Andrii Kovalenko4 min read

Is Nine Sols Worth It? An Honest 2026 Verdict

Is Nine Sols worth it? Honest take on the deflection combat, taopunk story, length, difficulty, and who should buy or skip it in 2026.

Yes, Nine Sols is worth it — if you're at all open to parry-heavy combat, it's one of the best Metroidvanias of the last few years. Red Candle Games took Sekiro's deflection system, rebuilt it in 2D, wrapped it in a taopunk world, and attached a story that actually earns its emotional swings. Since its May 2024 release it's become the default answer when someone asks for a Metroidvania with great boss fights.

The catch is that the combat is a commitment. Here's who should buy it and who shouldn't.

Who it's for

Nine Sols is for you if the idea of Sekiro in 2D sounds like a promise rather than a threat. The whole combat system runs on deflection: you parry incoming attacks, build qi charges, and spend them to punish. Bosses are designed around that loop — you die to a pattern, learn it, die again, and then one attempt it all threads together. If that cycle is why you play games, this is the strongest version of it the genre has.

It's also for players who want a Metroidvania where the story matters. Red Candle made narrative horror games before this (Detention, Devotion), and Yi's revenge arc against the nine Sols carries more weight than the genre usually attempts. The setting helps: Taoist temples and talismans against labs and machinery, in hand-drawn art that doesn't look like anything else on our best Metroidvania games list.

Who should skip it

If you don't enjoy parrying, skip it or go in with Story Mode on. There's no dodge-focused alternative build; deflection is the game, and every boss assumes you're using it. Players who bounced off Sekiro for that reason will bounce off this for the same one.

Skip it too if you mainly want exploration. The map is solid and has its share of secrets, but it's more guided than Hollow Knight's, and the game spends its ambition on bosses and story rather than on losing you in tunnels for hours. If getting lost is the appeal, Hollow Knight is still the better buy.

What's good

The boss fights, first and last. Nine Sols has some of the best in the genre — long, readable, fair, and built so that a clean deflection run feels like something you performed rather than survived. The qi system gives you a reason to stay aggressive: charges you bank from parries turn into explosive talisman damage, so the optimal play is also the exciting play.

The story is the other headline. It has a named protagonist with an actual arc, real supporting characters, and an ending people still argue about. Most Metroidvanias tell their story through item descriptions; this one tells it to your face and makes it stick.

And the Story Mode deserves credit. Sliders for enemy damage and health mean the difficulty is a choice, not a gate. You lose nothing by turning it on except bragging rights.

The honest weaknesses

The difficulty is front-loaded and honest about what it wants, but it is a wall. If deflection timing never clicks for you, the mid-game bosses will stop you cold, and no amount of exploring elsewhere levels you past them.

The platforming sections are serviceable rather than great — a few stretches feel like filler between bosses. And because the combat system is so focused, builds don't vary much between playthroughs. You get better; your options don't get wider. Replay value sits in mastery, not variety.

Price and value

At full price, Nine Sols is fair value: 20 to 30 hours for the main story, past 40 if you chase every secret and lore fragment, with boss fights that most full-priced games can't match. It's been out since May 2024 and shows up in sales regularly, so if you're patient you can do better — but this is one of the few games in the genre I'd call worth it at sticker price. If you finish it and want more in the same lane, we keep a list of games like Nine Sols for exactly that moment.

One of the games on that list is ours. KUTO: The Lock of Time is a time-bending action Metroidvania — you play Jokoan Kuto, an outcast time guardian merged with the titan Kronos, fighting across eras from ancient Egypt to a neon cyber city with the Scythe of Kronos and Time Keys like Recall and Dilation. You carry two keys per run and swap between runs, and the die-and-retry loop keeps your progress. No parry wall, but the same idea that combat should be something you learn. You can read everything we know about The Lock of Time, or wishlist it on Steam ahead of Early Access.

Frequently asked questions

Is Nine Sols worth buying in 2026?
Yes, for most Metroidvania and Soulslike players. The deflection combat is the closest any 2D game has come to Sekiro, the boss fights are among the genre's best, and a playthrough runs 20-30 hours. Skip it only if parry-heavy combat isn't your thing.
Is Nine Sols like Sekiro?
The combat is, yes. It's built around deflecting attacks and charging qi to punish enemies, which plays very close to Sekiro's posture system in 2D. The rest — map exploration, ability gating, hidden areas — is standard Metroidvania structure.
How long is Nine Sols?
A main story playthrough takes 20-30 hours. Going for full completion with all lore and hidden areas can push past 40.
Is Nine Sols too hard?
It's one of the harder games in the genre — bosses expect you to learn their patterns through repeated deaths. But it ships with a Story Mode that lets you tune enemy damage and health, so the difficulty is adjustable if you want the world and story without the wall.
Is Nine Sols worth it for the story alone?
The story is a genuine reason to play, which is rare in this genre. Red Candle Games came from narrative horror (Detention, Devotion), and it shows — Yi's revenge arc has real emotional weight. But you'll still need to engage with the combat or turn on Story Mode to see it through.
Is Nine Sols like Hollow Knight?
In structure and density, yes — both are secret-heavy Metroidvanias with strong world-building. In combat, no. Hollow Knight is dodge-and-slash; Nine Sols is parry-first. Nine Sols is harder on bosses, easier to navigate.
What does taopunk mean in Nine Sols?
It's the game's blend of Taoist mythology and East Asian art with a sci-fi, cyberpunk-leaning world. Ancient temples and talismans sit next to laboratories and machinery, and the mix is one of the most distinct settings in the genre.
Is Nine Sols worth it at full price?
Yes. At 20-30 hours for the main story with boss fights of this quality, full price is fair value. It also goes on sale regularly since its May 2024 release, so patient buyers can do even better.
Should I play Nine Sols before or after Hollow Knight?
Either order works — they share a genre, not mechanics. If you're new to hard Metroidvanias, Hollow Knight's dodge-based combat is a gentler on-ramp. If you already love Sekiro, start with Nine Sols.
Does Nine Sols have an easy mode?
It has a Story Mode with sliders for enemy damage and health. Purists can ignore it; players who are there for the world and narrative can use it without missing content.

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