Close to the Sun Reviews
Granted, the chase sequences are frustrating and the story falls a bit flat, but there's some wonderful attention to detail in Close to the Sun's environments, and tension is present even in the game's calmest moments.
Close to the Sun is a few steps shy of a great narrative-driven horror, but its trite gameplay expels the magic its environments worked to create.
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.
Close to the Sun's bland narrative and lack of challenging mechanics, as well as being light on the scares, makes for a rather dull experience.
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.
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.
While Close to the Sun is a visual treat, it isn't quite matched by the game's substance; it dips a toe in the waters of numerous genres but fails to fully commit to one, and ultimately suffers because of it.
The mystery unravels at a decent pace in Close to the Sun but limited gameplay, some flat characters and a fairly uncompelling narrative make it passable at best.
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.
Close to the Sun wants to be Big Important Art, but it tries so hard to be Big Important Art that it undercuts itself.
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!
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.
Simple puzzles and bland chases prevent Close to the Sun from living up to its numerous inspirations. While the game has a decent retro style and an intriguing horror narrative, it never makes the player a true participant.
At the end of the day, Close to the Sun is the exact opposite of what its name implies. It's not aiming for the sun, and while that also means it doesn't get burned by it, it's such a safe distance away that it doesn't feel like it's even trying. It's unfortunate to say for such a pretty, atmospheric game, but the superb presentation and a decent story are contradicted by slow gameplay that doesn't deliver the satisfaction that the setup deserved. Even at a highly reduced price, Close to the Sun had a lot of promise but ultimately fails to create a memorable experience due to its unengaging and bland gameplay.
An interesting premisal that becomes less and less interesting while you advanced in this 4-5 hours horror adventure, that doesn't excels at anything.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
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.
Bioshock-ish walking simulator. You will remember its nice visuals and disappointing ending.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Close To The Sun is a walking simulator game with interesting storytelling. The story is interesting but that's all
Review in Turkish | Read full review
Conceptually at least, Close To The Sun is actually a really intriguing game. Combining elements of Bioshock, Sherlock Holmes and first person horrors, Close To The Sun attempts to capture the same wonder found in those titles but fails to really capitalize on that as well as it perhaps should. Admittedly, the opening few chapters are pretty good at building up the tension but soon after the game devolves frustratingly into a series of chase sequences and puzzle-platform sections that don’t always work well with the narrative.
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