FIELD REVIEW / Action platformer
Nine Sols
A precise deflection-led adventure with a distinctive meeting of science fiction and Taoist imagery. Deflection is the central commitment here, making it a strong pick for players who enjoy learning defensive timing.
Game facts
- Developer
- RedCandleGames
- Publisher
- RedCandleGames
- Released
- 28 May 2024
- Platforms
- Windows · macOS (Steam edition)
- Model
- Paid game
- PEGI
- 16 — Nintendo Switch edition; not a separate PC classification
- Players
- Single-player
- Length
- Medium
- Difficulty
- 5 / 5 · Demanding
- Steam Deck
- Verified
PEGI source ↗ · Steam Deck status source ↗
Edition: Base game
The score, explained
The interest and responsiveness of the core decisions and actions.
How progression, exploration and goals fit together.
The coherence of the visual, musical and narrative presentation.
How clearly the game explains its rules and offers useful ways to engage.
The depth of optional goals, alternative approaches and reasons to return.
Defence drives the action
Nine Sols gives deflection a central role in its side-scrolling combat. The design combines precisely timed defence with attacks, talismans and other tools, making a successful exchange more than a race to empty an enemy's health bar. The strongest element is that focused relationship between reading danger and creating an opportunity. It offers a clear skill to improve as enemies become more demanding. The same emphasis narrows the recommendation: someone who dislikes learning attack patterns may not enjoy the repeated attention the system requires. The game should be chosen for an interest in that combat rhythm, rather than only for its hand-drawn artwork or the promise of an expansive fictional world.
A connected world beyond the duels
Yi's journey through New Kunlun provides more than a sequence of isolated fights. The game identifies interconnected regions, hidden information and characters who offer upgrades or new abilities. Exploration can therefore contribute both to understanding the world and to developing the tools used in combat. We rate the structure highly because these two forms of progress support the same journey. It also asks for a different commitment from a pure boss-rush game: finding routes, interpreting the setting and returning to questions can matter alongside technical execution. Players who only want the next duel should consider whether that larger adventure is a welcome addition. The strong recommendation is for someone interested in both precise action and the world that gives it context.
Technology and tradition share a visual world
The developer describes the setting as a meeting of Taoist influences and science fiction, and the official imagery carries that combination through characters, architecture and machinery. Hand-drawn animation and manga-inspired scenes give the world a distinctive visual language. That combination gives New Kunlun a recognisable identity, with spiritual imagery and technological machinery sharing the same uneasy space. The setting also includes strong violence and unsettling material; its illustrated form should not be treated as a sign of gentle content. Yi's small figure against imposing structures reinforces the scale of the place he must explore and the dangers within it. New Kunlun mixes technological spaces with imagery drawn from eastern fantasy. Yi's deflections and talisman attacks keep the combat precise within that setting, so the intricate artwork supports a demanding action game rather than replacing its mechanical focus.
A strong fit for deliberate action players
Nine Sols is most appealing if mastering a defensive rhythm and exploring a connected world sound equally worthwhile. Returning to an encounter can improve execution, while the broader setting supplies other reasons to keep moving. Our return assessment is positive without treating a designed adventure as an endless source of new content. Blasphemous offers a useful comparison for players drawn to connected maps, striking art and dangerous encounters, but its gothic identity and combat emphasis create a different proposition. Choose Nine Sols when deflection is the mechanic that most interests you. Its strongest case is not that every action player will find it approachable, but that it gives a particular kind of careful timing a clear and substantial role. Deflection is the central commitment here, making it a strong pick for players who enjoy learning defensive timing.
The verdict
A precise deflection-led adventure with a distinctive meeting of science fiction and Taoist imagery. Deflection is the central commitment here, making it a strong pick for players who enjoy learning defensive timing.
Reasons to play
- Deflection gives combat a strong central identity
- Talismans and other tools connect defence to offence
- Interconnected regions give exploration an ongoing role
Reasons to think twice
- Timing-heavy combat can be demanding
- The setting includes strong violence and unsettling imagery
See the game
Assist & accessibility
Parents’ guide
Players: Single-player. No in-game purchase marker in the checked Steam listing. Separate downloadable content may be sold.
Age classification: 16. Nintendo Switch edition; not a separate PC classification
A useful starting tip
Learn which part of an enemy sequence you can reliably deflect before trying to turn the entire exchange into damage.
A different direction
Compare this with Blasphemous: A severe gothic adventure with an unusually coherent visual identity and demanding encounters. Measured positioning and a connected map give its combat a different rhythm from a pure boss rush.
Official sources
Reviewed: November 2026
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