Mouse trap
What to compareNine Sols flowingSekiro-like 2D combat and layered metroidvania exploration to?
The eternally sequel-lessHollow Knight?
The punishing roguelite trappings ofDead Cells?
2D Souls-nuzzlingSalt and Sacrifice?
And for a game that murdered me with such relentless frequency, Nine Sols made me feel invincible.
Technically, youre a Solarian, one thats made home in the realm of New Kunlun.
Its a place that hides dark and painful secrets beneath its apparent beauty.
Ornate East Asian architecture gives way to dystopic industrial runoff, and hellish cybernetic factories await underneath tranquil pagodas.
Go kill them, won’t you?
Yis moveset starts modest.
Stay sharp, and combat becomes an invigorating dance of slashes, deflects, talisman slaps and rhythmic explosions.
Each move feels painstakingly paced to flow into the next.
The game’s own Steam page describes the combat as Sekiro-lite, which pleases me, because a.)
now no-one can shout at me for making FromSoft comparisons and b.)
Sekiro is FromSofts best game, in case you still wanted to shout at me about something.
Luckily, youve got options for when the skies open up and the bumwater poureth.
An air dash (that arguably takes too long to gain) rounds out Yis defensive and traversal options.
Youll find upgrades to that pipe, alongside myriad other trinkets, as you explore.
Levels themselves are teeth-gnashing, incisively constructed gauntlets with plentiful checkpoints, force-feeding you microdoses of pain and triumph.
I love this kick dearly.
Is this just a really good one?
Its both cloyingly charming and unbelievably dark.
But these complaints are but drops of bumwater in an otherwise tranquil and deeply invigorating guzzle of videogame.
Or, yes, a blisteringly difficult combat encounter that lets you feel every bit the skillful murder mox.
Taopunk is how the game describes itself.
This review is based on a review build of the game provided by the developer.
