by defeating powerful foes guarding Nine Sols’ territories. Each defeated boss grants new abilities, Taoist talismans, and upgrades to Yi’s godly bow. Discover hidden upgrades enhancing health, attack power, and special abilities through thorough exploration of interconnected regions.
3. Combat/Mechanics – Master the deflection system where timing parries against enemy attacks is crucial. Each successful parry builds energy enabling powerful charged strikes. Utilize Taoist talismans for special attacks. Boss battles require learning attack patterns, identifying safe openings, and executing flawless combinations during critical moments.
4. Tips – Study enemy patterns before committing to aggressive combos. Parrying is safer than dodging; learn to read attack telegraphs. Use talismans strategically rather than spamming them. Farm basic enemies to test new abilities before boss attempts. Difficulty settings accommodate various skill levels without reducing content.

Who Should Play Nine Sols

Nine Sols targets players craving challenging action platformers combining artistic ambition with mechanical depth. Its difficulty accommodates skilled players seeking genuine challenge while offering adjustable options for newcomers prioritizing narrative and exploration over combat mastery.

• Sekiro Enthusiasts – If FromSoftware’s deflection-focused combat resonated with you, Nine Sols delivers similar satisfaction in 2D form. Parrying remains the core mechanic with fluid animations rewarding timing precision.
• Metroidvania Fans – The game respects genre conventions with interconnected world design, ability-gated exploration, and satisfying progression systems. Combat demands distinguish it from exploration-focused peers.
• Indie Art Game Appreciators – Hand-drawn animation quality rivals AAA productions. The Taopunk world-building merges Eastern mythology with sci-fi worldbuilding, creating fresh aesthetic rarely seen in games. Narrative depth exceeds expectations for indie projects.
• Skip if – You prioritize easygoing narratives over challenging gameplay. If motion sickness from intense on-screen action causes problems, or if rapid-fire button timing frustrates rather than excites, Nine Sols may prove exhausting rather than rewarding.

Nine Sols Platform Performance

Nine Sols maintains stable performance across all platforms, though technical specifications vary. PC versions handle high-refresh rate displays, while console ports optimize for television gameplay. Switch performance required careful optimization given hardware limitations, but Red Candle Games delivered consistent experiences across platforms. All versions maintain responsive input and animation fluidity critical to precise combat timing.

Nine Sols System Requirements

Nine Sols runs on modest PC hardware, making it accessible to diverse systems. The 2D nature minimizes graphical demands despite beautiful art direction. A 15GB SSD installation is required on all platforms. Minimum requirements accommodate budget builds while recommended specs enable high-refresh gaming for competitive speedrunners.

Similar Games to Nine Sols

Nine Sols occupies a unique intersection of genres, blending Metroidvania exploration with Souls-like combat. While no perfect equivalents exist, several titles share core mechanics or thematic elements appealing to Nine Sols enthusiasts seeking comparable experiences.

• Hollow Knight – Metroidvania structure with challenging boss encounters and hand-drawn art. Emphasizes combat difficulty and exploration balance. Less narrative-driven but equally rewarding exploration.
• Salt and Sanctuary – 2D Souls-like platformer with stamina management and pattern-based boss encounters. Lighter art style but similarly demanding combat mechanics requiring precision timing.
• Blasphemous – Gothic-inspired 2D Souls-like with melee combat emphasis and Metroidvania exploration. Darker aesthetic with challenging difficulty and interconnected map design.
• Metroid Dread – Modern Metroidvania with cinematic presentation and responsive combat. Faster-paced than Nine Sols but shares interconnected world structure and ability-gated progression systems.

Nine Sols vs Competitors

Nine Sols distinguishes itself through superior hand-drawn animation quality and Taopunk world-building compared to similar indie action platformers. Its Metacritic standing of 84 exceeds many peers, reflecting critical consensus regarding narrative depth and combat design. The comparison below illustrates Nine Sols’ competitive advantages within the crowded 2D action platformer landscape.

Nine Sols Story and World

The Taopunk world of New Kunlun blends Eastern philosophy with technological dystopia, creating an aesthetic both familiar and alien. Yi, the protagonist, seeks revenge against the Nine Sols—ancient deities who rule over this forsaken realm. The narrative unfolds through character interactions, environmental storytelling, and revelations about New Kunlun’s tragic history. An ancient alien race once shaped the world, leaving technological and mystical legacies. The game’s mature themes include violence, transformation, and existential questioning.

Red Candle Games crafted dialogue with surprising emotional depth, developing relationships between Yi and NPCs met during exploration. The Taopunk setting feels authentically drawn from Eastern traditions rather than surface-level cultural appropriation. Boss encounters with individual Sols reveal their personalities and stories, making victories feel personally consequential rather than mechanically hollow. The game trusts players to piece together lore through environmental details and NPC interactions, rewarding curious explorers without mandating comprehension for progression.

Nine Sols Multiplayer and Online

Nine Sols is a single-player only experience with no competitive or cooperative multiplayer modes. The game focuses entirely on solo exploration and personal combat mastery. However, a post-launch patch released November 26, 2024 introduced Battle Memories, a boss rush mode enabling challenge runs and score competition against personal records. Online functionality remains minimal, prioritizing local gameplay over connected features.

• Single-Player Campaign – 25-30 hour main story offering multiple endings based on player choices and completion percentage. Non-linear exploration allows flexible progression through New Kunlun’s regions.
• Battle Memories Mode – Boss rush gameplay added post-launch. Face challenging encounters sequentially for personal score competition. Provides replayability beyond campaign completion.
• Difficulty Modes – Multiple difficulty settings accommodate varying skill levels without gating content. All difficulties offer complete narratives and equal access to story elements.
• No Live Service – Zero seasonal content, battle passes, or always-online requirements. Nine Sols respects single-player philosophy without engagement-driven monetization.

Nine Sols DLC and Expansions

Nine Sols launched without planned DLC, positioning the base game as a complete, standalone experience. Red Candle Games released free post-launch patches including the Battle Memories boss rush mode and balancing updates. The studio committed to supporting the game through bug fixes and quality-of-life improvements rather than fragmented content sales. Current plans show no commercial expansions, though community discussions suggest potential future console-exclusive bonuses remain possible.

• Battle Memories Mode – Free post-launch update released November 26, 2024. Boss rush-style gameplay enabling challenge runs and personal score tracking. Substantial replayability addition requiring no additional purchase.
• Stability Patches – Red Candle Games released multiple updates addressing performance issues and balance refinements. Consistent support demonstrates long-term commitment despite indie development constraints.
• Free Updates – Platform-specific optimizations for console ports (PlayStation, Xbox, Switch) required post-launch refinement. All updates release free without season passes or premium tiers.
• No Planned Expansion Content – Developers have not announced story DLC or additional boss encounters. Nine Sols’ complete package emphasizes finished experience over live service model.

Nine Sols Community and Support

Nine Sols cultivated a passionate community across Steam, Reddit, Discord, and social media platforms following its May 2024 release. The indie community embraced the game enthusiastically, with speedrunners quickly developing optimization strategies and challenge run formats. Red Candle Games maintains active communication with players through official channels, addressing feedback and implementing improvements. The game achieved 94% Positive on Steam, approaching the coveted Overwhelmingly Positive status rare for indie titles.

• Official Red Candle Games Discord – Active developer presence discussing balance feedback, providing technical support, and sharing development insights. Community members share speedrun strategies and artistic appreciation.
• Steam Community – Extensive guides, strategy discussions, and challenge run documentation. 94% positive reviews reflect strong player satisfaction despite difficulty complaints.
• Reddit Communities – Dedicated r/NineSols subreddit hosts boss strategy discussions, speedrun highlights, and narrative analysis. Spoiler-tagged discussions enable newcomer engagement without unwanted revelations.
• Speedrunning Resources – Active speedrunning community utilizing emulation tools and livestream platforms for record documentation. Optimization strategies continuously improve established completion times.