Space survival games are seeing a lot of attention right now, and not all of the attention is good. This is due to the massive hype surrounding certain games that ended up not delivering on promises. So when another game comes along as a sci-fi survival game for consoles and VR, players might naturally be hesitant. After playing The Solus Project though, I have to say that it was not what I was expecting.
The game begins as a survival/exploration game, with a slow start but begins to pick up fast. While it is a bit of a walking simulator, there is a reason for it in the narrative. That being, you are the survivor of a crashed craft on an unknown world, while seeking out a new planet for humanity after Earth’s destruction. The game seems to be heading in one direction that seems fairly typical at first, but the game has twists ahead.
The game takes no prisoners with its approach to survival gameplay, with a need to properly manage when to sleep and eat. There is also the extremely harsh environment as, the planet has numerous dangers such as the weather. I have yet to see a survival game handle an environment like this before and it was a sight to see.
As you continue to progress though, things begin to change more. There will not be spoilers in this review, but the tone of the game changes rather extremely as it goes on. The game begins to make you question thing and eventually you will be confronted by thing that will chill you, especially if you are playing in VR. I actually do not recommend playing in VR as it isn’t a very good experience. Its not bad per se, but it just lacking. It feels like the game is not properly optimized but when played on the PS4, it played fine except for a few minor issues.
The Solus Project is an interesting take on narrative in games, by approaching things from the perspective of a survival sci-fi game before forcing you into another situation. It becomes almost surreal at times, and while it isn’t hard to follow, it can greatly shock you. My issue is that the game doesn’t seem to take full advantage of the resources it has. On the PS4 it looks great, but not as good as it could be. And as stated the game doesn’t feel properly optimized on PSVR. It is not a bad game by any means but I do feel it is held back by not pushing itself to its limits.
Even with those criticisms though, I do like The Solus Project and would recommend it. It is a good game with a unique style, and some great plot twists. I would definitely give this one a try, especially if you are a fan of survival games, or games that experiment with a narrative. This is definitely not like any other game out there. It stands on its own.
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Reviewed on PS4
Disclaimer
A review key was provided