In their brief time as a video game genre, survival games have been hit or miss with me. With either too heavy of an emphasis on survival and not much else being offered, or the mechanics not being on par with some of the better experiences, I have found most games in this genre a slog. Luckily, The Solus Project has enough going for it that the minor annoyances seem petty.

As an unnamed protagonist, you are part of an exploratory team that is in deep space looking for a new home, as Earth is biting the dust. While in orbit above one of the planets that is being looked at as a candidate, an unknown force shoots down your ship. After a tense crash landing, you are tasked with finding the standard survival necessities and trying to reconnect with any possible survivors.

The game world is simply beautiful, with the local flora and fauna being equally disturbing and awe inspiring. The planet’s large plants will bloom and react to your approach, giving you the impression that you are never really alone. While this is the case with most of the game world, I occasionally came across some plant life or environments of the game world that looked laughably flat and did slightly ruin the immersion. While this was fairly rare, it happened enough I made a note of it.

Just as much effort was applied to the sound design, as long periods of silence will give way to the sound of something just being outside of view. The whistling winds during the planet’s version of tornados or other effects of nature added to the experience. It’s easy to see how impressive this game would be in VR; while the PSVR is supported, I do not currently have access to the peripheral. But it is an option available for those that do own the device.

While labeled as a survival game, The Solus Project is more akin to a walking simulator with survival elements or is survival-lite, if you will. While you do have to manage your supplies, they are found pretty much anywhere, with a number of them replenishing after you sleep. With this being said, the game focuses heavily on crafting, basic puzzles, avoiding poor weather, and getting from point A to point B. I found this to be the most enjoyable part of the experience, with the horror of the unknown creating a sinking feeling anytime I went into a dark cave or path that my torch would not fully illuminate.

Players that take the time to explore the planet will find alien relics that allow you to upgrade your character. After a few hours the survival elements become irrelevant. You will find it to be a minor annoyance to have to stop to eat or drink something, as the survival element takes a back seat to the exploratory side of the game. One of the bigger dangers you’ll face is finding shelter during one of the game’s many storms. While they are varied, they all have the same mechanic: get to cover or die. You can withstand brief periods in the open during these, but I found more often than not, you can’t outrun the weather.

While the game’s controls work well, the crafting system is a bit of a mess. The game does take the liberty of leaving notes, both of the irrelevant story driven type as well as makeshift tutorials; however, they do not properly explain how to craft, so it is left to the player to figure out. Essentially, you’re going to have to equip one of the items and then look at the other you wish to combine the item with and hold a trigger. While this sounds easy on paper, doing so without direction is another story. I personally spent twenty minutes or more fiddling with my inventory trying to make a torch, which was a 5 step process. Luckily, the torches in this game never seem to expire unless the character becomes submerged in water, so crafting at the last minute is typically not an issue.

Featuring a 20-30 hour campaign, a vast open world to explore, and numerous collectibles and secrets to be found, The Solus Project offers a great deal of content at a budget price point. I can’t wait to jump back in and see all the game offers in VR.

8 out of 10

Pros

• Intriguing Horror Elements
• Top Notch Sound and Visual Design
• Wealth of Content

Cons

• Clumsy Crafting System

The Solus Project was developed and published by Grip Digital. It was released on PC June 7th, 2016, X1 July 15th, 2016, and PS4/PSVR on September 18th, 2017 for $19.99. The game was provided to us for review on PS4. If you’d like to see more of The Solus Project, check out the official site.

 

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