Review for Close to the Sun. PC game, the video game came out on 02/05/2019
If you are troubled to circumnavigate in the middle of the coldest seas ever, surrounded by a mysterious ship full of adversity well, unfortunately, this adventure could terrify you more than you imagine. Yes, with Close to the Sun by Storm in a Teacup they have done an exceptional job on many fronts, among which the narrative sector stands out dedicated to this multimedia work. After making its debut last year on PC, the well-known horror adventure finally arrives on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch thanks to the close collaboration between Wired Productions and the Roman studio.
After having already tested it some time ago on PC, today we will tell you from another perspective the story of Nikola Tesla and the timeless Helios on the little one from Nintendo, analyzing the strengths and weaknesses present in this version of the game. How will the title behave on the hybrid of the big N? It will be able to mirror the wonderful work already experienced on Windows? Raise the anchor, start the engines, a long and dark journey awaits us.
A particular story
Many of you will know quite well the plot present in Close to the Sun, so we will limit ourselves to "refresh" your memory with a small summary of the events that we will face in this all-home adventure. We find ourselves in 1897 in the company of the journalist Rose Archer ready to join her sister Ada on the Helios, a mighty laboratory ship whose existence is due to the misunderstood and genius Nikola Tesla. Our journey begins with the arrival of a letter from Ada who has a request that is not only mysterious, but also quite direct ... Our initial journey, useful both to become familiar with the commands and with the various tutorials present in-game , will lead us to a ship that is at times disturbing and completely abandoned.
Exploring the eerie ship, we will learn of some documents that portray Nikola Tesla as a paranoid madman, eventually discovering that the affair is more complicated than we thought. In this adventure we will be in close communication with Ada who, thanks to a futuristic transmitter, we will be able to talk and make our way through the vast halls of the mammoth ship. Our main purpose will undoubtedly be to reunite with the sister but, in the meantime, we will interact with some characters who will help us in our business.
In Close to the Sun we will be catapulted into a first-person adventure characterized by various environmental puzzles, documents scattered around the game setting and finally by long dialogues that amalgamate the short videogame experience. After a few hours of play, we will gradually discover the interesting script behind the title which, we admit, has quite interesting twists. Despite the twists and turns and the little suspense present in the game, we will immediately understand the events of the entire game plot: yes, the documents present in the game and some dialogues with certain characters they will lead us to immediately understand how the events of Close to the Sun will end. Despite some flaws mainly due to the rhythms with which the game plot is lived, the story present in this multimedia work has nothing to envy to mammoth works present today in the videogame panorama. How will this mysterious story turn out? Find out they buy the title!
Energy flows almost mightily on the Switch
If we can sometimes appreciate the narrative side of the game, we certainly cannot say the same about the technical quality of this version for Switch: unfortunately we must point out that the frame rate afflicts the entire multimedia work in a frightening way, you can even witness some drops even below 20 FPS. Artistically speaking, the title is surprising, especially thanks to the Unreal Engine 4 which, miraculously, shines on the Nintendo hybrid: some architectures are well cared for and will stand out in a positive way in the eye of the player during the gaming experience.
We cannot say the same about the polygonal models of the characters which, we will be honest, they go to recall a generation of consoles now left behind already a few years ago… Nothing sensational eh, but greater optimization would have been useful both to users and to the work itself.
We could also notice a strong pop-up effect when browsing or when loading some slightly larger areas but, unfortunately, this is mainly due to the hardware of the small Nintendo Switch. During our gaming experience, we tested Close to the Sun both in portable mode and in Dock mode, and we were pretty good in both modes: in portability the title defends itself very well despite some graphic defects, while in dock mode the title tries to give its best with its 720p and fixed 30 FPS.
If there is one thing that struck us most during our game session it is certainly the soundtrack present in this work: the music present in Close to the Sun is very particular and always suggestive, accompanying us positively in moments of suspense or during a simple exploration.
Another positive point we dedicate to the dubbing present in-game, which will guarantee you a more unique than rare experience: the quality of the dubbing is nothing short of excellent, but you already knew this. We can confirm and appreciate the willingness of the development team to create and fully believe in one of the most interesting videogame works in the panorama of indie titles.
We are confident that Storm in a Teacup will make up for it with their next title, perhaps with the sequel to Close to the Sun ...
After playing it for several hours, we can assure you that Close to the Sun is an experience to live in all its forms, whether it is portable or home you will live a story full of mysteries, intrigues and adversities. If you are looking for a storyline that will keep you glued for a few hours and you have no problems making compromises related to the Nintendo Switch hardware, we fully recommend this little gem. Close to the Sun will not be the best porting seen on the small one of the Kyoto house, but we assure you that the work done by the team is more than satisfactory. We remind you that the title is available in both digital (eShop) and physical (Limited Edition) versions for the modest sum of € 29,99
For which platform will you buy the title? Have you already had the opportunity to try the game on PC?
► Close to the Sun is a Horror-type game developed by Storm in a Teacup for PC, the video game was released on 02/05/2019
