
Release Date: February 19, 2025
An adventure game with visual novel elements, set in a retrofuturistic style. In Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog we play as a security officer, working on the titular Gun-Dog spaceship. Our main job is to deal with an unknown assailant who's hunting down the crew. An important part of the game is also to get to know other crew members and their intentions.
Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog is an adventure game with noticeable elements borrowed from the visual novel genre. It was developed by independent Space Colony Studios from Wales.
Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog transports us to a retrofuturistic universe. In the year 214 of the planetary calendar, which is 4 years after the end of the great conflict, a fragile peace reigns in the Solar System. The character we embody is assigned to the Gun-Dog patrol ship and sent to the edge of Jupiter's Space to investigate mysterious signals coming from this area.
Our protagonist (male or female) gets entangled in a high-stakes intrigue. As a security officer of the titular ship, they will have to ensure the safety of the crew and save them from an unknown attacker. The situation is complicated by the fact that paranoia and conspiracies are beginning to spread among the team members, which increases the risk of rebellion. How the story of the Gun-Dog crew later unfolds largely depends on our decisions.
The main source of inspiration for Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog were science fiction adventure games, created for the NEC PC-98 computer. Although we watch the action from the first-person perspective (FPP), the game does not allow us to move freely around the ship's deck. Instead, it offers separate screens showing the places and situations in which our character and their interlocutors find themselves.
We get to know the individual crew members better during the game. Our crew includes the charismatic Captain Bartermew, the cheerful Lieutenant Cassandra Quinn, or even the assertive Mackenzie Cathays. Each of them has a unique personality and history, as well as their own quirks, and our actions and decisions determine how our relationships with them will develop.
The fact that there are two-faced people among them is not insignificant. Hints about who we are really dealing with must be sought "between the lines". We need to carefully familiarize ourselves with the statements made by various people and look for hidden intentions in them (however, we must be careful not to fall into paranoia ourselves).
The game also allows to interact with various objects.
The graphic design of Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog is maintained in a manga, pixel art style. The gameplay unfolds to the accompaniment of a chiptune soundtrack straight from the 8-bit era.
Platforms:
PC Windows February 19, 2025
PlayStation 4 February 20, 2025
Nintendo Switch February 20, 2025
PlayStation 5 February 20, 2025
Developer: Space Colony Studios
Publisher: Astrolabe Games
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System Requirements for Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog Video Game:
PC / Windows
Minimum System Requirements:
CPU 2.0 GHz, 2 GB RAM, graphic card Intel HD, 300 MB HDD, Windows 7.
Game Ratings for Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog Video Game.
Gamer Escape: 9 / 10 by Josh McGrath
I came into Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog solely for two reasons: the initial art and the promise of a “PC-98 style adventure.” What I got was an enthralling story straight out of late-80s mecha anime, with some honestly surprising turns, all accompanied by stunning pixel artwork evoking the era.
Shacknews: 7 / 10 by Lucas White
Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog is a remarkable tribute to PC-98 visual novels and hard sci-fi anime of a specific vintage. The visuals are pitch-perfect with multiple settings that offer different vibes, and the soundtrack is a complex beast of speaker-straining chiptunes that enhances the mood even further.
Niche Gamer: 6 / 10
As an introduction to a grander story and universe full of possibilities, there is potential here. For its price, players get an OVA’s worth of story stretched to about three to four hours. This would have been an awesome first chapter, but the fact that it ends with a big question mark will leave players wanting in frustration.
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