Nine Sols

“Get Gud” – the phrase that haunts many gamers and communities, often used as a blanket to excuse what could be poor balance or ill-balanced mechanics. The idea of “hard for the sake of hard” is always a difficult one to agree on. Plenty of games provide challenge, but not every game or gamer is the same, or made for everything.

Nine Sols wears its influences with pride, a mix of Hollow Knight and Sekiro. It blends terrific Taopunk art with crushing combat that, if not mastered, will leave you in the dust. It is a confident, occasionally punishing 2D action game that expects you to keep up. It doesn’t ease you in. It asks you to learn its rhythm, or it simply refuses to bend for you.

Now you may already have an idea whether this game is for you or not. But it is worth reading my thoughts, as Nine Sols isn’t purely grind and grit. When it clicked for me, it became a sharp, deliberate, and genuinely satisfying adventure-platformer. But there was still plenty of noise in combat, restrictive level design, and an exhausting stage for the narrative.

But there was still something I deeply admired about it.


A lost soul, in a dream-like place

Nine Sols is a beautifully drawn action-platformer which takes many notes from various Souls-inspired titles, especially Hollow Knight and Sekiro. A combination which, in many ways, is a match made in heaven, and an indication of whether this game is for you.

We play as Yi, a cat-like alien creature with a long and troubled past. Through betrayal and bloodshed, they find themselves trapped within a life of remorse and solitude, in hiding from a greater threat. At first, there is a peaceful sense of life in the village, and Yi befriends a young boy who looks up to him as a brother figure.

It’s a nice connection, and much of the world and supporting cast reflect interesting dynamics off Yi.

Yi is subdued and keeps out of the village’s business, where he is hiding. However, during an important festival, Yi’s young friend is called upon to make a brutal sacrifice in a rather blood-curdling manner, which Yi cannot allow.
What follows is Yi having to face his past and enter a labyrinthine complex that holds many dark secrets, and the key to his history and long-lost memories.

There is palpable tension and an engaging mystery at the heart of Nine Sols, one that drew me in for much of the runtime. The supporting cast helps build much of the emotional depth, especially with a neat contrast of passion from them compared to Yi’s colder demeanour.

The story beats and deep lore (which I won’t spoil) develop a compelling mystery, which delivers some sinister and heart-wrenching moments.

But it is the sheer brutality and darker nature of the narrative and lore that I immensely admired.
However, while the ideas and worldbuilding are there, the restraint isn’t. This leads to quite a lot of tedious, overly written dialogue exchanges and plenty of exposition that sometimes makes certain story elements more confusing and less appealing.

Before I continue, I will say one of Nine Sols’ strongest qualities is its identity, with the Taopunk aesthetic — blending Taoist philosophy with cyberpunk structure — being one of the most breathtaking art styles I’ve seen in recent years.
The visual language stands out immediately, with a lovingly hand-drawn world, rich sense of colour and placement. Above all, it’s not just another pixel-art Metroidvania.

The influence from Hollow Knight is felt here, and it works out for the best. There’s a unique and surreal intention behind the environments, character designs, and world structure, and it consistently feels more thoughtful than decorative.

The cat-like look, the heavily alien/mechanical designs meeting traditional Chinese inspirations, really does make the journey much more memorable and fascinating to observe.

Nine Sols is genuinely stunning, with a clean, readable art style combined with strong environmental composition, giving the world a distinct sense of place, even when the narrative is less explicit.


Back to the writing though…

The opening sets the tone early, with a gruesome scene that came somewhat out of left field for me. The darker tone doesn’t feel like spectacle alone — there is intent behind it, both in shock value and message that it can carry.
The harsher, more direct moments, and willingness to commit to violence in a way that contrasts sharply with its aesthetic elegance, is actually quite a bold choice. And I highly respect that. I wondered why a cute-looking game had a 16+ rating, and after my time playing Nine Sols, I see why.

The beauty and brutality sit uncomfortably close together, which gives the setting weight. This was the hook for me, as the other parts of the writing didn’t always land.

As I mentioned, there are strong ideas, but they are often let down by an overly extended delivery. Dialogue sequences frequently run longer than they need to, and I found plenty of conversations tended to repeat points rather than refine them.

There was often a sense that the writing hadn’t yet been fully tightened into its most effective form. It’s not that there wasn’t depth or substance — if anything, there was too much exposition at times.

Still, there were plenty of strong ideas, a breathtaking art style, and emotion and grit in the better-delivered moments of the narrative. So I had a lot of respect for Nine Sols there overall.

Good thing you have nine lives, buddy…

Right, the combat. The main attraction, and the thing that will make or break this game for you.
Combat is the foundation of Nine Sols, or more so, the sheer brutality and precision of a refined combat system. And believe me, Nine Sols does not shy away from that fact.

There is a solid Metroidvania gameplay core here — meaningful progression, backtracking level design, item hunting, boss encounters, and puzzles. But the combat is definitely at the forefront and demands quite a lot from you.
The core system is built almost entirely around parries, timing windows, and disciplined reaction, with little room to breathe. At first, it feels abrasive. Not just difficult in the usual sense, but slightly opaque. The game expects early commitment to a system you haven’t yet internalised, and those first hours can feel more like endurance than understanding.

I myself am not the most brilliant at parrying, so this was a long road to walk along for sure — especially when even the hardest Souls-inspired games like Bloodborne (one of my favourites) allow for more tactical variety, such as dodging, rather than relying so heavily on parry timing.

And after a couple of hours of frustration, the combat clicked for me.

There is a noticeable shift once you internalise the rhythm and learn to pace yourself and be patient, something I personally find difficult, as I tend to be very aggressive in combat. But learning enemy patterns, watching for attack wind-ups, and reading tells soon makes everything feel less random and more deliberate.

Encounters become structured, and combat starts to resemble a controlled exchange rather than chaos. Soon enough, parrying provides strong rewards, including charged attacks you can execute after successful deflections.

Boss fights in particular become far more readable once you’ve adapted, turning into pattern-driven duels that reward patience and timing over aggression. Plus, the inclusion of upgrades, special attacks, and other tools — which are easily accessible throughout the game- gives you plenty of advantages if used wisely.

There are also accessibility options to tone down the more extreme elements. I support modifiers like this, especially in games focused on parry-heavy combat. For those wanting the challenge, it is still there, so I highly praise the flexibility without it undermining the core experience.

While combat is strong, even at its best, I never fully warmed to it.

Part of that comes down to perspective. Compared to Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, where 3D space allows for repositioning, spacing, and recovery, Nine Sols feels more compressed. In a 2D environment, there is far less room to misread a moment safely. When particle effects stack, enemy attacks overlap, or multiple threats converge, readability becomes a genuine issue rather than an intentional layer of challenge.

That said, Nine Sols is not unbalanced or broken — far from it — but it does occasionally tip from “demanding” into “visually overloaded”. I had the same issue with other games I enjoyed, such as Hades 2, where difficulty spikes can feel like sensory overload rather than fair escalation.

Still, I had a lot of fun when it clicked, with bosses, abilities, and key combat-platforming moments being some of the highlights for me.


What is this? A Metroidvania?

Nine Sols follows a familiar Metroidvania-style loop, clearly influenced by modern genre staples like Hollow Knight. We have a massive, multi-layered map, with branching paths, secrets to discover, and locked doors requiring keys or abilities.
The scale, density, and variety of the map is staggering, and many highlights elevate exploration and item hunting.
New abilities arrive at a steady pace, gradually reshaping both combat and exploration routes. There are neat inclusions that avoid some genre clichés, such as relying solely on something like a double jump.

What works in Nine Sols is pacing. Rarely does it dump too much at once. Instead, it builds mechanics slowly, reinforcing mastery through platforming and problem-solving without restricting exploration.

There is a steady stream of discoveries, and new areas open up at a good pace for the most part. While it’s not especially innovative in structure, the map feels designed with purpose and thought. And in a game so focused on combat discipline, I never felt cornered or trapped — which is what a good Metroidvania should do.
Not on the level of Hollow Knight, but still very admirable.

But I would be lying if I said everything worked, and there are some big problems with exploration and backtracking.
On one hand, the world is structurally strong. There is clear biome variety, branching paths, and a progression system that encourages backtracking once new abilities are unlocked. The interconnectedness of areas does eventually pay off, and there is satisfaction in slowly filling out the map.
But…
The unclear navigation and lack of simple traversal tools can lead — and for me did lead — to frustration.
Signposting is inconsistent, and the game doesn’t always communicate direction as clearly as it should. I could go through a conversation or narrative beat and feel like the game just says, “yep, figure it out”.

I don’t mind ambiguity, and I respect that it doesn’t over-direct as some modern games do, but there still needs to be a sense of guidance. Here, it sometimes felt like there was none at all.

Combined with limited fast travel, this can make exploration and backtracking more tedious than intended, particularly in the late game. At one point, I even found myself effectively soft-locked by my own progression path, requiring a long and unnecessary detour just to reorient myself.

That said, the world design and Metroidvania structure are still compelling. Returning to earlier areas with new tools remains rewarding, and there is genuine structure beneath the confusion.

It’s not revolutionary, but it is well executed, even if it occasionally wastes your time.


Overall?

Nine Sols has a lot of heart, strong ideas, and a clear sense of purpose in its combat and world design. When it works, it works magnificently.

It is defined by strong visual identity, relentless combat, a fantastic-looking and varied world, but also uneven execution.
Its combat system is precise and demanding, but not always readable. The world is visually striking and thematically rich, but occasionally let down by pacing and clarity issues. Its progression is steady and satisfying, but its navigation can be frustratingly unclear.

But Nine Sols never lacks ambition. Even at its most frustrating, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Ultimately, Nine Sols is a game I deeply appreciate. While not perfect, there is a lot here that makes it worth checking out.

+ Incredible art style and world design
+ Interesting story and lore
+ Relentless yet satisfying combat
+ Strong Metroidvania structure and map design
+ Good accessibility options

- Overwritten dialogue and uneven narrative pacing
- Combat can feel visually noisy and demanding to read
- Traversal can be limited and occasionally frustrating

The publisher kindly provided a physical review copy of Nine Sols. You can purchase your physical edition of Nine Sols (which includes a wonderfully design map, art cards, and manual) from Amazon, Fangamer, The Game Collection, and other reatilers.