CLOSE TO THE SUN

You’re going on a power trip

Alternate history is the perfect writer’s playground. You get all the intrigue and texture of a period setting, without the constraint of the facts. Close To The Sun is set in an alternate reality in which Nikola Tesla’s1 eccentric inventions have all been built and work, the most exciting of which is the Helios, the giant floating laboratory in which this first-person adventure game is set.

You play as Rose, a journalist boarding Tesla’s ship in order to find her missing sister, unaware that she’s about to stumble across a dead crew and a host of dark secrets. Featuring no combat elements, survival on the Helios is all about finding and solving various puzzles before those hunting you down can locate you and end your game. Every room and hallway is scattered with destruction and death, and the silence that follows you around the Helios for large portions of the game only amplifies the tension and atmospheric horror.

With long periods dedicated to exploration, Close To The Sun lures you into a false sense of security before delivering intense jump scares and chase sequences. The story is intriguing and well-paced over ten chapters, often told through beautiful set design reminiscent of 2K’s BioShock games.

While the atmosphere, scares, and narrative are successful, the game suffers from sluggish controls and the odd confusing puzzle. A bit of tweaking to the control scheme2 and some polish to streamline the more unintuitive moments would have been welcome. As it is, this is an electrifying example of atmospheric horror with a few annoying issues that zap the tension. Rebecca Stow

Nikola Tesla is regarded as the father of alternating electric current and the electricity supply system. Storm In A Teacup, please give us a faster movement speed!