Close to the Sun | Recensione (PC)

Here again? Welcome back!

How would you say this is your first time reading this review? Have you forgotten everything? 

Don't worry, the chance of inconveniences like this is unfortunately not that low. Let's start over, without problems. Let me tell you my experience, maybe something will awaken your memories.

An alternate nineteenth century

My sister wrote to me, she wants me to join her on the Helios. Along with the invitation, she left me a headset, which will accompany me throughout my journey towards the goal.

This is all I needed to know before embarking on an adventure on the edge of the unbelievable. Close to the Sun, made by the team of Storm in a Teacup, starts with all the prerequisites necessary to be a little gem.

welcome at board

After being docked, I get on the Helios: the ship wanted by Nikola Tesla to gather some of the most important minds on the face of the earth. Here, thanks to the international waters, the most disparate and ambitious experiments can be carried out without the hindrance of Edison (eternal rival) and his trained spies.

As you can well imagine, great and unexpected revelations await me. The game, almost as if it wanted to meet those who love slowly enjoying a tea in the company of an excellent book, starts slowly.

The protagonist's steps are never too hasty (unless you take advantage of the running mode, but it would be an unfortunate choice). The environments, in fact, deserve to be enjoyed as they are vast and full of charm. The Art Déco that permeates every space launches us strongly in the early 1900s.

Added to this are a number of articles and information regarding Nikola Tesla and his inventions. I was able to enjoy the reproductions of the projects in each place visited: what a sight for the eyes! For the first time in a long time, I regret that a game doesn't have a VR mode.

Music always acts as a background for exploration without being repetitive. And it is precisely because of this calm and delicate atmosphere that even the most harmless scenes end up making me jump with fear. The Helios, in fact, hides terrible secrets that are slowly revealed to me.

The gameplay

After the first part of the game, when I start to feel the need for a change of pace, that's it Close to the Sun cambia marcia. It is not a sudden acceleration, but an increasingly engaging crescendo that drags me towards the end. I recover after a full-immersion of five hours in front of the words “Thanks for Playing”.

To give you a precise idea of ​​what you have already found yourself doing, know that the game has a connotation of a first-person adventure with elements of horror and some action situations

Part of the gameplay simply provides an in-depth exploration of scenarios to be traversed sequentially. This helped me to immerse myself in the setting from the first moments.

In some cases it was possible for me to access new areas and continue with the narrative only by overcoming fairly simple puzzles. For this I found myself in enter codes, retrieve trigger objects, find the keys that open the right doors or activate / deactivate some devices.

The inventory exists, but it is not strictly necessary to interact with it.

The second important part of the gameplay provides, in particular anxiolytic situations, of run at breakneck speed chased by deadly threats. There is no way to fight (zero weapons) and when my pursuers caught up with me, death was inevitable.

I managed to lose your life even by falling from heights and being struck by lightning, flames, and other deadly amenities that I found myself in front of. In some cases, non-fatal damage is taken, but there is no life bar.

Okay, at this point I'm pretty sure you can remember being here once before. I seem to remember that you wanted to know more, perhaps a different interpretation or something that would help you understand better. I can only tell you that maybe the next image will help you.

The protagonist

I must also say a few words on Rose Archer, the protagonist of the story. Thanks to her, in fact, the plot takes on a greater incisiveness. The fears she feels, the anxiety that grips her in some scenes, the sense of fragility and the escape in the face of difficulties have made her alive in my eyes.

If I've had a satisfying gaming experience it's also because of the way she approaches the story. A protagonist with a higher testosterone level would certainly have made different choices, ending up distorting the plot or the very nature of the character.

The plot

As always I find myself in the situation where the plot has such important elements that it would be a crime to spoil something. What I feel like saying first of all is something about sensations. There are films that, however beautiful and full of special effects, end when you get up from the cinema chair or when you turn off the TV. Close to the Sun does not fall into this category.

Once the experience was over, I found myself thinking about it for quite some time, trying to recall to my memory all the details that, at first sight, seemed to me not very influential. I believe that, sooner or later, I will be back aboard the Helios to understand once and for all what happened.

Conclusions

I can't deny that there are smudges here and there. The game to a careful eye reveals a minimum of superficiality in some choices. For some traits she suffers from small drops in pathos linked to the fact that, in the unfortunate event that our protagonist has to perish, she starts playing again a few moments before her seeing her involvement wane. However, it is difficult to imagine an alternative solution to this effect.

Furthermore, the plot is totally straight. We are not faced with big choices and this could turn up their noses to games aficionados at Until Dawn (which has nothing to do with this game, mind you).

Much of the things in the world have a price. And Close to the Sun is worth every penny of the amount required to play it, especially because it may have a longer life than you think thanks to the collectibles you can research and the storyline itself that you may want to explore.

A leaf inside… a thorn outside, never forget that. At least this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMsQ2oB006w&t=