Nine Sols

Scoring window: since the last significant patch (Nov 4, 2025) · 300 reviews sampled · 9386 total reviews in window · weighted 248 up / 13.8 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →

• 85
  The Punished Backlog

  trust 79Jun 18, 2024

  “Nine Sols is easily the most challenging Metroidvania game I’ve ever played, but its difficulty is just one facet of what makes it a truly remarkable game. Whether you’re drawn by demanding gameplay, stunning visuals, or immersive storytelling, Nine Sols commands your attention and warrants your time.”

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• 70
  GameMAG

  trust 78Jul 18, 2024

  “Nine Sols is a notable step for the Taipei-based studio, but too high a bar for a small game company to set.”

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• 90
  INDIANTVCZ

  trust 78Jun 23, 2024

  “Nine Sols is an almost perfectly executed game. The story and its narrative may be a bit lacking in places, but that's made up for by the absolutely brilliant combat system, map design and stunning visuals and soundtrack. If you like a proper challenge, this 2D Dark Souls is a must play!”

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• 90
  3DNews

  trust 78Jun 16, 2024

  “Nine Sols gives you everything you want from metroidvania, with excellence and style.”

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• 80
  Slant Magazine

  trust 77Nov 25, 2024

  “This atmospheric Metroidvania is mechanically, emotionally, and philosophically electrifying.”

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• 80
  Nintendo Life

  trust 76Nov 26, 2024

  “Combat and progression are the best parts of Nine Sols, and they manage to rub away the blemishes occasionally found in the game's map design and exploration. It's a really great blend of systems from other games with a fantastic revenge narrative. While aspects of the world design and 'Taopunk' style feel mismatched, there is always another enemy around the corner to fight, reminding you just how good the core gameplay is.”

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• 92
  PLAY Zine

  trust 75Jul 11, 2024

  “Nine Sols is truly the revolutionary Metroidvania we were waiting for. Even though it doesn't do anything groundbreakingly new, it is a truly masterful creation. From its elaborate taopunk world, gorgeous art and design, challenging Sekiro-like combat, and remarkable enemy diversity and originality, it is a game that any fan of the genre must experience.”

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• 85
  Indie Games Devel

  trust 73Apr 17, 2026

  “Arriving at the conclusion of the experience Nine Sols offers, what lingers most powerfully is not simply the sensation of having played an excellent metroidvania or a particularly refined action-platformer, but of having traversed a work built with creative awareness and design maturity rare in the contemporary independent landscape. Nine Sols is not only a well-made game: it clearly results from a clear, coherent vision its authors have profoundly understood, a title that knows perfectly what it wants to be and builds every element to serve that precise identity without ever losing compactness along the way. What strikes most is the confidence with which Red Candle Games managed to reinvent itself. Moving from creating narrative and psychological horror to designing a technical, demanding, and heavily mechanical action-platformer would have represented an enormous challenge for any studio, yet the Taiwanese team confronts this change of direction with surprising naturalness. They not only demonstrate an extraordinarily solid understanding of the genre’s rules, but also manage to reinterpret them without sacrificing their own authorial identity. This is perhaps the most admirable aspect of the entire production. On the gameplay front, the title represents probably one of the most accomplished recent interpretations of combat design built on technical precision and rhythm. The combat system achieves the not simple feat of being simultaneously deep, satisfying, readable, and spectacular, offering a demanding but extraordinarily rewarding learning curve. Every important victory, every defeated boss, every finally understood pattern returns that sensation of real growth that only the best skill-based games manage to provide. This is not simply a matter of advancing through statistics or upgrades, but of improving personally as a player, understanding and internalizing the very language of the system. In parallel, Nine Sols also excels in everything that productions of this type normally consider “secondary.” The narrative, for example, surprises through maturity, depth, and relevance, offering an emotional and reflective component that one rarely encounters in titles belonging to this lineage. The game does not settle for being mechanically brilliant: it also wants to tell something, to interrogate itself on larger themes, to build credible characters and moral conflicts. This narrative ambition adds weight and meaning to every clash, transforming Yi’s journey into something far more personal and engaging than simple boss-to-boss progression. Artistically too, Nine Sols manages to leave a very strong impression. Its Taopunk aesthetic is not only an excellent exercise in style, but one of the most original and coherent artistic directions seen in recent years in the indie landscape. Every environment, every character, every architectural structure contributes to building a unique and immediately recognizable imaginary, capable of imprinting itself in memory well beyond the actual duration of the adventure. In a sector where many titles risk resembling each other visually, Nine Sols emerges with a sharp and distinct visual personality. Naturally, this is not a universal game, and I think it right to recognize that openly. Its difficulty, the rigidity of the combat system, and the strong demand for technical adaptation make it a relatively selective experience. Not everyone will enter its gameplay philosophy, and those seeking a more relaxed metroidvania, more oriented toward simple exploration or more permissive, may find the title less welcoming than expected. Similarly, the strong narrative presence might not suit those who prefer an exclusively action rhythm without more reflective interruptions. But precisely here, paradoxically, resides one of its greatest qualities: Nine Sols never seeks to dilute its identity to become universally appealing. It attempts no compromises in chasing all possible audiences, does not simplify its vision out of fear of seeming too demanding, does not renounce complexity to appear more immediate. It is a work that prefers to remain deeply itself rather than to become generically pleasing to everyone. And in a market increasingly dominated by cautious formulas, this kind of creative confidence is something extremely valuable. If I were to summarize my final impression, I would say that Nine Sols is one of the best recent examples of how the indie landscape can still surprise, not only through conceptual originality, but through pure executive excellence. It does not completely reinvent the genre, but takes known elements and assembles them with such competence, personality, and refinement that it manages to elevate them to a higher level. It is a game that demonstrates how quality does not necessarily derive from inventing something never seen before, but from profoundly understanding what one wants to do and executing it with extraordinary precision. We are talking about a title that stands out as one of the most complete, mature, and artistically successful productions of its genre in recent years. An intense, refined, demanding, and memorable experience, capable of leaving a mark both on the gameplay front and on the emotional and visual one. It will not suit everyone, but for those willing to embrace its philosophy it represents without doubt one of the most gratifying and brilliant experiences the landscape has recently offered. Absolutely recommended.”

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• 65
  J

  JetsonPlaysGames

  trust 73Jun 13, 2026

  “Nine Sols feels at odds with itself, trying to tell a more traditionally constructed story while also trying to appease the “lore sickos” of the world.”

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• 93
  Pizza Fria

  trust 70Jan 2, 2025

  “Nine Sols is a game that deserves our attention, regardless of whether we already enjoy the genres that make it up or not. Everything was done with so much care, and skill I must say, that the title easily manages to captivate and hold us until the end.”

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• 90
  Prima Games

  trust 70Jun 10, 2024

  “Nine Sols is a brutal action title that’s full of heart and a clear vision. Its refined combat system centered around parrying forces players to sharpen their reflexes and deflect their way to victory.”

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• 90
  Push Square

  trust 69Nov 29, 2024

  “Nine Sols will test you, but the atmosphere is stunning, the combat is thrilling, and the story is a fascinating mix of mysticism and sci-fi, so you'll meet the challenge happily. This is the best Metroidvania out there right now. Don't miss it.”

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…and 44 more tracked reviews.

1. [bbde385f] Patch Notes

   Dec 16, 2025
2. [953572b] Patch Notes

   Nov 4, 2025significant · resets scoring window
3. Nine Sols Prequel Manga Update - Nine Sols: The Way of Lear – Prelude Part 3

   May 5, 2025
4. Nine Sols Prequel Manga Update - Nine Sols: The Way of Lear – Prelude Part 2

   Apr 30, 2025
5. [5035232c] Patch Notes

   Mar 11, 2025
6. [6594b9f] Patch Notes

   Mar 10, 2025
7. [7c478ba3] Patch Notes

   Feb 19, 2025
8. [49a1a4dc] Update Notes

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9. [e026815e] Patch Notes

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10. [1801f2b7] Patch Notes

    Jan 16, 2025
11. [687084df] Patch Notes

    Jan 3, 2025significant · resets scoring window
12. [a4d7b303] Patch Notes

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13. [d6707277] Patch Notes

    Dec 31, 2024
14. [e8b8ff2d] Update Notes

    Dec 30, 2024
15. [557ca72f] Patch Notes

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16. [056b6737] Patch Notes

    Nov 14, 2024significant · resets scoring window
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20. [a39834c4] Patch Note

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21. [12e21179] Patch Note

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22. [553f8031] Patch Note

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23. Localization Update

    Sep 2, 2024
24. [49934f97] Patch Note

    Aug 19, 2024
25. [4608f298] Patch Note

    Aug 14, 2024
26. [56d19756] Patch Notes

    Aug 13, 2024significant · resets scoring window
27. [96266fc] Patch Note

    Jul 31, 2024significant · resets scoring window
28. [b7ca1880] Patch Note

    Jul 23, 2024significant · resets scoring window
29. [e9bad087] Patch Notes

    Jul 19, 2024
30. [ad9d9939] Patch Note

    Jul 18, 2024significant · resets scoring window
31. [64af447d] Patch Note

    Jun 26, 2024significant · resets scoring window
32. [7fa8f8e6] Patch Note

    Jun 18, 2024significant · resets scoring window
33. [e554ba4e] Update Notes

    Jun 14, 2024significant · resets scoring window
34. [fe684f4d] Patch Note

    Jun 7, 2024significant · resets scoring window
35. [ba19c03b] Patch Note

    Jun 6, 2024significant · resets scoring window
36. [c610cddd] Patch Notes

    Jun 4, 2024significant · resets scoring window
37. Patch Notes

    Jun 4, 2024significant · resets scoring window
38. Nine Sols｜Solutions for Game Crashes and Black Screens

    May 30, 2024
39. [bde6a87] Patch Note

    May 30, 2024