The Solus Project

There is a moment that happens 15-1 hour into the game (depending how long it takes you to trigger a couple of events in the game) that changed my life. One of the most terrifying moments I've ever experienced in a video game.

Loved this game so much I wanted to get it on console as well, but game is no longer available on PSN.
It's not a perfect game, but for me it got a lot right. Large open areas to explore, despite being an overall linear game. Fantastic weather effects, an interesting survival mechanic that borders on walking simulator, and just overall impressive visuals for an alien planet.
The VR experience is purely optional - you don't have to have VR to be able to play it. I've never had VR, and probably never will. I still loved the game.
The weather effects in particular helped to immerse me in the experience. Like the store page explains - there is full day and night cycling, temperatures, winds, tides, quakes and tornadoes. And the ambient music changes in response to changing weather conditions. When you see a tornado approaching, you really, REALLY want to be running for the caves.
It's good to see the game is still available on PC - I'm not completely sure on the reasons why it got pulled from the PSN store page, but this is just another point in favour of the PC Masterrace.

I'd give this a neutral review if it were possible. The TL:DR is that this is a well made, atmospheric game with a real sense of exploration, that is let down and marred by poor story telling and an underestimation of the average players intelligence.
Graphically, this game is not going to be winning any awards in 2024 but it's decent enough to look at. Most importantly in this title, is the lighting, which they nail pretty well. The underground depths are pitch black and the darkness beyond your torch is suitably oppressive. Creepy lighting and emotive flashes during midnight storms, all work well to build tension and set the atmospheric stage. The sound and music also do some heavy lifting here too, really setting the mood of the game at any given time. Equally, the story telling paints a sinister mystery that you want to and feel drawn to unlock and if you are like me and enjoy checking every nook and cranny, you'll be well entertained for an average 30-50hrs. Money well spent.
Unfortunately, the narrative falls down halfway through, as the devs have your character make periodic "logs" of his/her findings. These don't always match your own progress in terms of uncovering the mysteries of this planet. So you find your character not grasping the plot as well as you have and this can be quite jarring. The ending is also notably predictable and I feel that they could have done a better job with the ending in this respect. Ultimately it felt a poor finish to an otherwise well told story. This is largely due to the same aforementioned habit of portraying your character as having only a partial understanding of events on this world, whilst you as the player likely know and understand much more of what is going on. You can see the trap your character is walking into but are powerless to affect the outcome because ultimately, you aren't the driving will in this story, you are just a passenger in the head of the character you are playing. It really robs you of the sense of achievement in uncovering the mysteries of the Solus Project.

Finally got around to playing this through in 2024. Still holds up well, it's a very solid exploration/survival game, with major emphasis on exploration. Survival elements are mainly there to spice things up somewhat.
Rather strong Myst vibes, except the game isn't as puzzle-centric, and the few puzzles which are there are nowhere near as convoluted as the ones in Myst games or Obduction. Solus is mainly about finding a way to navigate from A to B, collecting things and trying to learn as much about the story as you can. Speaking of story, a few of the reviewers here mentioned that they were underwhelmed by the ending, but I honestly have to say I found it quite fitting.
Great setting and immersion, a few genuinely creepy moments (kind of happy I didn't play this in VR). Not much replayability, since the game is linear, but I enjoyed the few evenings it took me to play this through.

This game was a fun experience when I first played it, but over the years, tech changes, and older games & software break. The Solus Project has issues created by time. If you're on Windows 11 and can't get audio anywhere besides UI, then you've gotta set your audio device via Windows Volume Mixer.

Really good and gets better and better the farther you go into it.
A bit rough on the edges but the weather effects and the ocean is great and the atmosphere is awesome.
Bought it years ago but didn't play much for some reason, happy i re-discovered it now!
Amazing that its from 2016.

Absolutely adore this game!! Been a big fan of The Ball since it came out, and was so excited to see a spiritual sequel in The Solus Project! Played quite a few hours of TSP back when it released, but I recently got a VR headset and decided to boot it back up and experience it fresh in VR (got a Woojer vest recently as well, so I wore that while playing). OMG what an experience!! Game plays perfectly on my PC and VR controls worked seamlessly with my headset (Quest 3). Did have to move my game files from my hard drive to my SSD in able for the game to run smoothly, but after this it was smooth sailing. So glad I decided to give it another shot in VR, and especially while wearing the Woojer vest!! Soundtrack and environmental effects sound/feel AMAZING in this game, and effectively raise the tension you experience while trying to survive. Such an amazing atmosphere and environment to explore as well, and everything looks crisp and detailed in VR. You can tell this was a passion project, and it’s been a treat experiencing this game again in a new way. Thank you Teotl Studios - I hope to see more unique projects from you guys soon, and your past projects deserve all the praises!