Thoughts on Nine Sols, as a vet Metroidvania and Soulsborne gamer

The combat and movement in Nine Sols is extremely crisp. I never once experienced any annoying mechanic that I couldn't directly blame on my own actions.

The boss fights were extremely well done. Each boss fight felt unique (to the other bosses in the game) and was extremely fun. When boss fights are really fun, repeated failures just become a part of an enjoyable journey.

Regarding general combat and movement, I'd rank Nine Sols in the Top 4 metroidvania-like games that I've ever played. Regarding boss fights, this game has the funnest boss fights in any metroidvania that I have ever played.

Here is where I get critical...

The dialogue felt excessive and wasn't captivating to me. I felt the story could be told in a more succinct and meaningful way. After what seemed like an hour of reading insignificant dialogue between Yi and Shaunsaun (sp), I decided that I had read enough and promptly commensed to button smashing to get through the endless walls of text with Shaunsaun. The dialogue with Shaunsaun is not something I expect in a game like Nine Sols, it felt out of place. It is something I would expect in a game like Animal Crossing or My Time in Portia.

I've read a lot of praise for the artwork in Nine Sols, but after playing through the game, I can't say that I share the same opinion. Character artwork felt bland, lacked detail and personality. The environment artwork was marginally better than the character artwork, but I can't say that it breaks into my top 20 metroidvanias, artwork wise.

I enjoyed the musical score quite a bit. The team did a phenomenal job on the music.

The fanbase of the game is... weird, to put it politely. The game's story and artwork style appears to be a magnet for the mentally ill. Some of the themes in the game, were questionable, at best.

Ultimately, Nine Sols is a very fun and challenging game that I would recommend to any Metroidvania gamer. It has easily broken into the top 5 metroidvania games that I've ever played.