Game review: Children of the Sun (PC)
Children of the Sun is a unique single-player puzzle shooter that reminds me of the excellent SuperHot. Developed by René Rother, the game is just the sort of surreal fayre you'd expect from publisher Devolver Digital.
Players take on the role of a lone sniper, a former cult member out for revenge against the Children of the Sun. What follows is a bloodied trail of bodies as the protagonist hunts cultists as they, in turn, stage an insurrection.
The premise is simple enough. Players control a shooter that must dispatch every target in each level. The protagonist has a limited area where they can be moved left and right to help line up shots. Visible targets can be marked, with the total number of targets displayed in the top right of the screen. The twist is that all the targets (some of which are not even visible in later levels) must be killed with a single bullet.
Whilst this sounds as if suspension of disbelief is required, supernatural forces are at work. After each target is hit, players can point the bullet at another target as time slows almost to a stop.
As well as cult members, further mayhem can be unleashed by hitting vehicle fuel tanks and gas bottles. Each of these is considered a hit allowing for another redirection of the bullet. This is handy if you need to get a shot that would otherwise be obscured.
Miss a target and the level is failed, but your marked and successfully hit targets are marked for subsequent attempts. As the game progresses, other abilities unlock, enabling more control of the single shot. These allow things like fine-tuning the shot on the fly and an extra redirection of the bullet as a reward for hitting certain targets.
The game has a distinct, surreal look that sets it apart. It's slightly lo-fi but doesn't distract, as it's a stylistic choice that just works. Cult member's eyes glow an intense red as they go about their business, sucking on cigarettes and generally ambling about, unaware of the bloody mess that is about to unfold. There's a cool/weird animated sequence between levels that reveals the sort of things that the cultists get up to.
As it's a sniping game, it is a bit gory, but the exaggerated graphics serve to tone it down a bit. You can still see the carnage, but it's not the game's focus. Saying that clearing a level, especially a tricky one, after multiple attempts is very satisfying. Anyone who's played the Sniper Elite games will know what I mean.
It's a weird affair, though, and one that had me engaged in a peculiar Pac-Man-style game during some downtime whilst the protagonist cleaned their rifle. Don't ask me what the story is, as I'm not quite sure. The game gets freakier as you progress.
At the end of each level, you get to see the path of your bullets and a rundown of your performance. There's an online leaderboard to see just how well you did against other players' scores.
Children of the Sun is a surprisingly entertaining game. It isn't very long, and the price reflects that. It's a game that's easy to pick up, even if some levels are a bit fiendish, but very difficult to put down. The surreal art style caps off a little gem that's worth a look.
Verdict: 8/10
