In the closing years of the nineteenth century, you assume the role of Rose – an explorative, female journalist in search of her sister, Ada. Setting forth and embarking upon this journey, Rose climbs aboard Nikola Tesla’s Helios – a lavish boat (constructed with art nouveau and steampunk architecture) designed to provide a collective and collaborative space for all sorts of high class scientists and researchers alike. After boarding the ship, it becomes quite apparent that there are hidden secrets left to be uncovered and mysteries to be solved in hopes of discovering what has happened to this remarkable creation. As you dive deeper into this heavily story enriched narrative, you will definitely encounter more than you have bargained for.
Close To The Sun was released by Epic Games on May 2nd for the for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Right off the back, I must admit that the game is absolutely beautiful. Experiencing this indie horror game on my PC at max graphic settings made me feel entirely immersed in the atmosphere that surrounded my character. On top of the visually pleasing aesthetic of the game itself, I was thoroughly impressed with an interesting mechanic that was introduced numerous times throughout the game play of this 10-chapter based narrative. This particular function activated a “chase” sequence, in which Rose must navigate quickly throughout her whereabouts in order to escape her pursuer. However, something just felt particularly off about this game altogether.
While exploring the ship, I was quite disappointed at the lack of creativity involved in the design of each puzzle. Flip this switch, turn this dial, hit these buttons in this combination, so on and so forth. Unfortunately, most of these challenges felt rather simple and repetitive throughout the entire game. Additionally, as a means of expanding the content, storyline, and game play duration, you are able to pick up and analyze artifacts, letters, and additional items, that just felt rather pointless and failed to provide an increased direction for the plot as a whole.
The set designs and interior of the Helios are breathtaking!
Regardless of these minor flaws, I felt like the jump scares were scattered nicely throughout the game and were carefully and thoughtfully placed for their respected scenarios. Plus, having the option to “look behind you” during the many chase events that you encounter is really frightening. DO NOT LOOK BACK; KEEP RUNNING!
The pressure and intensity in these events made the game adrenaline pumping and surprisingly fun – simple, yet most effective! Although these sequences can seem a bit redundant as well, I did enjoy examining the craftsmanship for each death that related to its particular scene. In total, this game took me about 4-6 hours to complete roughly, given that I took my time to look through most – if not all – of the sporadic evidence left behind upon the Helios. Even though I wished for more depth and construction of its gameplay entirely, I do believe that this was a valuable and respectable effort, as well as a large breakthrough in Storm In A Teacup’s game development process.
I strongly look forward to what this company has in store for us next! In the meantime, be sure to give Close To The Sun a shot and purchase it with a $30 MSRP or with an Epic Game’s discount for ONLY $20! If you are interested in this amazing offer, click here!
