This New Xbox Game Pass Indie Needs to Be Played Just as Badly as Silksong

Hollow Knight: Silksong‘s long-awaited release is almost here, and with it arriving day-one to Xbox Game Pass, it’s an exciting time to be a subscriber. However, Game Pass users shouldn’t overlook another excellent side-scrolling indie coming up as well: Nine Sols. Created by RedCandleGames, Nine Sols offers a lore-rich, hand-drawn world with a Sekiro-inspired combat style and a ton of flair. For lovers of Hollow Knight‘s metroidvania levels, challenging traversal, and compelling boss fights, Nine Sols is another must-play.

Nine Sols follows Yi, a long-slumbering warrior in the Solarian sanctuary of New Kunlun who is awoken by a human child. As Yi, the player undertakes his quest of vengeance against the 9 Sols, the powerful rulers of the realm. Though his motives may be unclear, exploration of the world and its “Taopunk” setting will reveal Yi’s story. In a world that combines elements of Taoism and eastern mythology with a manga-inspired art style, learn the secrets of an alien race and learn about the fate of mankind.

Game Pass Subscribers Shouldn’t Sleep on Nine Sols

Following its initial release in 2024, Nine Sols has accumulated around 15,000 reviews on Steam, and with an Overwhelmingly Positive rating from players and critics alike, it would be a mistake to miss it on Game Pass. It usually goes for $29.99, and with more than one ending and quite a bit of replayability, getting it on Game Pass is a steal.

Unlike Hollow Knight, Nine Sols doesn’t have a huge world to explore at the player’s leisure, but it does have a good and bad ending for players to find. The good ending isn’t the default, meaning there is a reward for more fully engaging with and exploring the characters and setting of the world. Additionally, players can grab both endings on one save, allowing them to go back and re-explore the world without needing to fully restart and exhaust themselves playing the game completely over again.

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Most of the reviews on Steam are from players with over thirty hours in the game, and the more detailed ones extol almost every aspect of the game. While they do admit that it’s a more linear experience than Hollow Knight, they also insist that this isn’t to the game’s detriment. One review, from Steam user Hazel, explains that the story is incredible enough that the lack of diverging paths isn’t really a bother, and that the story, “concludes properly, with no dangling threads, while also giving meaningful closure to the NPCs you meet along the way.” Nine Sols is a great balance of beautiful art direction and impactful storytelling, slotting right in with Silksong‘s predicted features.

Nine Sols Has a Lot in Common With Silksong

While the years leading to Silksong‘s release have been generally sparse regarding information about the game’s actual features and functions, Hollow Knight provides enough of a blueprint so that players can know what to expect. When players and critics alike agree that Nine Sols is perfect for Silksong anticipators, they’re telling the truth. Both games offer the chance to face off against larger-than-life foes in high-stakes combat, testing the player’s skill, patience, and endurance.

Nine Sols and Silksong also has a sort of skill-based progression system that truly makes the player earn their strength, and every new skill learned comes through not only in-game progression, but also true improvement on the part of the player. Nine Sols’ combat is very parry-focused, requiring quick timings and a good read on enemies, which is incredibly satisfying to master. Like Silksong, Nine Sols doesn’t hold the players’ hands—instead, they have to hone their skills with hard work, dedication, and muscle memory.

Though the anticipation for Silksong is likely to mean many indies coming out in September, or coming to Game Pass at the same time as Silksong, will be overlooked, Nine Sols is one that Silksong lovers have to keep their eyes on. Offering just as beautiful of an experience as Hollow Knight did and Silksong is likely to, Nine Sols is a gorgeous representation of everything a 2D platformer can be. This immaculately crafted indie isn’t one to be skipped, so Game Pass subscribers should grab it as soon as it lands on September 3rd.