Nine Sols

Hand-drawn 2D Metroidvania built around precise parries and bosses

RedCandleGames · Released May 28, 2024

Reviews: Very Positive; 94% of 46K
Recent reviews: Very Positive; 94% of 701 in 30 days
Playing now: 513; right now
Steam Deck: Verified
Last update: 9 months ago; Dec 16, 2025

What is Nine Sols?

Nine Sols is a hand-drawn 2D action-platformer set across the interconnected regions of New Kunlun, a world mixing science fiction, Taoism, and East Asian mythology. As Yi, you explore, platform, gain upgrades, and fight with slashes, timed deflections, talismans, and a bow on a revenge quest against nine rulers.

For you if...

+you enjoy demanding, parry-centered combat and multi-phase boss fights
+you want interconnected exploration with upgrades and hidden secrets
+you value hand-drawn art and a dark, story-rich setting

Not for you if...

−you dislike combat built heavily around precise parry timing
−you prefer relaxed difficulty without repeated boss attempts
−you want minimal dialogue and little story focus

What players say

94% of 45,714 reviews are positive · 94% of 701 in the last 30 days

Players most often praise the hand-drawn art, story and setting, music, precise combat, and boss fights. The most common complaints are the heavy dependence on parrying and sharp difficulty spikes, with some players also finding certain bosses repetitive or irritating and the dialogue and backtracking tedious.

Screenshots and trailer

Nine Sols system requirements

As published by the developer.

Minimum

OS: Windows 10 64bit
Processor: AMD Athlon X4 | Intel Core i5 4460
Graphics: Nvidia GTX 950 | AMD R7 370
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Storage: 15 GB available space
DirectX: Version 11

PC version details

DRM, required accounts, controller support and Steam features.

DRM: None declared on Steam
Controller: Full controller support
Platforms: Windows, macOS
Achievements: 35
Steam features: Cloud saves, Family Sharing

Steam Deck: Verified

All functionality is accessible with the default controller configuration
Shows Steam Deck controller icons
In-game text is legible on Steam Deck
Default graphics settings perform well on Steam Deck

Multiplayer and co-op

Single-player

Languages

Text only: English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Korean, French, German, Russian, Ukrainian, Portuguese - Brazil, Spanish - Latin America, Italian, Spanish - Spain, Polish.