Close To The Sun

This game is fun and free, a winning combination

A game recently added to gamepass, “Close to the Sun,” draws some influence from the Bioshock series. The story takes place in the 1890s on a ship called the Helios. A fictional ship designed by Nicola Tesla where your adventure will take place. You play as a journalist who receives a letter from your sister asking you to join her on the helios. When you arrive on the ship you quickly see that things are not well here. Here begins your adventure where you will spend three to four hours solving puzzles and gathering collectibles.

The game is played from the first-person point of view. The achievements in this game are fairly easy. Most involve getting all the collectables, which also tell small bits about what's going on in the world and bits of story. The story is very linear and most of the collectibles are easy to locate. For the achievement hunters out there, this should be a fairly easy 1000 gamerscore.

The downside of this game is there is none of the gunplay that made Bioshock such a good game. Rose Archer, who you play as, moves far too slowly, and jumping seems useless. The puzzles are pretty simple but the story is strong enough to keep it interesting. I would rate this game a 7 out of 10. The availability on gamepass, how short the game is, ease of achievements, and a story worth experiencing make this a game worth playing.