For six years, fans of Irrational Games’ Bioshock franchise have searched for a dystopian steampunk adventure that could rival their beloved franchise. Before heading to our hands-on preview with Storm in a Teacups‘ Close to the Sun, we knew very little about the title. This led to us searching out a short trailer from Gamescom 2018 to give us a taste of what to expect. From the trailer, we could discern that there was a mystery afoot on the Helios and that something had gone horribly wrong. The visual aesthetic of the game does give off a vibe similar to Bioshock, however, the trailer gives the impression that Close to the Sun will be more of a mystery puzzle game rather than a shooter.
At PAX EAST 2019, we met with Roberto Semprebene, General Manager at Storm in a Tea Cup, to to check out Close to the Sun. Sadly due to appointment issues, we were slightly delayed, which cut into our time. The prologue introduces the player to Rose Archer, a journalist, who has just received a rather peculiar note from her sister, Ada. In her note, Ada describes why she left on the Helios, a massive boat, and alludes to a scientific breakthrough. The game’s 1950’s visuals and an ominous boat ride do established that there are wicked things to come and while it’s easy to compare the game to the Bioshock franchise the developers have been stressing that it’s a different game. Regardless, fans of Bioshock will likely gravitate towards this title.
As the player arrives aboard the Helios, Rose makes a snarky remark about not being greeted at the dock and how barren the ship looks. The player is then informed that the Helios was created to allow scientists to work on their creations without the interference of corporations or the broader scientific community. From the start, the player is immediately introduced to a pandemic that is occurring on the Helios, discovering the word Quarantine written in blood on the front door.
The game focuses on the player’s interactions with the environment, solving puzzles, and trying to survive. A variety of objects can be messed with in order to gather information and learn more about the Helios, giving the game an investigative approach to its atmosphere. In fact, the game seems to focus more on suspense and mystery rather than survival and shooting.
The first few pieces of information the player interacts with hints that Thomas Edison has attempted to send spies onto the Helios to steal information. As the player reaches the second chapter, they are contacted by their sister Ada who informs Rose that the letter that she received was actually not from Ada. This entices the player to fall deeper down the rabbit hole of the events that tore through the ship and fuels the desire to know what happened.
Close to the Sun is designed in Unreal Engine 4 and even the darkly lit corridors look beautiful. The use of time manipulation creates an unusual visual aesthetic that makes us wonder just what rabbit hole we stumbled into. Sadly, we did not get the opportunity to complete the full demo at PAX East, however, we will include a link to a completed version of the demo down below uploaded by Rob Cram to give the full visual experience for those curious.
Because of its beautiful visuals, intriguing story, and simplistic controls, we awarded Storm in a Teacup‘s Close to the Sun a Writers Choice award. We look forward to playing Close to the Sun when it releases on May 2nd, 2019 in the Epic Store. At the moment, there is no official release date for the Xbox One and PS4 version.
More information about Close to the Sun can be found on the Epic Store listing. For more PAX East coverage, check out our preview of the upcoming action game Devil’s Hunt from Layopi Games.
