Nine Sols

Red Candle Games built their reputation on atmospheric horror with Detention and Devotion, so a parry-focused action platformer was an unexpected pivot. Nine Sols arrived on PC in May 2024 and quickly earned a passionate following for its hand-drawn visuals, demanding combat, and deep roots in Chinese mythology. The game wears its Sekiro influence openly, translating that franchise’s deflection-heavy combat into a 2D side-scrolling format.

Community opinion runs hot. Fans describe the combat as some of the most satisfying they’ve experienced in any 2D game, while detractors point to hitbox issues and a punishing difficulty curve that crosses from challenging into frustrating. The game is divisive in a way that suggests it’s doing something specific rather than something mediocre. People who love it tend to love it intensely.

Deflection as an Art Form

The combat system is what defines Nine Sols, and it’s built almost entirely around parrying. Successful deflections fill your Qi meter, which lets you slap talismans onto enemies that then detonate for massive damage. This loop, parry into talisman into explosion, creates a rhythm that feels incredible once it clicks. The satisfaction of reading a boss’s attack pattern, deflecting three consecutive strikes, and detonating a talisman for the kill is hard to match in the genre.

Boss design is where this system shines brightest. Each boss fight operates like a puzzle, with the first several attempts serving as learning experiences while you catalog attack patterns and timing windows. The moment a previously impossible boss starts to feel manageable is deeply rewarding. Players consistently cite the bosses as the game’s highest point, with designs that test different aspects of the parry system rather than just scaling up health and damage.

The hand-drawn art is spectacular. Every character, environment, and animation was crafted by hand, and the attention to detail shows in every frame. The setting blends science fiction with ancient Chinese mythology in ways that feel organic rather than forced. From the visual design to the music to the naming conventions, Nine Sols has a cultural specificity that gives it an identity separate from the wave of Hollow Knight and Dark Souls-inspired indie games.

Story surprised many players with its depth. Red Candle Games brings their narrative chops from Detention and Devotion into a very different genre, weaving themes of betrayal, duty, and legacy through the action. The cast of characters is memorable, with interactions that range from funny to devastating. For a game sold primarily on its combat, the emotional weight of the narrative caught many off guard.

The Punishing Edge of Nine Sols

Difficulty is the primary dividing line in community discussions. Nine Sols operates with minimal tolerance for error, especially during boss encounters. Many attacks require near-frame-perfect parry timing, and bosses can kill the player in two or three hits. There are no invincibility frames to fall back on, which means mistakes are punished immediately and severely. For some players, this intensity is the point. For others, it crosses from “challenging” into “exhausting.”

Hitbox complaints come up frequently in community discussions. Some enemy attacks have hit zones that extend beyond what the animation suggests, leading to moments that feel unfair rather than skillfully demanding. When the parry windows are already tight, inconsistent hitboxes can turn a satisfying challenge into a source of frustration.

Pacing is a real issue for a subset of players. At roughly 30-plus hours, the game overstays its welcome for some, with story sequences that interrupt gameplay flow. The early hours in particular draw criticism for being too slow, front-loading narrative setup before the combat system opens up. Players who are there primarily for the action can find these extended story sections drag on the momentum.

The combat loop itself, while excellent, can feel repetitive over the game’s full length. The parry-talisman cycle is the core of nearly every encounter, and while bosses vary in how they test that system, the fundamental interaction stays the same. By the final third, some players report the formula wearing thin despite the high quality of individual encounters.

The Weight of Cultural Identity

What separates Nine Sols from other Sekiro-inspired games is how thoroughly it commits to its Chinese cultural foundation. This isn’t a game that borrowed a few visual motifs from East Asian mythology and called it a day. The world, characters, naming conventions, and thematic concerns all draw from a specific cultural tradition, and that specificity gives the game a texture that generic fantasy settings can’t replicate. Red Candle Games brought the same attention to cultural detail that made Detention feel so distinctly Taiwanese, applying it to a broader mythological canvas.

Should You Play Nine Sols?

Players who thrive on precision combat and don’t mind repeated attempts at mechanically demanding boss fights will find one of the best action games of 2024 here. The parry system is among the most satisfying in any 2D game, and the art direction alone is worth experiencing. It’s also a strong pick for anyone looking for a game with genuine cultural identity beyond the usual Western fantasy tropes.

Skip it if you find low error tolerance frustrating rather than motivating. The difficulty here isn’t adjustable in meaningful ways, and the game doesn’t compromise its vision for accessibility. If you’re looking for a breezy metroidvania to explore at your own pace, this isn’t it. Nine Sols demands your full attention and your best reflexes for most of its runtime.

The Verdict on Nine Sols

Nine Sols transforms deflection-based combat into something that feels like a conversation between player and game, with every parry and talisman detonation carrying weight. Red Candle Games took a hard turn from horror into action and delivered a game that stands on its own merits rather than living in Sekiro’s shadow. The difficulty will push some players away, and the pacing stumbles during extended narrative sequences. But the bosses are outstanding, the art is gorgeous, and the cultural foundation gives the whole experience a sense of place that most games in this space never achieve. It’s not for everyone, but the people it’s for will remember it.