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Game
Game2020
Close To The Sun
Developer Storm in a Teacup
Close to the Sun is a first-person horror adventure video game developed by the Italian video game producer Storm in a Teacup and published by the British company Wired Productions. Developed using the Unreal Engine, the game was released on 2 May 2019 for Microsoft Windows and versions for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, ported by Warp Digital, were released on 29 October 2019. A version for Amazon… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
220 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest Nov 3, 2026 · last updated Nov 4, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
70
Fresh
137 positive · 59 negative
95% range 63–76%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 137 | 59 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 2 | 2 | 11 |
| Mastodon * | 1 | 1 | 7 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
481 of 676 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
70% recommend · 137 yes, 58 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 195 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mostly Positive (1,001 of 1,353 positive).
Players praise the game's Bioshock-inspired atmosphere and visuals. [1][2][3] Many note it is a walking simulator with simple puzzles and chase sequences. [4][5][6] Several criticize the lack of a manual save system, forcing chapter restarts. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [7]
I was enjoying the game, but there's no manual save system. I had to quit to do something. When I re-loaded the game, it put me back at the start of the level. Otherwise I was enjoying the game. My only other knock is the lack of keybinding. If you can't commit to playing each full level in 1 sitting, I definitely don't recommend this.
- [4]
Mixture of a walking simulator and a survival horror, moderately successful. Graphically well done and the settings are very suggestive, but something doesn't fully convince me. At times I find it boring, the puzzles are very simple and the parts where you have to escape are a bit repetitive. Solve the puzzle run away and get the clues, that's the game. The game in general lacks a bit of bite. My rating is 6/10 to …
- [10]
A dead average game if I ever played one. Close to the Sun is a competent slow-paced walking sim with an interesting setting and and some beautiful levels. If you're keen on that type of game -and can put up with with some sub-par gameplay- it's worth getting on sale. Otherwise, give it a miss. I'm giving it a 'recommend' because my opinion just barely falls on the positive side. Visuals and Sound The game looks …
- [6]
Close to the Sun is mostly a walking simulator. It has some enemies to run from, a few very simple puzzles, sane amount of collectables, and mostly linear path through the world. Positives The game is GORGEOUS. The alternative history world has this very Bioshock-esque Steampunk/Teslapunk aesthetic, and is built to feel realistic, lived-in. Majestic halls and chambers of the Helios, biggest ship in the world, …
- [1]
good game that gives BioShock/Dishonored vibes. The beginning was the best part for me when you first enter the ship and you don't know what is going on, but sadly after a certain time the chapters just fly by and the story gets weirder (not understandable), but I still would recommend it to everyone, especially after I saw only 50% have completed chapter one.
Summarised from 34 of the 213 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 12, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
70% of the 195 Steam reviewers we collected recommend Close To The Sun. The complaint that keeps coming up: no manual save system; only saves at chapter ends. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Close to the Sun received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic. IGN reviewed the game positively, writing, "While the sometimes-obtuse puzzles and slow pacing can cause frustration and repetition, this is a harrowing and thoughtfully designed adventure from start to finish." Adventure Gamers praised the unique setting, visual design, voice acting, and alternate history backstory, while criticizing the slow movement speeds, lack of substantial player interaction, technical issues, and overreliance on jump scares and clunky chase scenes. Push Square similarly awarded the PS4 port with 6/10 stars, appreciating the environment design, thick atmosphere, and…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 220 · most liked firstMixture of a walking simulator and a survival horror, moderately successful. Graphically well done and the settings are very suggestive, but something doesn't fully convince me. At times I find it boring, the puzzles are very simple and the parts where you have to escape are a bit repetitive. Solve the puzzle run away and get the clues, that's the game. The game in general lacks a bit of bite. My rating is 6/10 to take with the discount.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →good game that gives BioShock/Dishonored vibes. The beginning was the best part for me when you first enter the ship and you don't know what is going on, but sadly after a certain time the chapters just fly by and the story gets weirder (not understandable), but I still would recommend it to everyone, especially after I saw only 50% have completed chapter one.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Warning: Motion Sickness No FOV slider + chromatic aberration + camera shake + flashes = Epileptic simulator of 2019. How to fix it? — Set EFFECTS to LOW in Graphics Settings (will clear chromatic) — In GAME settings disable CAMERA SHAKE — Optionally: third party mod allows to increase FOV
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was enjoying the game, but there's no manual save system. I had to quit to do something. When I re-loaded the game, it put me back at the start of the level. Otherwise I was enjoying the game. My only other knock is the lack of keybinding. If you can't commit to playing each full level in 1 sitting, I definitely don't recommend this.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It looks like BioShock by way of Tesla, and that premise alone is instantly appealing. The disappointment is that the game gives the player far less to actually do than its setting seems to promise.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Another gamedesigner that thinks saving game is for cowards and showing to player HUGE cog indicator after 15 min of gameplay and NOT saving game (forcing player to start chapter all over again) is great gamedesign decition. I have only one solution for this idiocy - uninstall and forget. Clowns.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is about the softest recommendation I can give. Did you love Bioshock and find you wanted more of it? Well, if you’ve already beaten all three games and the DLCs multiple times, checked out its extended family with Prey, System Shock 2 and the System Shock remake, read the media tie-in book, Erik Larson’s Devil in the White City, and Jack London’s The Iron Heel, and played a lot of games with similar themes and narrative approaches like Soma, Fallout New Vegas: Dead Money, and Bendy and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game has no save system. Repeat, this game has no save system. The only time the game saves is in the end of each chapter, so if you have to leave the game before that (and gee, people have lifes and stuff), you will have to repeat the whole chapter from the start. I quit the game because of this. This would be a somewhat decent walking simulator otherwise, but sometimes I do wonder what the hell developers think when they get ideas like making a game that does not have any kind of even…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great art style, great story, nice vibe of suspense, all to make it worse. Because the dev team just had this brilliant idea that you can only save the game at the end of each chapter. And the chapters are long. And you're likely to die towards the end of each.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm immensly disappointed by the non-ending. Story was overall thin, opens a lot of plot threads and concludes none of them. At least the graphics look nice and the environments are detailed but lack any interactivity.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is a horror walking simulator, and it isn't a particularly good one. It should not be calling itself an adventure game, because the puzzles are few and they are trivial; there's one early that literally has step-by-step instructions posted right above the puzzle, and the difficulty stays right around there. Most of what you will be doing is either running around looking for keys and other "hidden" items, or running around in a number of boring, low-tension chase sequences that just…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not possible to save. Wherever you are how much progress you make during a level doesn't matter, when you leave the game you start from the beginning of that level. This is not good. So boring. A game can't get a thumbs up from me with such a silly save system. I do not recommend.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a walking sim where the movement is agonisingly slow, the linear narrative is full of contrivances and loose threads, the story itself intentionally derivative, and the puzzles (if you can even call them that) few and far between. Probably the least interesting interactive narrative game i've ever played so far. The singular highlight would be the environment designs - which was the only thing that kept me playing and I can honestly say it's NOT worth it. Just find a Let's Play or just…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →-"Mom can you buy me Bioshock" -"No son we have Bioshock at home"
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Take some heavy inspiration from Bioshock & Wolfenstein, add in a female main character, take an overused Tesla-maniacal cliche, make it mainly a walking sim, and take away the ability to fight, and you pretty much have Close to the Sun. The graphics are nicely done, the voice acting is well represented, and the story is quite interesting. Graphics are purposely dark, as this is pushing more towards a horror game, and it keeps the intensity going. Voice actors all really are enjoyable in my…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's basically Bioshock, but without anything more to do than walk around and solve stupid puzzles.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The gameplay is terrible, it's not scary and the mechanis of using items is annoying. You need microscope precision to open doors or take a ladder, but also for jumping over crates. Be prepared to die many times when you're running for your life because the jump button doesn't activate getting past crates. The font of the note is too small to read from your TV, and you can't increase it. The graphics are nice and art deco, but you can also go to a museum for that.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Set in an alternative version of the 19th century, the game takes place aboard a massive, mysterious ship known as the Helios. As Rose Archer, a journalist searching for her sister, players navigate the vessel to uncover its secrets and unravel a gripping narrative. Background: The game's setting is a key highlight, drawing inspiration from Nikola Tesla's work and envisioning a world where his inventions have had a profound impact. The Helios, a colossal floating laboratory, serves as the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game was almost a great game, but there were many frustrations along the way that make it hard for me to recommend. The setting is intriguing and it has a great atmosphere, I was pulled in right away. However, the game feels unfinished. There are many subplots and mysteries introduced along the way that are never really involved, and the fate of some of the main characters is ambiguous. It feels like they intended for there to be more chapters or a sequel but never got around to it.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A dead average game if I ever played one. Close to the Sun is a competent slow-paced walking sim with an interesting setting and and some beautiful levels. If you're keen on that type of game -and can put up with with some sub-par gameplay- it's worth getting on sale. Otherwise, give it a miss. I'm giving it a 'recommend' because my opinion just barely falls on the positive side. Visuals and Sound The game looks beautiful. Art direction and set-dressing is excellent. The sound design is…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A walking simulator with interesting premise, great atmosphere and music design. A walking simulator where devs couldn't figure out how to implement proper saving mechanism. I kid you not: the game saves only between chapters and despite a visible animation of cycling cog in the right bottom on your screen at the pivotal moments, your progress will be reset if you exit the game without finishing chapter first. You may think that this is all fine, and you can speedrun the level again with no…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Close to the Sun is a first-person narrative exploration game that delves into the inferences of reality. The game presents an imposing and unique setting, and it manages to give some tense and surprising moments. It has a remarkable attention to detail, absorbing soundtrack, and a fine voice acting. The story is intriguing and expressive, while also providing some light puzzles. The sound design is definite and exceptional, and the atmosphere is eerie and unsettling. Close to the Sun delivers…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Alas, game constantly crashes after about one minute. Cannot start it. Cannot play it. Am left with no choice but to refund. A known issue that has been going on for a long time if discussion forums are anything to go by. A pity, since the song by Porcelain Pill - Close to the Sun, is what interested me in this game. A shame.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'd always been interested in this game since it first released only on Epic store, because of the concept and how it looked. Sad to say, there's a lot less game here than I even thought. It doesn't have any puzzles, and any sort of gameplay involving enemy characters is all just scripted running away sequences. Get the path wrong, just remember it next time. Exploring is pointless, I stopped looking around off the main path for lore objects because they didn't tell anything interesting. The…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Finished the whole game. Looks pretty, voice acting is decent, but the gameplay is boring and the ending abrupt and unsatisfying. It's basically Bioshock but without anything more to do than walk around and solve simple puzzles sometimes. Meh.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It is hard on this one. Sound is good. Audio dialog are more-or-less OK. Controls are clunky. It is fun to watch dropping/jumping - she fell, stop to stand, and then continues dropping. There are place to stuck (in the water, where the plank is - you can walk on plank and drop behind - and then you are doomed to stay there forever). Water sometimes decides not to stop you - you can run "fast". Checkpoints are crazy - sometimes you load checkpoint and die immediately (near the gigantic coil).…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →54 new titles were added to the 'Stream Your Own Game' library this month • AVICII Invector • Avatar The Last Airbender: Quest for Balance • Beneath • Cars 2: The Video Game • Cartoon Network: Battle Crashers • Chariot • Close to the Sun • Cobra Kai 1 & 2 • DCL-The Game via: @redphx.com
neutral · AI labelView post →Short (about 5 hours) but atmospheric game. It looks very nice and has a Bioshock vibe.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a very, very soft recommendation - please read at least the short wrap-up in the last paragraphs before you buy. A review for Close To The Sun can be shortened quite simple: Close To The Sun is a walking simulator and those basically consist of two components: World and Story. One of those this game does fantastically well, the other... not so much. For Gameplay there isn't much to be said because, as mentioned: Walking Simulator. You walk. And while you walk you look at the pretty…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →you ever just trip and fall and wake up the next day with a new daggerheart character? because i'm afraid this is a chronic condition and I HAVE A NEW INFERNIS SERAPH AND I ADORE THEM SO SO MUCH I HAVE HYPERFIXATED TOO CLOSE TO THE SUN AND I NEED TO PLAY THEM IN A GAME RIGHT THIS SECOND
neutral · AI labelView post →I get what this walking simulator is supposed to be but not my cup of tea Very slow pace
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was having a blast with this. But it broke the cardinal rule of gaming: don't piss the player off. The chase sequences in this game are horrific. Way too tight timings, one mistake and you're dead, and trial and error repetition. No. Absolutely not. Screw this ♥♥♥♥. Don't bother with this. Unless you enjoy frustration, especially in the later levels, this is an avoid at all costs. It's a shame too, because the story is kinda neat, the setting is largely just 'We have Bioshock at home' but…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →sorry but the chase sequence at the end of chap3 came right out of left field - repeated several times until the 6th attempt when the game crashed. And when I went back into the game, I was back at the start of chap3. Rage-quit.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Close to the Sun is mostly a walking simulator. It has some enemies to run from, a few very simple puzzles, sane amount of collectables, and mostly linear path through the world. Positives The game is GORGEOUS. The alternative history world has this very Bioshock-esque Steampunk/Teslapunk aesthetic, and is built to feel realistic, lived-in. Majestic halls and chambers of the Helios, biggest ship in the world, sometimes feel like a museum… but with corpses. Lots of corpses. The world building…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I had high hopes for this game that I got a while ago and finally installed. For many of the reasons already shared by others, I can't recommend this game. This game is Bioshock without 1) combat 2) RPG elements 3) character decisions 4) a well developed and/or deep story. There's not a lot left to enjoy. Even the story that we are told while crawling through this impossibly large ship isn't engaging. High concept without a lot of substance or resolution. Kinda like the X-Files series. After…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Close To The Sun is an Interesting steampunk themed narrative driven walking simulator. It's tagged as horror, but isn't very scary. There are a few jump scares and graphic scenes, but that is about it. The visuals and level design are fantastic, they do a great job at drawing you into the game's atmosphere, especially if you are a fan of the steampunk style. The story is pretty good, although a bit slow and some things are not explained very well. The ending gives the possibility of a sequel,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →"Oh my God? You actually did it? You are the best enjoy the rest of Close to the Sun" That's an easter egg you can get if you take the time to decipher a code. Are there any more codes to decipher? No. There's in fact approximately only 1 puzzle. I knew it wasn't going to be straight horror game, which is a shame because I think it would be a lot better if it even tried to be, it was as expected a walking sim. But I didn't realise just how boring it would be. And the ending only makes it…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Crashes after the same amount of time, every time
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →So to everyone who worked on this game, you should be very proud! the amount of work put into this is very noticeable! however like some of the other comments the game does need to be longer. The ending feels out of place with how much build up there is throughout the game to a grand resolution. stretching the game another chapter or two would do alot! that being said, the fact the world is constricted to the size of the ship, and the player doesn't get to go everywhere on the ship, I feel…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Couldn't even start it. Force closed when I pressed start game. :) nice
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Primarily a walking sim with a very few, easily solved puzzles and a small number of chase sequences where you have to run for your life. There are collectibles that you find along the way, none of which are truly difficult to find. The story is presented in 10 chapters and the game automatically saves at the end each each chapter. If you need to leave the game in the middle of the chapter, you'll restart at the beginning of that chapter. I was drawn to this game by it's premise and by the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really liked the ambience. It reminds me very much of Bioshock. Its sadly very dark, which you cant change in the settings and you dont have a flashlight or lantern. Also the two chase sequences in the beginning and in the end are a bit annoying because you rather have to guess where to go, i died three times at both chases before finding the right route. All in one its a nice game with an interesting story. It feels like a mix between Bioshock and Everybodys gone to the rapture. I would have…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →On Xbox I was able to enjoy a really beautiful game. However on PC the graphics weren't loading and some important info were not readable, making the puzzles sometimes difficult to solve. Lots of crashes too.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game has only one big plus - visuals. I took quite a lot of screenshots for such a short game. ...which brings me directly to the cons. The game is only about 5 hours long - and that in that time it fails to show anything unique. Maybe it has a good story? Spoiler: it doesn't. And it feels unfinished. Even if it starts ok, by the end of the game it all feels like nonsense. Well, maybe I'm overstating, since I played it two years ago and honestly don't remember much, but the developers…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Close to the Sun Close to the Sun is a narrative driven walking simulator with some puzzles and chase scenes sprinkled in here and there. It succeeds in setting an eerie tone as well as setting up an intriguing story which unfortunately falls short. Particularly the ending feels unsatisfactory and rushed. Granted, I love walking simulators but they need to tell a compelling story. The voice actors do give good performances though and the game is visually stunning, you can tell a lot of…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Don't fall for the hype. Can't save mid chapter (with random length chapters so there's no way of knowing how long you have to play to reach a checkpoint), can't rebind controls. Can't jump over the tiniest obstacle, walking speed is tedious and 'sprinting' speeds you up to to glacial pace. Boring version of Bioshock.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A Great Snail Simulator Close to the Sun is an enjoyable sci-fi horror similar to Bioshock minus combat or RPG, featuring the least athletic protagonist since JC “I can’t jump higher than my ankle” Denton from the original Deus Ex. Rose Archer might be a great journalist and can only manage to walk slightly faster than an injured snail – which made my pinkie hurt because of the excessive use of the Run button. To repeat, the game doesn’t have any combat, Rose can’t fight at all and only…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The correct rating is : Meh. Pro : The game was very promissing. Loved the universe, the music, the ambiance and the little adrenaline rush from time to time. Story is a little easy but still interesting. Graphics are nice and it's overall quite immersive. Con : IT'S ABSOLUTELY UNFINISHED ! The ending is so disappointing and resolves nothing. There was several threads to follow, questions and all but ... none are answered and it's very frustrating. Also, it lacks interactivity to be just a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Potentially one of the two final streams before the move. Trying out a game called Close to the Sun. Then afterwards who knows! Going all day again. www.twitch.tv/redmagelynx
neutral · AI labelView post →It's like Bioshock where Rapture is the Nautilus from The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen except with less dark satire of Atlas Shrugged and more Tesla vs. Edison feud, less genetic engineering science magic and more electrical arcing science magic, and all the dismembered and disemboweled corpses you could ever want but with no way to make more of them yourself. A walking simulator where you sometimes suddenly have to run for your life, which is still way better than QTE. It's a great first…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An OK walking sim. Level design can range from mediocre (endless metal hallways) to great (theatre, gardens, etc) Gameplay wise, as I mentioned previously – a walking sim, with few easy “puzzles”. Story is nothing special. It's predictable, with no big twists or anything else keeping narrative interesting. Atmosphere and tone is a mess. Light-hearted banter clashes with visuals while voice acting quality does not help with the situation. There few rare jumpscares mixed here and there and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →You've got to love the environmental storytelling in this game. Close to the Sun 🕹️🎮
positive · AI labelView post →We are live with Close to the Sun, a mystery game that I quite literally just now realized is labeled as a horror game, fun! #ENVTUBER #VTUBER Twitch: www.twitch.tv/mercyfunction
neutral · AI labelView post →An interesting game with a lot of potential ,, graphics similar to bioshock .. gameplay is very simple and enemies are very basic .. may be 6.5/10 .. a fair rating
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I came to on a boat and went into a ships shining butthole where I found a lot of personal information in public places. Talked to some loonies got chased by a couple gas station zombies. I liked it and the game flew by. On sale I got it for 3.99. If you like science, madness, beautiful scenery, solving mysteries, puzzles, and some running for your life your in the right place. Would you kindly experience it for yourself?
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →--Scientifically pleasing-- A beautiful mix of Bioshock and Amnesia
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game looks amazing, the story is really good. The only pain point of this game are the occasionally bad level design (levers that all look the same, spending time trying to open doors that are locked, etc...) and those chase scenes. Those chase scenes were just painful because you have to wait for the death animation to finish... SPOILERS: ||Anyways, the story was amazing and the universe really impressive. I probably missed some things because there's holes in the story on my side,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There are too many parts in the game that are very boring, just walking from place to place. When it does get exciting, the pace jumps so quickly that you have to replay that section numerous times before you get through. And this leads me to my MAJOR COMPLAINT, that the game saves between large sections of play (you can't save your play yourself) so that you have to REPLAY large sections if you do have to stop playing for any reason. All of this could easily have been amended had the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Close to the Sun, developed by Storm in a Teacup and published by Wired Productions, is a narrative-driven first-person horror adventure that draws heavy inspiration from the eerie art deco aesthetics of early 20th-century science and the haunting allure of isolation. Set in an alternate history where Nikola Tesla’s breakthroughs have propelled humanity into a radically different technological era, the game invites players aboard the Helios—a massive, mysterious ship built by Tesla as a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not much of a game, more a series of jump scares in an environment so dark you only know its a jump scare because of the sounds.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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