I am extremely jaded. The fact is that I've played a lot of videogames, probably more than the average person will ever play in their lifetime. This is a blessing and a curse. I get to experience some of the best that the art-form has to offer. The kind of games that I put on my [[My 25 Fave Games|Top 25]], that changed me as a person in the way that only the best media can and reminded me of why I play games in the first place. But the rest of the time is spent chasing that high. We can interrogate what that says about me another day. What I want to focus is the fact that *Nine Sols* absolutely gave me that high, and like [[Yi hitting that boof]], I don't think I'll be coming down for a while. --- Now, I've said this many times: I have [[ADHD]]. And like I just said before, I'm extremely jaded. It takes a lot for me to get invested in a game narratively, because I am low on patience and hard to impress. I bring all this up to say that *Nine Sols* grabbed me by the throat pretty much immediately with its plot. It takes about five minutes for things to pop off, and I was inundated with questions that I wanted answers to: Who was Yi? What was going on with the village he was staying in? Why does he look different from the humans? And what the hell is he so pissed off about? ![[Nine Sols is a Masterpiece-20240610105356783.png]] That was the driving force to get me going in *Nine Sols*. It holds the rare accolade of being a game that I will remember for its story more than its gameplay. *Nine Sols* is a self-described Taopunk game from Red Candle Games, a dev team from Taiwan. As a result, the philosophical questions it delves into are significantly more interesting than most games I've played in the past few years. It examines the conflict between science and spirituality, the desire for revenge in opposition to peace, the ability to forgive yourself, and the strength that it takes to move on to a better world. I really don't want to delve into the details so that you can enjoy the experience yourself, but it's a gorgeously written game. By the time credits rolled I had burst into tears twice, and then got sucker-punched with a third bout at the post-credits scene. The Taopunk is expressed in *Nine Sols*' aesthetic as well. The world you explore as Yi is drab and dreary, but that's by design. The industrial, brutalist nature of the environment serves a stark contrast to the sweeping natural beauty you'll see in cutscenes and flashbacks. It all looks great, and makes sense as an interconnected world too. If you pay attention to the backgrounds, as well as the notes you can find scattered around, you'll notice aspects of it that are both gruesome and breath-taking. ![[Nine Sols is a Masterpiece-20240610105533308.png]] I mentioned that I'd remember *Nine Sols* for its engaging plot more than anything, but that doesn't mean it's a slouch in the gameplay department either. It's a metroidvania - for the most part. The first half of the game is fairly linear, but as you progress you'll have some room to stretch your legs and explore as you please, or head back to old areas for rewards after you get new abilities. Movement feels good, and I had no issues with the platforming. Combat revolves around the usage of *Sekiro*-style parrying, up to a point. Each parry gives you a Qi charge for your talisman. By slapping said talisman onto an enemy and holding a button to detonate it, you do big damage (you also have a three-hit sword slash, but that's just filler between the parries). ![[Nine Sols is a Masterpiece-20240610105422506.png]] There's a lot of depth to that mechanic though. Different styles and mods can change the way you use your talisman. Maybe you want it to hit multiple enemies. Maybe you want to slap the talisman on and have it auto-detonate. Maybe you want to use all your Qi charges at once for even MORE damage, or not flinch when you slap the talisman on an enemy so you can ignore an attack phase. Red Candle leaves a lot of room for you to make a build that caters to your strengths or bolsters your weaknesses. Which is good because you'll need every advantage you can get. *Nine Sols* is hard. I'd argue it's harder than *Sekiro*, because the parry window for Yi is about the width of a toothpick. Particularly at the beginning, you'll find yourself struggling with a lack of resources and a need to get familiar with the game's mechanics. Once you get a good rhythm down you're pretty much chilling, minus some spikes here or there (the third phase of the final boss is a genuine, honest-to-god nightmare). But wait wait wait, don't go! I hate hard games too. Lots of people do! Which is why Red Candle also has an Assist mode, which operates on a sliding scale to let you increase your damage and/or reduce the damage done to you by enemies. It's very useful, and has let some of the friends that I've hounded about this game play it. Accessibility is good! Nothing more to add here. The synergy between exploration and combat is great too. It's always worth it to run around and look for stuff in *Nine Sols*. Everything you grab is either interesting plot notes, sub-quests that'll bring you closer to unlocking the game's true ending, or equipment that can modify Yi's build in interesting ways. I enjoyed every moment of the exploration. And while the game kind of made fast-travel annoying because you have to return to your home base to teleport elsewhere, it also served a purpose, which is letting Yi participate in skits with his allies. Every single one of them is wonderful, heart-warming, or another morsel of lore for me to eagerly latch onto to unravel the mystery of New Kunlun - usually a combination of all three. ![[Nine Sols is a Masterpiece-20240610105610116.png]] --- I don't know if *Nine Sols* is a perfect game. It probably isn't. But I haven't been so utterly enamored with a game like this since *Gravity Rush*. And if you know anything about me, you know this is ridiculously high praise. If there are flaws, they're minuscule at best. I already wish I could wipe my memory of the game just so I can experience it again. I may write more about my feelings on the story and why it was so affecting to me after some time has passed and more people have played it. But please play it first. It's a wonderful game that I promise is worth all the attention I've given it.