Close to the Sun Reviews

Close to the Sun is ranked in the 23rd percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
6.6 / 10.0
May 21, 2019

Close to the Sun is a hugely ambitious title from such a small team. It doesn’t quite stick the landing but it’s a (mostly) great experience and one that sci-fi horror fans will enjoy.

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6.5 / 10.0
May 23, 2019

Fair trading but short walking simulator on a mysterious ship complex created by Nikola Tesla.

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GameMAG
Top Critic
5 / 10
May 26, 2019

Close to the Sun could've been a really cool adventure game, but boring riddles and predictable plot with a crumpled finale are like a cold sobering shower to the player.

Review in Russian | Read full review

3 / 5
May 28, 2019

Close to the Sun wants to be Big Important Art, but it tries so hard to be Big Important Art that it undercuts itself.

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TheSixthAxis
Steve C
Top Critic
6 / 10
May 30, 2019

Close to the Sun manages to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. The early parts of the game establish a genuinely interesting narrative and world before the later parts throw most of this away in favour of repetitive and dull chase sequences. The narrative remains interesting enough to keep you playing and there's some strong character development, but the ending comes as a relief rather than a reward. It isn't a disaster but it is a missed opportunity.

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Jun 17, 2019

It seems like the narrative is supposed to carry the day, what with the gameplay being rather uninspiring. However, after a little under five and a half hours, I got an ending which left several plot points unresolved and felt like sequel bait. There’s little reason to go back to it, outside of finding the collectibles. Even then you can’t see them outside of when they’re picked up, so it’s just for those desperate to say they accomplished everything. In the end Close to the Sun is a competently made game, but one with more style than substance. Its backstory and setting end up being the most engaging parts, with little else to keep the player slowly jogging deeper into the bowels of the Helios. For $30, there are more fulfilling and better executed experiences to be had.

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7 / 10.0
Oct 3, 2019

Overall, I found Close to the Sun very enjoyable and, to be frank, it has been a long time since a game has grabbed my attention enough to not only complete it but do so in such a timely manner.  The ending of the game did leave me with some hopes for a continuation or at least a standalone DLC to explore the other angles of the story only hinted at. Currently, I find myself wondering what exactly does Tesla and rose to do in the future and how do they do it!

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Screen Rant
Camden Jones
Top Critic
Oct 29, 2019

Storm in a Teacup's Close to the Sun has quite a few flaws, but its unique, Nikola Tesla-inspired setting provides lots to love.

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6 / 10
Oct 29, 2019

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.

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8.5 / 10.0
Oct 29, 2019

If you’re looking for a narrative-focused horror game which isn’t ‘too’ scary, Close to the Sun is for you. Visually the game looks beautiful, despite the piles of body parts and blood-soaked walls, with the Helios’ decorations being a brilliant replication of Art Deco interior design with a hint of Steampunk engineering. The story will have you hooked, as you go out of your way to fill in the blanks and find all of the hidden collectables, bringing you to a conclusion which I hope spawns a sequel at some point in the future. Despite the issues, which I mentioned in my review, the overall experience is one which shouldn’t be missed regardless of whatever platform you prefer to play on.

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Unscored
Oct 29, 2019

Despite the problems with the Switch port of the game, it’s still a game I’d recommend to horror fans, sci-fi fans, and yeah, BioShock fans.

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Oct 29, 2019

It's a game that wanted to be Icarus and fly, ahem, too close to the sun, but couldn't even manage to get too far off the ground.

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7 / 10.0
Oct 29, 2019

Close to the Sun is a smart narrative adventure, but some of its elements ruin the tension of its well-crafted world.

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6 / 10.0
Oct 29, 2019

Overall, I have pretty mixed feelings about Close to the Sun. I love the setting and the atmosphere, but the technical problems, chase sequences, and lack of story cohesion ultimately left me wanting.

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5.5 / 10.0
Oct 29, 2019

A frequently beautiful and atmospheric horror effort boasting an evocative setting, Close to the Sun finds itself almost wholly undone by plodding exploration, eye-rolling puzzles and detestably sloppy chase sections that utterly fail to exploit the game's strengths.

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70%
Oct 29, 2019

A very competent, well-made survival horror adventure with clear BioShock inspirations, Close to the Sun is a smart and compelling game marred only by some ill-advised showing of naff monsters.

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6.5 / 10.0
Oct 29, 2019

For anyone that plays lots of games, Close to the Sun is sadly not going to impress. While the aesthetics, graphical fidelity, sounds, and backstory does have the means to intrigue a lot of people, I feel that the average avid gamer will drop off after the first hour.

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Nintendo Life
Ross Keniston
Top Critic
5 / 10
Oct 30, 2019

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.

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3.6 / 5.0
Nov 4, 2019

Close to the Sun is certainly an enjoyable journey, one that does include some jump scares and horror moments along the way while exploring what is a bit of a disturbing view on an alternate timeline.

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6 / 10.0
Nov 6, 2019

I don’t know how simply I can put this: Close To The Sun is brilliant. I’ve already gone back to play it and I’m still getting caught out by the jump scares and the wrong-turns when being chased. It’s bloody fantastic. The game encompasses all of the best parts of survival horror games, brings to life alternate realities with adaptations to non-fictional characters such as Tesla and his wacky inventions, and really grips you with the storyline. If you haven’t already got hold of it, go and get it. However, I can’t just let the graphical deficiencies slide, so as much as I like the game and I do recommend it, I’ll be giving Close To The Sun a Thumb Culture Silver Award!

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