Why BioShock Fans Should Check Out Close to the Sun

Summary

Close to the Sun is a smaller-scale game heavily influenced by BioShock, offering an engaging experience for fans of the franchise.
While Close to the Sun shares many aspects with BioShock, it does not include combat or skills and is a shorter game.
The gameplay and setting of Close to the Sun resemblances BioShock, with a mysterious ship, atmospheric environments, and puzzles to solve.

BioShock is an iconic game for a number of reasons, not least of which are its memorable locale, compelling characters, and story. As players explored the once-beautiful but recently ruined city of Rapture in the 2007 original, and were confronted with philosophical musings on the nature of humankind's ambition, BioShock presented them with absorbing gameplay alongside them. It was an engaging title all around, and to this day is fondly counted as a top-tier gaming experience which many in its wake have taken cues from.

2019's Close to the Sun, from developer Storm In A Teacup, is one such title. CttS channels heavy BS influences, although on a smaller scale, and in more of the walking simulator genre, along the lines of Amnesia or Layers of Fear. Still, it hits many of the points the BioShock franchise is known for, making it worthwhile for fans who are looking for a title that might tide them over while waiting for BioShock 4 to emerge from its 5 (and counting) year-long development cycle.

While sharing many aspects, players should be aware that Close to the Sun contains no combat or skills, and is a much shorter experience than BioShock.

Close to the Sun is Close to BioShock

Close to the Sun and BioShock's Setup, Settings, and Gameplay

From its opening cinematic, Close to the Sun's resemblances to BioShock are quite clear. The main character, investigative reporter Rose Archer, reads a letter while en route to a mysterious destination. Rose's sister, Ada, a theoretical physicist, has invited Rose to join her aboard the Helios, an enormous technologically advanced city-sized ship cruising the high seas of an alternate history 1897, designed and created by a version of Nikola Tesla.

Once Rose arrives, it quickly becomes apparent that something has gone terribly wrong, and players must unravel the nature of the catastrophe that befell the Helios and its passengers. The vessel itself is immediately highly evocative of BioShock's Rapture, with Art Deco trappings and classical Greek references and iconography scattered throughout. Rose quickly receives instructions via radio, as players are prompted to delve deeper into Helios' depths for answers.

Gameplay is in first person, with areas opening up through further progression into the eerily empty and claustrophobic sections of the ship. The atmosphere is tense and ominous, peppered with environmental storytelling and collectible logs to build upon it, and complimented by a fitting jazzy noir soundscape that turns dramatically dark when appropriate. Mechanically, players will mostly be solving fairly straightforward puzzles, and although a few require some deduction skills, nothing is too obscure or difficult. Close to the Sun is most like BioShock Infinite's Burial at Sea DLC, where players controlled Elizabeth in more stealth-based situations.

BioShock and Close to the Sun's Thematic Similarities

Helios is also like an amalgamation of Rapture and Colombia in design, as it's separated from any nation and equipped with extensive experimental and highly effective weaponry, populated by a collection of scientific and philosophical pioneers recruited by its visionary leader, Nikola Tesla. The figure himself displays characteristics of BioShock's Andrew Ryan in his ongoing intellectual and engineering arms race with rival Thomas Edison, as Close to the Sun cleverly integrates bits of real history with its steampunk spin on them.

As Rose uncovers more of the truth about Tesla, Ada, and what occurred on the Helios, the deeper mystery begins to reveal echoes of BioShock's commentary on Objectivism and utopias. A fair criticism of Close to the Sun may be that some of its messages are a little more on the nose compared to BS's subtleties, but it never collapses under its own weight. While there is definitely a fine line between BioShock homage and blatant copy, in deft hands a good title falls into the former category, and CttS achieves this. It's a briefer slice of an adjacent experience, with an enjoyable alt-history turn of the century era narrative bolted on and executed well, that BioShock fans would likely have a satisfying time with.

Close to the Sun is currently available on Xbox Game Pass as of writing.

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