Close to the Sun

Close to the Sun is a harrowing and thoughtfully designed first-person exploration adventure that shows a twisted world in which Nikola Tesla's ideas came to life.

I wish my adventure on the Helios hadn’t ended so abruptly and I feel a wee bit short changed, but I’d still be really pleased if they announced an add-on

While some nicely designed environments, and a scattering of enjoyable puzzles stop this ship from sinking without a trace, Close to the Sun doesn’t manage to reach the lofty heights of ambition it’s clearly aiming for.

Taking clear inspiration from the seminal BioShock series, Close to the Sun promises much but delivers a somewhat lacklustre exploration of a world 'enhanced' by Nikola Tesla's fascinating vision. The horror is ramped up with a tense and unsettling atmosphere, but cheap and repetitive jump scares lower the tone and the rudimentary puzzle sequences provide little in the way of real challenge. To make matters worse, the Switch is far from the ideal system to contain such a visually striking game; while the Helios remains a sight to behold, there's little here to warrant jumping aboard.

All things considered, though, I would heartily recommend Close to the Sun. With some fantastic world-building, an incredibly well detailed and atmospheric setting that's enhanced by a cast of interesting characters with great voice acting. The real issue comes from the lack of replay value, though for those who like to explore the world and story, there are reasons to go back.

The game makes its storyline its main strength throughout its short but intense duration. Although anyone who has played BioShock will undoubtedly notice the similarities, such as the isolated location in the middle of the sea where scientific research knows no bounds, a brilliant and revolutionary experiment gone awry, and the protagonist’s connection to one of the minds behind the experiment, Close To The Sun manages to establish its own identity within minutes, distinguishing itself from the giant created by Irrational Games and showcasing the developers’ great creativity.

Short, sweet, and a solid yarn.  Close to the Sun takes an interesting alt-history setting and is pretty enough to put up with occasionally clunky gameplay.  It’s short at only 3 hours for a full playthrough, so it’s worth giving it a try if you have any interest in the premise.

A good lineal adventure. It lacks in the horror part the suspense Will keep on your toes, the story keeps you tangled and presentation is functional

Close to the Sun successfully crafts a tense narrative and world through visual storytelling.

Close to the Sun has a great premise and gorgeous graphics. However, the execution falls short due to the short plotline, use of jump scares, and clunky movements.