Nine Sols was released back on May 29th, 2024. A wild month that saw 1000XRESIST, Paper Trail, Crow Country, Indika, Hellblade 2, Animal Well, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes and many other highly regarded games released. It had to take a special game to stand out from the crowd, and Nine Sols easily managed to raise its head and sit proudly as one of the best releases of the month. Sitting at an 86 on OpenCritic and an 84 on Metacritic, it opened with favourable reviews and quickly gathered a strong and passionate fan base.
Time has only strengthened that fanbase, with everyone I’ve talked to about the game only having positive things to say. The popularity of the game has finally seen a physical edition release through Fangamer, with Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5 editions now available. We were very kindly sent a copy of the Nintendo Switch standard edition by the publisher, which we will delve into shortly.
Front and Back cover of the Nine Sols Physical
Nine Sols is a 2D action platform game developed by Red Candle Games that is set in an Asian-fantasy-inspired futuristic world. The developers have described this as “Taopunk” – a combination of Taoism (a Chinese religious tradition) and cyberpunk with a clear goal of combining these to create a game with sci-fi elements mixed with Eastern mythology that’s shown in gorgeous hand-drawn visuals.
The game focuses on Yi, who’s out to defeat the Nine Sols. This is carried out through melee combat, platforming and parrying. With many abilities to gain and movements to master, Nine Sols is a masterpiece of game design – especially when you consider its challenging platforming and combat. It’s become a firm favourite for many and has become a shining example of the genre.
It was inevitable that physical merchandise would appear based on the success of the game. Fangamer stepped in to produce a range in 2025, including a plush of Yi along with pin badges and shirts. The newest edition to the range is the physical copies of the game, helping to preserve this magical game for many years to come. With a standard and deluxe edition, there are options for all types of collectors.
16-page instruction Booklet
The standard edition of the game is a well-made package. Arriving in the respected platform cases, it features the game key art on the front cover, with a well-designed back cover, giving you all the relevant information needed, with nicely made accompanying graphics from the game and screenshots, and also features a reversible cover. It comes with two art cards featuring art from the game and a 16-page instruction booklet.
The booklet gives you a prelude to the story of the game, a look at the weapons and skills, a brief introduction to some of the main characters and locations and what may turn out to be a very handy map of the game world with important locations clearly marked. Made from high-quality paper and featuring a smooth glossy look, you could smell the quality when you opened the case. This can be said of the art cards too.
My only disappointment in this edition is the lack of a code for a copy of the digital version of the soundtrack. A staple feature of these physical editions that’s lacking from this one. I can’t even say it was saved for the deluxe version, as it’s also missing from that edition too.
Art cards included in the physical edition of Nine Sols
This deluxe version consists of the same inclusions as the standard edition but also includes an original 16-page epilogue comic from the writer and artist of the game, a collectible coin, a double-sided poster and sticker sheets. We would safely assume these will be made to the same high standard that we encountered in the standard version.
Any game receiving a physical version is a win in our books, and Nine Sols is certainly a worthy addition to anyone’s physical collection. It’s a lovely little package that would only be elevated by the missing soundtrack. Fangamer has produced a well-made, high-quality product that will proudly sit in our library and hopefully in yours too.
The standard and deluxe physical copies of Nine Sols are available now on Nintendo Switch and PS5 and can be purchased directly from Fangamer or from other retail stores.
A huge thanks goes to the publisher for sending us over a free copy of the game.
