Children of the Sun Review – YOU ONLY GET 1 SHOT

Children of the Sun features a formula that is simple but super effective. Just like The Real Slim Shady says, you only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow—an enemy’s brains out. Thought that movie about curving bullets was impressive, huh? Think again. In this game, you literally become the bullet itself, changing trajectory to eliminate every target across the map.

Hold My Ammo

Most of the levels have our eccentric-looking protagonist first scoping out the area with a sniper rifle, then numerically marking prey to be rammed by a single sentient bullet. Any shot that goes out of bounds or hits an object that’s not considered destructible will end the current run, but a restart won’t remove the numerical marker above a target’s head. This lets you almost immediately jump back into any of the 26 levels and lose yourself (pun intended) in figuring out which routes best link each victim to the next. Pretty cooked, I know.

After a successful shot, the game will switch into slow motion, giving players full 360° movement to shoot again and keep the carnage going, like a serial killer’s wet dream. As the game progresses, you can slow down time to guide shots, speed up bullets for armour-piercing rounds and completely change trajectory at any point in mid-air. The last one seems a tad overpowered, but the latter two can’t always be performed. They’re very tightly implemented though, forcing players to cleverly apply each mechanic.

While your lone bullet bounces around the map, all Speedy Gonzalez-like, the final path will end up looking like a child trying to draw a pentagram, especially with the later levels. Holy Moley! These stages will have you zip-ziggity-zagging like nothing else. However, if you want to place high on the global leaderboards, you’d best be moving as fast and as destructively as possible, keeping the combo counter ticking and each optional challenge in mind.

My Wishlist

To be frank, I don’t have any real critiques for the main game itself. I mean, maybe the optional challenges could be a bit more clear, and they probably should have added a few more action sequences. Like that level where you have to avoid Molotov cocktails while driving, or when you’re chasing down runaway targets in cars, but that’s honestly all I could say. Everything just works extremely well.

If there’s one aspect that didn’t add much, it’d have to be the insidious cult story. While I do enjoy the macabre comic-book style and premise, this revenge tale is a little too basic for my tastes. It all seems like you’re watching a set of storyboards for something that should be much, much deeper. If you wanna see a better portrayal of creepy cultists being creepy, I’d recommend checking out the films, Midsommar or Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, because you’ll no doubt be left wanting here.

Decision

Although, for 20 Aussie dollarydoos, you can fair dinkum do a lot worse. Children of the Sun is simply way too addictive for what it is. Who would’ve thought that piecing together a bullet’s route could be so much fun? Not me, that’s for sure. I just love how a level’s enemy placement feels like one big, dynamic puzzle to solve, as you weave and curve bullets based on their location and any nearby objects. While it only takes about 3-5 hours to complete and the story is rather forgettable, this game will have you replaying the same levels over and over again, just to get a higher score. It is that good, folks.

By Anthony Culinas – Reviewed on PC

Excellent

Becoming a bullet and strategically eliminating targets across the map is a blast in Children of the Sun. The levels are challenging and dynamic, and will surely entice players to keep improving their scores. It’s a shame that the story isn’t anywhere near as good, but it doesn’t take away from the addictive puzzle-shooting action.

This game was reviewed using a download code provided by Devolver Digital. The Beta Network uses affiliate partnerships, however, this does not influence reviews or any other content published. The Beta Network may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links that are on the website.