In order to get back into the swing of things after that pretty long hiatus, I wanted to highlight and talk about some of these indie games that I came across, and that I’m sure some of you may have missed. One of them is Nine Sols, a lore-rich, hand-drawn 2D action-platformer featuring Sekiro-inspired deflection-focused combat.

In New Kunlun, hero Yi has awakened the 9 rulers of this forsaken realm. To defeat the 9 Sols in the deserted city.

“Becomes one with the way of Tao…”

New Kunlun, the Solarian’s last sanctuary, has remained quiet for centuries. Inside this vast realm, the ancient gods left mortals with a promised land that is forever protected by the sacred rituals, yet the truth of this world remains unknown to most. Everything changes when Yi, a long forgotten hero from the past, is awoken by a human child.

Follow Yi on his vengeful quest against the 9 Sols, formidable rulers of this forsaken realm, and obliterate any obstacles blocking your way in Sekiro-lite style combat. Explore in unique “Taopunk” setting that blends cyberpunk elements with Taoism and far eastern mythology. Unravel the mysteries of an ancient alien race and learn about the fate of mankind.

Features

• 2D Sekiro-lite Combat: Slash, deflect, charge into enemies and blow them up with the Taoist talisman! Each fight combines fast, brutal action sequences with classic platforming mechanics.
• Intriguing Boss Fight: Ready yourself to fight the vicious ancient guardians and gruesome creatures. Be patient and utilize every move in your arsenal, mix up with Yi’s godly bow to defeat these larger than life figures.
• Taopunk Setting: When cyberpunk clashes with Taoism, melding sci-fi elements with eastern mythology/fantasy, the experimental genre of Taopunk was born.
• Exploration: Traverse in the interconnected regions of New Kunlun. Discover secrets, piece together the story behind Yi’s revenge.
• Aids from inhabitants: Meet interesting NPCs of this world and interact with them to receive upgrades, gain new abilities, and discover useful technology.
• Hand-drawn Environments/Animations and Manga: Nine Sols is filled with meticulous hand-crafted, anime-style landscapes, sprite-based hand-drawn animations, blending with Japanese manga-inspired cutscenes.

I got a chance to try out the demo, which I enjoyed. The Sekiro comparison is certainly warranted as timing and countering/parrying your opponent makes you feel like a badass when you get it right. Not to mention it is essential to survival as you traverse across this cybernetic land. The art style is really cool, very anime-esque in every way. I’m hoping there’ll be more abilities to unlock as you get stronger, to complement the counter-system a bit more. I’m saying this because aside from the sekiro counter, the game offers basic attacks and that’s it.

In terms of difficulty, it’s hard to gauge whether most people will be able to pick it up and have fun,m without feeling overwhelmed. For me, it wasn’t that hard so I’d imagine that it should be relatively easy for people to pick it up without issues. Overall, I’m looking forward to seeing more of Nine Sols.