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Nine Sols — a hand-drawn taopunk action game with Sekiro-style deflection
Nine Sols is a 2D action-platformer from Taiwanese studio Red Candle Games, released on Steam on May 29, 2024. The studio is best known for its atmospheric horror games Detention and Devotion, but here it switched gears into a hand-drawn metroidvania built around deflection combat. The story unfolds in a world the developers call "taopunk" — a blend of Taoism and cyberpunk where ancient Eastern mythology meets science fiction. Buy from us and you receive the full game as a Steam gift straight to your account.
What the game is about
You play as Yi, a warrior of the ancient Solarian race who awakens centuries later with a single goal: revenge. The story takes you through the ruins of a once-great civilization where you must face nine powerful Sols — hence the name Nine Sols. This isn't a silent platformer: the narrative comes through dialogue, lore notes and cutscenes, and the characters are layered and morally ambiguous. The atmosphere rests on hand-drawn animation, Eastern aesthetics and a strong soundtrack.
Combat: parry, break balance, finish
The heart of Nine Sols is combat inspired by Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Mindless swinging gets you nowhere. You catch enemy blows with precise deflections, build up pressure and, at the right moment, break their balance to land a powerful finisher. A signature tool is the "binding talisman": a mark you place on foes and detonate. Boss fights are the real test of rhythm: each boss demands you learn its attacks and timings. If you enjoy parrying in Sekiro or melee in Hollow Knight, Nine Sols feels like their spiritual 2D successor.
Exploration
As a proper metroidvania, the world of Nine Sols opens up gradually. You find new abilities that unlock previously unreachable areas, backtrack to old locations and open shortcuts. The map is dense, full of secrets, upgrades and side zones for completionists. Between fights there's breathing room: a hub area where you can talk to characters, upgrade and catch your breath — a welcome counterweight to the tense boss fights.
What you get
This is the full base version of Nine Sols with nothing cut — the complete story, every boss and all the content of the main game. Delivery is via Steam Gift: after payment our bot adds itself as your Steam friend, sends the gift, and automatically removes itself once delivered. All you do is accept the gift in Steam — the game lands in your library and is yours forever, just like a regular purchase.
Gift region — important
The gift is regional and available across 47 regions. The key condition: your Steam account region must match the gift region, otherwise Steam simply won't let you accept it. So when ordering, honestly enter your account's country in the "Region" field. The second mandatory condition is that Nine Sols must not already be in this account's library: Steam won't accept a gift for a game you already own. Steam Guard does not have to be enabled — your profile just needs to allow friend requests.
How delivery works
It's simple. You provide your friend invite link (copy it from your Steam profile) and your account region. After payment our bot sends you the request, delivers the gift and leaves — you don't need to accept the friend request manually. Delivery usually takes a couple of minutes, but we don't promise hard deadlines: rare delays happen, as with any service like this, and we do our best to fix them quickly.
Difficulty and accessibility
Nine Sols is genuinely challenging, but it never punishes for the sake of it. The game is built on learning: each death teaches you the timing of a specific attack rather than feeling random. For players who struggle with hardcore rhythm, the settings include assist options — such as adjustable incoming damage — so even people who usually avoid soulslikes can ease in. On PC the game runs through Steam, plays well with a controller and runs nicely on Steam Deck, which is handy for a combat system this timing-dependent on the go.
Who will enjoy Nine Sols
It's for players who love demanding but fair reaction- and timing-based combat, and who appreciate a strong visual style and rich lore. If you've already beaten soulslikes and metroidvanias and want something fresh in setting, the taopunk of Nine Sols delivers exactly that. Fans of Red Candle's atmospheric work should also revisit their earlier titles. And if you want more 2D melee and exploration, check out Hollow Knight or the soulslike spirit of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.