Close to The Sun
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Über das Spiel
„Die Gegenwart gehört ihnen; Die Zukunft gehört mir.“ – Nikola Tesla
Wir schreiben das Jahr 1897. In internationalem Gewässer treibt die Helios. Am Himmel türmen sich dunkle Wolken auf, während gnadenlose Wellen gegen ihren Rumpf krachen. Gigantische Goldverzierungen voller filigraner Details säumen das Schiff, so weit das Auge reicht.
Die Helios ist eine Vision von Nikola Tesla und dient als Zufluchtsort für geniale Wissenschaftler. Ein grenzenloses Utopia für die Forschung, unabhängig von Staaten und vor den Blicken der Gesellschaft verborgen. Hier lassen sich die Grenzen von Raum und Zeit ungestört überschreiten.
Die Journalistin Rose Archer macht sich auf die Suche nach ihrer Schwester Ada an Bord der Helios. Schnell stellt sie fest, dass nicht alles ist, wie es scheint. Große, leere Flure. Der Gestank von faulendem Fleisch liegt in der Luft. Stille. Ein einziges Wort steht über dem Eingang … QUARANTÄNE!
Systemanforderungen
- CPU: Core i5 / AMD FX 2.4Ghz
- GFX: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 or AMD Radeon R7 260x with 3GB Video RAM
- RAM: 8 GB RAM
- Software: Windows 10
- HD: 50 GB verfügbarer Speicherplatz
- SFX: DirectX Compatible
- DX: Version 11
- LANG: Deutsch, Englisch, Französisch, Italienisch, Spanisch
- CPU: Core i7 / AMD Ryzen 7
- GFX: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 / AMD RX 470
- RAM: 8 GB RAM
- Software: Windows 10
- HD: 50 GB verfügbarer Speicherplatz
- SFX: DirectX Compatible
- DX: Version 11
- LANG: Deutsch, Englisch, Französisch, Italienisch, Spanisch
Steam Nutzer-Reviews
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227 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 18.11.21 00:49
Insgesamt war es ok das Spiel zu spielen, aber man verpasst nicht viel, wenn man es nicht macht.
The Town of Light, hat mir da deutlich besser gefallen. Von demselben Entwickler.
Die Story ist im Grunde ok, aber wurde meiner Meinung nach nicht fesselnd rübergegeben. Kurz gesagt für mich eher langweilig. Es hat viel mehr Spaß gemacht das Schiff zu erkundigen. Die Atmosphäre ist top. Tragisches Feeling. Unterstützt von dem super Soundtrack. Das Spiel ist recht kurz, gerade am Anfang sind die Kapitel kurz gehalten, aber es besserte sich. Dennoch war die Spielzeit genau richtig, gerade wegen der Story her. Da kam einfach nichts groß Überraschendes. Das gewisse Etwas her fehlte mir am Ende dann doch.
+ Atmosphäre
+ Soundtrack
+ Grafik
+ Blut und Verstümmelung Szenen ok, aber gerne mehr davon bitte :)
+ was zu suchen (wobei es recht leicht platziert wurde) und auch am Anfang noch einige Dinge zu lesen, aber das lies von Zeit zu Zeit nach. Vielleicht fehlte gegen Mitte des Spiels die Liebe zum Spiel. Die Feinheiten.
+ Spielzeit kurz, aber für das Gesehene und Erlebte genau richtig
+ technisch keine direkten Auffälligkeiten, paar FPS Einbrüche aber nichts Dramatisches.
+ man kann in einzelne Kapitel zurück gehen um es 100% abzuschließen
+ einfach alle Errungenschaften zu erreichen
+ Jumpscares, aber sie überragen nicht
- Story
- die Steuerung lässt sich nicht konfigurieren. Mir hat es nichts ausgemacht
- das gewisse Etwas fehlte mir
Trotz der vielen Kritik und dann doch deutlich überwiegend positiven Punkte kriegt das Spiel von mir einen Daumen hoch. Denn die Atmosphäre und Gameplay überragten für mich. Story hin oder her. Einfach im guten Angebot kaufen und selbst ein Bild machen :)
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545 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 17.11.21 12:02
Solides Game, leider ziemlich kurz, und komische Lags bei Rennsequenzen, wenig Horror, paar gute Jumpscares, dafür aber gute Atmosphäre im Spiel!
Kann man aber spielen, wenn man auf so Art Spiele steht!
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427 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 06.11.21 17:14
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504 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 27.05.21 18:09
Die Rätsel sind nicht allzu schwierig gestaltet und die Horror-Elemente auch nicht überzogen, einzig die Länge des Spiels fällt eher kürzer aus.
Generell hätten ein paar Spielstunden mehr der Geschichte nicht geschadet, mir hat es aber auf jeden Fall sehr gefallen.
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330 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 14.02.21 13:16
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618 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 08.02.21 08:58
Ja, es stimmt. Das Spiel ist ziemlich linear und man hat, außer den collectibles, nicht allzu viel zu tun. Und trotzdem würde ich es immer wieder kaufen. Das Material war meines Erachtens gut. Falls es eine Fortsetzung geben sollte, würde ich mir diese auch holen.
Gutes Game !
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36 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 01.11.20 23:01
--> Die Epic-Version hat natürlich die gleichen Macken, aber an der kann ich mich austoben, ohne es zu bereuen und ohne das 2h Refund-Fenster zu knacken.
Die Kritikpunkte sind folgende:
- die Steuerung ist nicht konfigurierbar; M+T gar nicht, der Controller hat immerhin vier vorgegebene Profile
- die Performance ist teilweise mies, es gibt Framedrops (Schwenks laufen nicht smooth, sondern ruckeln) TROTZ mittelmäßiger Grafik (s. nächster Punkt) --> mangelhafte Optimierung
- es gibt als Auflösung maximal FullHD 1080p, aber die Texturen sind so SD und der Weitblick so mies (inkl. massivem Kantenflimmern), dass man das Gefühl hat, 720p zu spielen!
- nicht nur kein freies Speichern, sondern auch nur ein- bis zweimal automatisches Speichern pro Kapitel
Das mit der Steuerung ist ein NO GO.
Das alles wurde schon vor Monaten adressiert bzw. das Spiel ist ja schon seit anderthalb Jahren auf dem Markt. Die Entwickler haben sich nicht gekümmert, für mich ist das der größte Kritikpunkt! Damit verdient man sich mein Geld als Kunde definitiv NICHT.
Ich bin über Epic jetzt bei 4 Spielstunden. Bisher ist es schön gemacht und stimmungsvoll. Gute Atmo, schönes Design im Stile eines Bioshocks, gute Synchro, leichte Jumpscares, alles in allem ein wenig Suspense, aber eher noch harmlos, keinerlei Anspannung.
Wenn ich das Spiel durch habe, werde ich mich zum Gesamtlerlebnis äußern. Könnte auch sein, dass die Story abflacht und es am Ende doch nur ein besserer Walking Simulator war. Denn soviel tut man hier auch nicht, der Prolog und die ersten dreieinhalb Kapitel sind als Auftakt ok, da muss aber mehr kommen. Hoffentlich.
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289 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 05.09.20 14:32
Ich bin ein bisschen hin und her gerissen, inwiefern ich jetzt das Spiel bewerten soll, da es definitiv einige Gute Aspekte hatte, aber auch leider sehr viele negative Punkte aufweißt.
Hier einmal die Pros und Contras:
(Hatte den Key von jmd geschenkt bekommen, daher gehe ich auf den Punkt vom Preis nicht ein)
Pro:
+ Wunderschöne Umgebung, Liebe zum Detail.
+ Soundtracks waren gut
+ angenehme Länge
(habe 3.15 Std gebraucht als ich es gestreamt habe)
+ uniques Monster Design
+ OK Story
(wenn man einen Bezug zur Physik hat)
+ Voice Acting war okay
+ (personal Opinion) Soma/Bioshock/Dishonored Vibes
Contra:
- nicht genug Horrorelemente
(die erste Stunde war voll mit Jumpscares, danach gefühlt nichts mehr außer ständig gechased zu werden)
- Die Verfolgungsjagden waren teilweise schlecht designed und nicht optimal formatiert.
- Die Charaktere nehmen sich selber nicht ernst genug
(speziell die Hauptcharakterin, das nimmt extrem den ''Horror'')
- Plottwist war kinda obvs
- OK Story
(wenn man keinen Bezug zur Physik hat)
- Die Hauptcharakterin ist soo fucking langsam, das man meinen könnte sie würde einen Sparziergang machen, wenn sie vor dem Monster wegrennen soll.
(würde es schon fast einen Walking Simulator nennen)
- Gameplaymachanics waren teilweise langsam
Fazit:
Im Großen und Ganzen denke ich, hatte ich trotzdem meinen Spaß beim Streamen.
Es ist jetzt kein Meisterwerk, aber schlecht ist es deswegen trotzdem nicht.
Dennoch finde ich das die Entwickler bestimmt gute Ideen hatten, diese aber nicht sonderlich gut (teilweise) umgesetzt worden sind.
Ich würde dennoch jedem Empfehlen es sich zumindestens anzuschauen, bevor man sich zum Kauf entscheidet.
Das Entwicklerstudio (Storm in a Teacup) ist auf einem guten Weg und sollte auf jedenfall weiter daran arbeiten sich noch weiter zu verbessern und auf jedenfall noch mehr Spiele entwickeln.
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521 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 02.07.20 14:43
Leider hat es keinen sehr Großen wiederspiel-wert, außer für verpasste Errungenschaften :D
Für 14,99€ kann man sich das gönnen
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606 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 08.05.20 20:56
Hab bis jetzt effektiv eine gute Stunde gespielt und muss sagen.. WOW!!!
Sieht aus wie Bioshock, spielt sich ähnlich wie Bioshock...
Die Atmosphäre fängt genauso ein wie damals der erste Teil! Die Steuerung ist gut und macht es einem leicht ins Spiel zu kommen.
Grafik und Ton sind stimmig. Die Story macht neugierig und treibt an zum Erforschen.
Für den Preis eine absolute Kaufempfehlung!!!
Bin so gespannt... Update folgt!
Sorry, muss weiter erkunden...
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201 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 07.05.20 14:05
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22 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 05.05.20 17:26
Und nebenbei erwähnt: Erwartet hier nicht all zu viel Horror. Wenn das Game was in der Richtung bietet, dann ist es pure Atmosphäre und das kann das Spiel meiner Meinung nach sehr gut. Eignet sich also bestens für alle, die nichts mit Jumpscares anfangen können.
Klare Kaufempfehlung, must have!
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207 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 06.05.22 07:20
-A few scenes with blue particles everywhere could cause framerate to drop.
-No manual saves, but since each chapter is pretty short and have several checkpoints so it can probably be ignored.
-Have chapter selection feature, also tell you how many collectibles you are missing in each chapter.
-Audio is more scary than hostiles.
-Some audio are extremely loud and cannot be adjusted, e.g. the piano sound when you left click and start a new chapter.
-The story ends bizarrely and throughout the game I have no idea what's going on.
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386 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 25.03.22 07:59
What caught my interest in this game is because of another game: BioShock. Other than the Art Deco aesthetics on a ruined city with dangerous creatures, some story elements are similar, like the reasoning for Tesla's and Ryan's creation for their utopia in the middle of the sea, you being assisted by a man with a heavy European accent, and even Rose's name is usually associated with BioShock's protagonist name Jack, as in Jack-Rose from the Titanic movie, also set on a ship. The chapters are also named after Greek gods, which BioShock uses in naming their locations.
The level design is beautiful and really screenshot material, with cool areas such as a theater and a Tesla museum. Although many parts of the game takes place in generic hallways and engine rooms, the areas not in those categories usually takes your breath away. The puzzles aren't hard as well, mostly you can get them right by doing a bit of exploration or trial-and-error. I never had to look at a guide to solve puzzles, only collectibles. And the collectibles are unique as well, each chapter has a thematic collectible. Like in one chapter it's passports, then masks, notes, blueprints, etc.
However, CttS has some flaws as well. The most important one being the story. The big mystery teased in the beginning isn't even solved, only lightly referenced and touched upon. It's been almost 3 years since their initial release, and no signs of a sequel. The second issue is the FOV, it's too narrow, and even if you change it to a slightly wider value (I use 70) everything looks a bit stretched. Lastly, I don't really mind the game being too dark, but it also continues a feature I don't really like in BioShock 1 where the characters are almost never seen clearly, usually only from far away. Lastly it's mostly a weird marketing decision, but this game starts being sold on Steam a few weeks after it goes free on Epic. I got this as a gift from a friend, but honestly I was kinda unwilling to buy this here at first.
Close to the Sun is a pretty great walking sim, although I wish it was longer and with the big mystery solved. Get it if you like horror walking sims or simply just a BioShock fan looking to fill that Art Deco hole in your heart. I will absolutely play the sequel if they made one, and hopefully it remedies the issues I addressed.
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313 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 08.02.22 18:39
Then there were also sudden dips in FPS for no apparent reason and you can't adjust brightness in game. My laptop has a decent monitor, but I had to put its brightness to 100% and still some places were too dark. I mean to an extent you could not see a thing even with high brightness. Perhaps shadows were too thick? I do not know.
For aesthetics - 8, maybe even 9 at places with enough light. For the rest - probably a 6. Definitely grab it on discount if you like this kind of steampunk style. For the rest... Maybe if there is a sequel, grab it in a bundle, once it's available.
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433 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 06.02.22 02:01
Story is cool, has an interesting setting with the Tesla vs Edison thing.
The gameplay is very linear, and uses several known tropes that I won't mention here because spoilers. Then there's the chase sequences. These are plain annoying. You have to escape an enemy that's chasing you, having to quickly decide which way to go, often resulting in insta death. The game would be much better without these imo.
Is it bad? No. Is it awesome? Not really. Do I recommend it? Yeah, it's good enough.
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402 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 29.12.21 20:01
If Edith Finch's Adventure, Everybody's gone to the Rapture mystery had any interest... This might pique your curiosity. Sprinkled with lavish Art Deco environment that will make many a gamer reminisce about the glory days of Bioshock. Makes this an atmospheric experience.
But beware, for the people with lack of patience, this game will test you. This is a game that reward slow and relaxed playing. It demands a certain type of explorers. The game will take about 5-6 hours for those who do not rush and take the time to pause and enjoy the splendor of its worldbuilding effort. But for those who hold shift down in a mad dash for the end. It will be a short and not particular enjoyable experience.
At the moment of writing this, it´s purchase price is a low 7.59$ and worth every cent.
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374 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 16.12.21 00:44
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353 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 05.12.21 21:05
There is a lot to like about this game. Strong voice acting, a well paced story and some nice atmospheric, environmental design.
However I have never had a game where I had to set the brightness to maximum to see where I was going before and I really wish I didn't constantly have to hold the run button to get my character moving at a reasonable pace.
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415 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 01.12.21 06:14
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340 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 29.11.21 07:48
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362 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 14.11.21 21:01
However it has chasing scenes so it clearly wants to be more. But there's nothing else. Technically there was a puzzle with two cogs. I managed to do it while half asleep because they had put the cog below the place you were to put it.
It looked kinda cool because I got bioshock vibes, but not like just vibes, actually it felt more like I was playing a game someone who basically just wanted to make bioshock but had to come up with their own story. And then they looked at amnesia rebirth and went with some kind of level design inspired from those. And the story is kinda boring ngl. By the end there was not much mystery left for me, and by the end there's no more notes to read.
Idk man was OK I guess
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362 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 15.10.21 19:34
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528 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 13.10.21 17:08
Many of the inspirations may feel too reminiscent of other similar titles, but enough changes are made to keep the story feeling enough enough to be worth playing through.
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297 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 10.10.21 05:49
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353 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 17.08.21 03:24
Pros:
- Beautiful Graphics (Great for screenshots)
- Attention to Detail
- Convincing Characters
Cons:
- Chapters are short and linear (10 total)
- Some of the dialogue is a bit cheesy and cliche
- Story is a little too reminiscent of Bioshock
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279 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 13.08.21 22:18
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553 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 04.08.21 06:38
Game is on the short side, even when walking is so slow. Looks and sound design is awesome, i really love the style and idea of the game.
Biggest downside is that story felt unfinished.
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353 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 31.07.21 20:04
But the worst offender is the writing. Oh God, the writing is so awful! The dialogues are not adequate to the era that it takes place and we get dumb jokes here and there while there's people dying (in horrific ways). Also, the story is equally dumb and there's a lot of things that stays unanswered (and yes, I did understood the stupid ending).
This studio needs good writers and a new lead gameplay designer, then maybe, just MAYBE there's a good chance that a good game will come out of it.
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71 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 29.07.21 17:13
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEvEWMpkEzI
My Initial Impressions:
With a simple command this works GREAT in VR.
The only issues are Menu's are hidden and you cannot readsome of the text information during loading screens.
This is almost perfect, DEVS please add proper VR support as you are onto a WINNER!
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407 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 28.07.21 00:55
It was eerie at first, the jumpscares were pretty much predictable, the first half was scary but not because of the jumpscares, because of the sound and the atmosphere and you have no idea what happened.
The 2nd half was pretty much predictable. You're not gonna be scared anymore, because you'll start to recognize the pattern.
From the story aspect, it has a pretty good story. Confusing topic to discuss, but good story.
It's a walking, running and a bit of puzzle with hints here and there.
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363 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 09.07.21 21:42
The comparisons to Bioshock are beyond clear, but take away the shooty bang bang and swap the horrors of capitalism for scientific hubris instead, Rather than this being a minus for any reason they're very different games and there's more than enough room for both!
Visually this is a real treat, the setting is vast and awe inspiring, some of the set pieces are hair-raising and I just had a lot of fun playing this. I didn't expect this to be quite as suspenseful as I found it! Some of the horror elements are wonderfully designed.
On the downside, a few sequences are a chore. They're beautiful, they're intense, they're hard as hell. Not that you have do much beyond run from A to B but the tolerance of how fast you do it is so thin that at times it just feels like a coin flip between life or death. One wonderful sequence that I really really love, has one area where the clear way to go is the wrong way, and you're meant to double back on yourself, but there's no indication of this, you just can't quite make it the way you think you have to go, after half a dozen deaths I found the correct way, it wasn't obvious
Adding to that, death sequences are a bit too long. They're great but with the ease of how frequently you can die, they're far too long for comfort to see over and over!
The game will absolutely max out your GPU regardless of model, turning resolution or settings down actually decreased performance! It was still quite playable on my 1060 by myself but it's desperation to hog it meant that I couldn't stream it properly. Bizarrely disabling my webcam entirely and only having the game capturing at 30fps made it playable and streamable, but turning the camera back on had it slam down to 4-10fps on stream!
Finally, the story feels like it's unfinished, like it's set up for a sequel but.. not? Like you're meant to work out what the missing pieces are but I feel there's too much unexplained, though what is present is really good. Very strange!
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522 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 07.07.21 10:57
He build the largest Ship on the World. The Helios (Greece God of the Sun)
He gather the best Scientist on the World (remind me on BioShock Rapture, Black Mesa/Half Life 1 & Prey)
But even the smartest People cant prognose the Risk & Danger of new Territorys.
So something went terrible wrong.
You have 10 Levels + small Prolog. First 2 Levels are short and you can explore Newspapers & collect Collectables with little easy Puzzles. Than you meet Ludwig the Psyco. First you need to sneak & than to run. Later there are Exo Monsters & a Traitor (Nikolas Tesla the Devil?)
+++ Graphics & Design are very good & fitting (for Indie Game, A+- A++ Game)
- Corpses looking really bad
- Resolution Problems. I had even a very few Laggings & short Freezes
- its really sometimes to Dark (and no Option to fix it)
++ good Sound (German Speaker, Sound Effects)
++ nice Jump Scares in the early Levels (sadly its more missing in the later Levels)
+++ easy 100 % Achievements if you dont miss any Collectable
++ Story is fine with Letters & Toilette Paper Thief Joke (Corona was here too?)
+ 11 Trading Cards (5 would be perfect, 6 still good, 7 fine, 8 to much, but at least it has some)
- Game is very Short if you rush trough without Collectables and Reading Letters its done in maybe 3-5 Hours ( i didnt read all Letters)
- some chases are very short and only a few of it and its hard to get the right way & the Tesla Tower Electric Run is even frustrating what to do, where to go, u ned a good lucky timing of going & than running because if you run only without save place you are dead to 99 %
After all i really enjoy this Game since i get it cheap on a Bundle & reminds me on good Times on Bioshock
Buy it on a Sale. 30 Euros are to much for Game Length of a few Hours
I hope you enjoy it like me till Bioshock 4 is coming (hopefully soon)
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249 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 24.06.21 01:29
Be aware that some of the visuals are gruesome and the game is very demanding to run.
Total size on my hard-drive: 20.4 GB
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252 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 02.06.21 18:19
This describes this game, also Bendy and the Ink Machine, but of course it most of all describes Bioshock.
This game is VERY Bioshock, but without combat. Hell, it even has the same clashing voiceover character dynamics like Bioshocks Ryan vs Atlas.
Does this mean I dislike the game? No it is pretty good. And it's environments are really well done. But it puzzles me why someone would take so many different aspects of another game and just re-create them as a new game. This game adds nothing new to the Bioshock formula, it only removes some aspects to make it into a sometimes walking simulator, sometimes Outlast style horror game.
But hey, if you love Art Deco and Art Noveau style design, I'm sure you'll enjoy exploring this world.
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671 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 29.05.21 22:15
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301 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 24.05.21 06:04
The plot is an exceptional letdown. There was enough story given to lay a solid foundation, but it was barely explored at all. Character motivations don't make any sense, and some actions taken are even more confusing. The player is required to suspend a substantial amount of disbelief while playing through this game, and by the time I had gotten through chapter 4 or 5 of 10, I was completely disinterested in what was being presented. I gave the game the benefit of the doubt and continued playing only to end up disappointed.
I also had issues dropping frames. There were pregnant pauses throughout the game, and large lag spikes when entering an open area for the first time. If too many light echos spawn, the game would grind to a halt. I’m playing with a 5700 non-xt on 1080p, so this should play like butter. But even during the ending credits, I couldn’t get the names to scroll smoothly; every few seconds a few lines sputter out before going back to a regular crawl.
This game has a lot of good going for it, but the issues are so overwhelming that they’re really not worth mentioning, and I can’t recommend playing it. If you’re curious about what this game is like, there’s a 3 hour longplay on YouTube without commentary. It’s a much better experience watching someone who knows what they’re doing walk through the game than it is trying to manage it yourself.
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804 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 23.04.21 23:17
You play Rose - a journalist who has come to the Helios in search of her sister. The Helios is a creation by Tesla to research/provide unlimited energy. Scientists have gathered to participate in his work. Upon arrival, Rose finds the ship in a state of disarray and littered with bodies. Obviously, all is not well in scientific paradise.
I am an adventure gamer at heart and games with extensive combat, tricky stealth, or stressful chases are not my favorite. Close to the Sun had the right balance for me. The ship has been created in amazing detail and there is so much to look it along the way. It is visually stunning and incredibly interesting. There are collectibles in each chapter which I liked because it forced me to explore every nook and cranny. The chase scenes were easily survivable (although it took me several times to find each exit path). There is no combat.
The dialog between Rose and other characters happens over a radio so you do not catch up with either, in person, until well into the game. The story takes place in the 1800's but the realization of Tesla's technology is very much science fiction. The Helios includes a 'Tesla museum' which was really interesting to peruse.
The game does not appear to save mid-chapter, although your collectibles are retained. This meant that some of the trickier chapters need to be played to completion to avoid replay. I should note that the game is very forgiving when you are killed and little replay is required to 'catch back up.'
Hard core action enthusiasts are likely to think this game is too easy. However, for adventurers like me, it is just about perfect!
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272 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 16.04.21 20:03
This game can be considered a long walking sim. You know, those FPS titles that miss the shooter aspect. Our protagonist, Rose, is a journalist. She's on board Helios, this massive ship full of scientists and her sole purpose is to find her sister, Ada. You immediately notice the message written on the wall upon your arrival: quarantine. It seems things have gone awry and once you find the first mutilated bodies you realise this will be a horror adventure. There is also a certain unpleasantness reading quarantine whilst having to go through a worldwide pandemic in real life.
You make contact with Ada through a wireless device who claims she didn't invite you, at all, to the ship. In any case, you are here for the rescue but investigating what science experiment went wrong is also something you'll uncover in the 10 chapters lying ahead of you. No weapons just solving puzzles and surviving various scripted (mainly chase) events. The design elements reminded me of Bioshock - it should also be noted that the game is exceptionally beautiful. I noticed a couple of stutters here and there but nothing that made me stop playing. I also liked the late 19th century setting with its more advanced technology and the Nikola Tesla museum!
And here comes the bad part, the reason why a lot of people feel mixed about the game. The chasing sequences are awful. I believe one in chapter 8 requires precision-perfect turning. You literally have a couple of seconds to press a button and go through the open door. Very annoying thing that requires a lot of trial-and-errors. The game also has some weird greenish spray painting symbols on almost every level as if the developers wanted to indicate something during the development stage. These are mostly hidden but because the game has a lot of collectibles you'll find them.
Close to the Sun starts out great then it becomes even better only to remain a mediocre tale at the very end. The last chapter is especially a letdown but overall it is an interesting game with little replayability. I'm usually biased when it comes to this genre and the Bioshock-esque design also made this an immediatey purchase for me.
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322 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 10.04.21 22:39
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249 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 05.04.21 01:55
A. It is short game
B. It is walking and running simulator
C. It dose not have any horror part
D. The puzzles are easy
E. They story is not that bad
F. It is too dark
That only thing I can say about this game
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501 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 30.03.21 14:33
Gorgeous walking simulator
Good sound effects and voice acting
Strong atmosphere in a Bioshock-like universe (best played in the dark!)
Easy achievements, chapter select available for collectibles you missed, 4 to 8 h depending if you rush the game or do much sightseeing like I did.
=
Performance could be improved: only 30 to 60 fps on an RTX 2070 + 7700K in UWQHD at max settings, however it's a slow paced game so it's still adequate.
Very few checkpoints (a couple per chapter), annoying if you must stop playing in a hurry.
Cramped FOV (but there's worse, like Bioshock 2). It's a design decision according to the devs, so the player feels more oppressed.
Average story.
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Non remappable keys: come on, it should be a basic feature in every game.
It has been an Epic Store exclusive for a year.
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167 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 14.03.21 08:07
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253 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 05.02.21 22:20
Even if your idea for a game is decent, it fails if it resembles too much of... better titles. Close To The Sun is definitely in love with Bioshock, even if genres don’t match. Aesthetics, overall feeling, themes ... even some plot points. Well, Bioshock doesn’t have a monopoly on Victorian steampunk/diesel punk or whatsoever... Yes, indeed, but I had that game in mind, all the time.
Thinking I should play Bioshock instead.
Close To The Sun is a story driven adventure game, walking simulator. The story part never really “clicks”, unfortunately. Undeveloped ideas, lots of pseudoscientific mumbling, no “wow” factor, no plot twists. Brain dead puzzles don’t help. What is a point of an obstacle that 3yo can solve? We all know - adding few minutes of gameplay to 4h game.
There’s like dozens of better games. Just skip this one. It brings nothing new to the “walking sim” genre. It’s a rehash. Dull, uninspired.
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273 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 29.01.21 23:17
is a total game breaker. I'm not one to redo scenes and levels repeatedly. I know when a game is sadistic in that respect and here's a great example. And for that major reason alone
I can't recommend this.
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988 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 25.11.20 23:33
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555 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 25.11.20 19:00
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925 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 25.11.20 16:00
Introduction
After a certain point, ambition and hubris mix and form a deadly concoction. The myth of Icarus and his tragic demise can be summarized as someone who flew too close to the Sun and paid the ultimate price for not heeding to advice and common sense. I’ve had my fair share of walking sims, yet the one I’ll be covering today is definitely among the finest in a long time. It is the culmination of efforts undertaken by developer Storm in a Teacup (very fond of that phrase) whose journey over the past four years, saw them advance from the light-hearted themes in 2016’s Lantern to the literally dark tones in 2019’s Close to the Sun. After a brief stint as an Epic Games exclusive, we can finally play this mature adventure on Steam and I’ve been looking forward to writing about it on the one gaming platform fully supporting my little reviewing hobby.
Story
If you’re a fan of Nikola Tesla even remotely, I’m sure you heard of this game by now. Even if you aren’t already, it’ll be hard not to empathize with one of the greatest minds of the 19th Century. A visionary and inventor who was sadly obscured and undermined by corporate greed in its infancy at the time. “Edison might have the present, but the future is mine”. Not an exact quotation, yet Close to the Sun is also loosely based on Tesla’s inventions and grand plans that could never come to fruition. The game is a work of science fiction that still has its foundations in a few plausible “what ifs” however. As with most innovating theories, gathering the necessary funding to begin experimentation is the truly difficult phase.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2289609075
Not for our alternate timeline, in which Wardenclyffe (known for its non-operational Tesla Tower) became a highly successful company under Nikola’s careful guidance. Most of the inventor’s blueprints materialized into practical structures including an autonomous ship which could serve as company headquarters away from governmental oversight. Helios (“Sun” in ancient Greek) was not impervious to sabotage and espionage though. Our story begins aboard a smaller transport vessel taking the female protagonist towards the “mothership” and an uncertain destiny. I was fortunately mistaken in my initial assessment of Close to the Sun. You won’t be (re)playing “BioShock minus guns & plasmids”.
Rose Archer boards the Helios at her sister’s behest. A rescue mission ensues, one which holds much higher stakes than anticipated. As far as the narrative is concerned, its originality cannot be contested. It is indeed a “walking simulation” that will have you frequently running for your life, followed by more relaxed sequences in which you can take in the sights, so to speak. Retrofuturism melding with the macabre elements of a still unfolding tragedy. Since this is a Tesla inspired Sci-Fi tale, it couldn’t dispense with wireless electricity or interdimensional travel after all. The dev team spent a lot of time creating auxiliary reading materials in-game, which manage to paint a vibrant picture of the late 19th Century in stark contrast with the violent reality of the early 20th that was slowly starting to catch up.
Graphics
Ceasing all praise for a moment, as the technical difficulties of the inherently unstable Unreal Engine 4 were coupled with some questionable stylistic choices in regards to the overall illumination of the level design. In other words, it gets far too dark more often than not. The “abandoned facility” trope doesn’t need to go to such lengths, especially since we aren’t provided with a personal light source that could be carried by the heroine. In some ways, I’m glad this isn’t a hunt for flashlight batteries since that gameplay mechanic was done to death. Turning the brightness up a notch or two also won’t really cut it. There’s plenty of beauty in Close to the Sun and it gets partially hidden in plain sight. Regardless of that, I still managed to capture over a hundred screenshots, half of which will make the final cut on my Steam profile once any potential spoilers have been dealt with. Going for resolutions over 1080p will invite unavoidable frame rate drops unless you’re sporting a beefy GPU. UE4 standard fare, sadly.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2293404912
Audio
Both a capable soundtrack and the convincing voice acting, further breathe life into Close to the Sun. Accents are spot on and there are occasional attempts at (black) humor which manage to break the rather gloomy tone of those ongoing events aboard the Helios. Each chapter has its distinct theme which transcends the visual section as instrumental songs were carefully selected to fit the same pattern. This in my opinion usually marked a clear difference between indie gaming and AAA projects with far deeper pockets. A pleasant surprise to see the “AA type” aiming ever higher. Same as with the midrange segment of certain Tech sectors bluring the definition of high end nowadays. Sounds are definitely not as subdued as those pitch black corridors you’ll be traversing a lot.
Gameplay
Eleven levels split into a prologue and ten chapters taking you on a trip across most areas of interest aboard Tesla’s floating laboratory. The sheer size and complexity of its sectors, reminds me of modern day ocean liners and in a strange twist of fate, quarantine has stricken both the real life counterparts and the ship simulated in our game. A descent into madness followed by attempts to salvage research from the Helios, you’ve got your work cut out for you as becoming prey to the…object of study can have terminal consequences. Thus, the gameplay is diversified enough to move past the subgenre misconceptions. You can stick around and admire art works or architectural elements reminiscent of Greek mythology, yet you also have a clear set of goals.
The pacing suffers few impediments along the way, as chase sequences replace the few jump scares found in the first chapters. Of course there are a some horror elements at play here, yet they’ve been combined very well with the overarching Sci-Fi themes involving a few conspiracies as well. As I mentioned before, you will have plenty of stuff to read from newspaper headlines, internal memos or posters and blueprints. Attention to detail is obvious and there are references to period-appropriate events as expected. The lack of a manual saving option did annoy me enough to consider it a weak point since some of those levels are quite large and warrant a break. Autosaves at the start of each chapter (and a few before certain encounters), simply aren’t enough for this title.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2297501330
Verdict
While I can’t go into details, the ending pretty much spells out the desire for a sequel and I can only hope the dev team can deliver upon that subtle promise. Still a cliffhanger conclusion which leaves far too many questions unanswered. Cthulhu knows for how long we’ll have wait until Close to the Sun 2 might surface on Steam in this day and age of “PC platform exclusivity”. One thing is crystal clear though: Tesla’s vision makes for one hell of a ride! It’ll probably be worth the wait and asking price. One leaf in, one thorn out.
Strong Points
+ Beautiful visuals and sounds.
+ Steam Achievements & Trading Cards.
+ Original story backed by historical elements.
Weak Points
- Level design is literally too dark.
- No manual saving system.
- Cliffhanger ending.
Rating 75/100
Zitat:
This article was submitted for Imperial Reviews. The review copy was bought by the author through a bundle. Following my Curator Page, will help me keep publishing new reviews as soon as I can. I appreciate your support!
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355 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 20.11.20 21:00
My only real grievances are the massive changes in fps I was getting from one setting to the next, and the fact that the game ends in a way that makes me think it's only the first half of the game. In total, 6 hours of gameplay and I was done. Not too bad for the price, but could definitely do with a proper ending and longer run time.
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481 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 08.11.20 09:24
Beautiful design, vast areas as good as anything AAA games can produce. The moment you walk into the theatre, you realise they went all out here. Fun characters and a setting cribbing hard from Bioshock. You play the sister of one of the researchers on a boat responding to a call for help and once you arrive on this bastion of free thought and research you realise, predictably, it's all gone to hell in a hand basket.
The controller could use a bit of work though, the contextual stuff was too precise making it hard to do things quickly. A little more leeway in where you were pointing could have helped especially in the chase scenes. ★★★★ 1/2
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364 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 08.11.20 06:43
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220 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 07.11.20 11:40
Graphics aren’t everything, obviously, but when a game’s overall aesthetic pulls you in once you start it your expectations are raised.
The greatest shortcoming is that there is no sense of a world to explore. The Helios divides into small, tight chapters, through which there is essentially one obvious path.
At first glance Close to the Sun looks like a BioShock clone. The art deco, the premise of the Helios and its scientific minds, the temporal experiments, and some specific story points in the game are straight out of BioShock and BioShock Infinite. The game publicly available fact sheet even bears the disclaimer that this game is not BioShock.
Like other horror games it has a number of puzzles for you to solve. More often than not, though, these puzzles are as elementary as finding a piece of paper with a code and then using that code on a door panel. As for the horror part, Close to the Sun manages to give you tense and shocking moments that are brief and fleeting. There are a few jumpscares, naturally, as well as audio cues and sound effects that might keep you on the edge.
This protagonist is one of the few positive parts of Close to the Sun. Her voice actor gives a solid performance as a protagonist who’s driven by curiosity.
Sadly Close to the Sun fails to realize its potential by relying on cheap scares and gore without strong atmosphere and narrative to back it up.
THE GOOD
- Likeable protagonist
- High production values
- Solid graphics
THE BAD
- Lack sense of dread
- Week narrative
- Chase scenes are a pain
6/10
DISASTER | BAD | MEDIOCRE | OKAY | GOOD | GREAT | AMAZING | MASTERPIECE
Zitat:
If you like this review, then please consider giving it a thumbs up. I've also reviewed other games that you might find interesting. If so please follow Top of the Chart.
Reviewed on: Win10 Home 64-bit, Intel i7, GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4MB GDDR5 OC, 8MB RAM
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280 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 06.11.20 11:43
For my taste a little too dark, even if i set the gamma pretty high, it was hard to even navigate in some areas.
For my taste it's also too gory, but i guess that's the point of horror games.
The graphics are nicely done, sounds and music are good, the voiceacting is outstanding and really enjoyable.
I liked the twisted story and also the characters.
The gameplay mostly consists of solving little puzzles, exploring and collecting items. At parts it's getting a little stressful because you have to run away from... something...
Negative things i remember were a single crash after about 1 hour of playtime, and that the game kept freezing randomly for a mere second here and there.
Overall it's a good game with an entertaining story, nice visuals and fantastic voiceacting. 19,99€ might be a little too much to ask for, but if you can get it on a 50% sale or as key, i'd fully recommend buying and playing it.
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426 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 01.11.20 23:39
https://youtu.be/amdk40V2GPc
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545 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 29.10.20 21:35
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377 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 20.09.20 23:03
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503 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 10.09.20 17:56
I don't go into plot detail much but the story on this one is you are a journalist (Rose) boarding Tesla's great watercraft the Helios, trying to find out what happened to her, the crew and the scientists on board. At the end of this one I felt like the story and it's delivery was a high-point that kept me going even when the gameplay started getting a bit samey.
Everything looks and sounds great, plays smoothly and I didn't find anything too particularly janky about this one than crawling through vents and the speed at which that happens is total murder. If you're looking for an adventure/exploration/walking sim focused over a compact experience with some danger of death and challenge added this is a pretty good one to get.
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1682 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 05.09.20 13:20
But this game runs horribly with stuttering and lag. the chases are just running and don't stop otherwise you are dead in other words awful and annoying. Running is slow like drunk and in slow-motion, especially in chases. The graphic settings makes no difference.
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336 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 23.07.20 05:09
- No baked shadows for static object looks horrible
- Useless actions. You can jump but you don't need to jump anywhere
- Stupid items collection which used only to prolong your playing time.
- Ending left you with feeling that it's only a half of way and a lot of questions without answers.
- No cloudsync. If you uninstall your game then you will need to start from the beginning.
+ Good environment design
+ Interesting Story
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583 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 05.07.20 22:05
I do belive this game could be alot more in terms of history and action for has much it looks good graphically ( and that includes the blurriness if you get too close to a window and such ) it is a 50/50 for me to advise someone to buy it at full price .
Ps : do relase a dlc for that ending it was pretty bad in my opinion .
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399 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 18.06.20 03:33
I Love games that are inventive and fun. I don't play games, Usually with a controller.
This has controller enabled and I was having trouble figuring out the keys for actions.
The controller became my friend. I was able to move around for the first few hours like a wild drunk.
But then the controls made sense and I was able to move less like a drunk.
I have real issues with controllers, but that did nothing to dampen my fun with Close to the Sun.
This game is stunningly beautiful.
It isn't restrictive and clumsy like a controller game.
The game thats so beautiful you forget everything, at least I did.
You'd have to play it to see what I'm talking about.
Controls responsive and a bit much for me and the controller, but Really good controls.
Game play is so entrancing I cant even give you a description of the game.
I just know I learned what I needed and the game was kind to a death or two, and a novice, and let you eventually by any difficult places.
Its player friendly but not so easy, you'll wonder what to do for long.
I would give this is a gift, Id get it for my self, and then play it late like I do!
It is that much fun!
The plot centers around a Vessel you are traveling in and Tesla and Edison.
There are a LOT of things that will electrocute you.
The story is so twisted I still havent gotten my head around it; its that convoluted.
10/ 10 for game play
9/ 10 story and game
10/ 10 for the beautiful scenery. Its lush.
Buy this game. I did as a risk and it was a great gamble.
I Dont usually pay full price but this I think was on sale, even if it wasn't I Still would get this game.
Its worth every cent.
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269 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 08.06.20 06:56
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188 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 03.06.20 10:41
The device shown MULTIPLE times in the trailer might as well be nothing as it's just a radio, it isn't used to hack, shoot, stun, detect anything and serves no purpose being in it other than to mislead.
Enemies in this game while looking interesting are encountered 2-3 times and are only you running away in a scripted jump scare where the game is designed in a way to get you killed at least once.
Story wise it is poorly written, you can pretty much guess what is happening as it's an incompletely Bioshock infinite (The third Bioshock)
I would suggest you actually try Bioshock 1-2 if you thick this game looks good and haven't checked them out yourself! This just feels like a poor copy.
If you still don't know how you feel about this game please check out my play through here!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlMLE3zHyZU&list=PL6ICmPsarl3U0BI6Qjwb2cUGOdlSrfaxs
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253 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 09.05.20 17:56
The whole story is extremely predictable and it never tries to impress the player, which can be a pretty good point if you are looking for something simple enough to just pass by a boring evening.
Yes, it's very short and can be completed in one session with a few tea/coffee brakes.
I can only recommend it to grab on sale and only if you are a fan of such type of games.
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268 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 06.05.20 21:52
This review will contain spoilers for the game, if you don't want to know what happens then I recommend seeing a walkthrough for the game as opposed to playing the game.
The game is clearly taking inspiration from Bioshock. However, where that game was able to use the flaws of human nature to demonstrate the down fall of the utopian society, Close to the Sun just has monster. The monsters in the game are described as the antibodies of time, which is a apparently a living organism. This is extremely stupid. First, it doesn't tie into what Bioshock was about. Second, the game never explains how or why time is a living organism. They talk about how they're tapping into other timelines and universes, so why couldn't they saw the creature came from one of these timelines or universes. What's more, the monsters never play a part in the main story. They only serve to be the center pieces of chase sequences. The central conflict of the game is nothing but a set piece.
When it comes to the main characters there is nothing. The only thing you can say about them is just that they are what the game needs them to be. Your sister is a scientist and that's it. Nikola Tesla is a scientist and that's it. The voice on the radio is just a surprise villain and that's it. You are there to drive the plot and that's it. The game mentions how you're a reporter and when you find the interrogation room you even say how your editor would love this. You being a reporter is meaningless as non of that translates into game play or the narrative. Even the surprise villain is done wrong. Through out the game you learn that Edison had sent spies on board the ship. The surprise villain how ever isn't a spy, he's a disgruntled scientist that was knocked down a peg when your sister came on board. The entire cast of characters you interact with are nothing but hollow and empty.
Finally what I want to talk about is the time travel. You first go to meet your sister after you get a letter from her only to realize she hadn't written it yet. As you go through the game you get notes in the pneumatic tubes that are letter revealed to be sent from your future self. When the game ends however, you never perform any action that would lead to those events happening. It's likely that it was kept that way to tease a possible sequel. As it stands, nothing about this game is worth your time or money.
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Release:02.05.2019
Genre:
Horror Action-Adventure
Entwickler:keine Infos
Vertrieb:
Wired Productions
Engine:keine Infos
Kopierschutz:keine Infos
Franchise:keine Infos
Einzelspieler
Mehrspieler
Koop