Children of the Sun review

Where bullet-time, brainy puzzles, and one bellicose cult survivor collide.

Children of the Sun is rarely what you think it’s going to be – and that’s a very good thing. Initially, you might mistake it for a simplified version of Rebellion Development’s Sniper Elite series. At the beginning of each stage, you’ll skulk around the periphery, marking targets with your rifle’s adjustable scope. Once the protagonist pulls the trigger and fires her solitary shot, you’re treated to the same kind of bullet-cam perspective as the projectile speeds towards its mark.

What follows is more than just another showcase of viscera-gushing, slow-motion spectacle. After contact is made with a target, you can freely re-aim, as you attempt to generate a wild succession of ricochets that mow down an entire faction of cultists. Kill the entire squad, and you’re treated to an overhead replay of your ultraviolence, which usually resembles someone connecting stars when outlining a constellation. I didn’t expect homicide to look so pretty.

Spatial Analysis is an Essential Skill

The 25 subsequent stages reveal that Children of the Sun is more than just another long-gun simulation. Despite its first impression, it’s actually a puzzler with each level testing your spatial reasoning. Soon, enemies might be sheltered in shacks, forcing you to line up a shot that sends your single bullet careening through a door or open window. Later, you’ll gun down a flock of birds and a school of fish. But there are multiple obstructions between the different animals, forcing you to think two or even three ricochets ahead. As such, it feels like Children of the Sun exercises a part of your brain that doesn’t get a frequent workout.

Occasionally, that feels frustrating, since a single missed enemy will end things, forcing a reset. On the upside, you won’t lose your target markers, so you’ll be able to attempt to shoot down a different procession of adversaries. And while Sun expectedly grows more difficult, there are always multiple solutions to each stage. So, if you’re stuck, be a better player than me and stop trying to force the same approach. Occasionally, environmental objects can be shot at, which might help you maintain your chain of kills but also create a visual obstruction as flames flare up from the battlefield.

Expositional and Visual Ambiguity

Although there’s little expositional proof, it definitely seems like the cult members you’re gunning down are hearing about your murderous exploits. Before long, they’ll don armor, necessitating additional planning and precision. Fortunately, your abilities aren’t stagnant, and soon you’ll be curving bullet trajectories like the golf balls from the old Tiger Woods games. And just like wrapping the ball around a water hazard, bending bullet paths is immensely satisfying, making you feel like an unstoppable expert assassin.

And here’s the most interesting thing about the game: the plotline visits places you might not expect. At first, it might seem that solo developer René Rother is riffing on Taratino’s and Suda51’s stylings, with short cinematics setting up a pretty standard tale of revenge. Likewise, key characters aren’t named. Instead, roles are used as monikers, as THE GIRL, a former member of THE CULT, hunts its members- all leading up to a violent showdown with THE LEADER.

Glitch, Grime, and Grunge

Without giving too much away, the bulk of Children of the Sun’s four-hour playtime is spent framing its masked protagonist as a vigilante hero, as she avenges her father’s death. But as things are wrapping up, the justification of her bloodthirsty actions becomes a bit more oblique, generating a bit of haziness about the protagonist’s nature.

Indistinctness is also present in Sun’s visuals, which are rendered in delectable low-poly ambiguity. With a color palette that makes it seem like you’re playing with an infrared filter, the game’s enemies are encased in golden auras while flames pervade the screen with fiery oranges. Congruently, the game’s soundtrack is distorted, heavy, and erratic, clearly echoing the protagonist’s state of mind.

Children of the Sun was played on PC with review code provided by the publisher.