We hope you are looking for a break from action-heavy blockbusters. If you do, The End of the Sun might catch your eye. The game is created by a tiny two-person team from Poland over the course of eight years. It’s a first-person adventure game drops you into a beautiful, if somewhat lonely, Slavic fantasy world. It’s been out for PC for awhile, but now PS5 owners can also enjoy this little labor of love.
You play as Ashter, a sorcerer with a knack for tracking down mythical creatures and manipulating time through fire. The story tries its best to intrigue you. In most situations it succeeds. It’s a surreal journey that kicks off when your hunt for a legendary bird called the Rarog leads you to a strangely quiet eighteenth-century village. We were surprised to not see locals going about their day. At first we found empty houses and extinguished hearths. Then, we were greated by lingering spirits. The End of the Sun had a solid foundation from the get go.
Out on PS5 as you read this!
Losing yourself in a good mistery
There are no fast-paced mechanics here. You explore. You solve environmental puzzles. The End of the Sun is a narrative-driven walking simulator. And more. The semi-open valley hides various campfires that act as your main tool for interacting with the world.
We loved gathering items to reignite these hearths. The meditation opens gateways that allow travel between four distinct seasons. Because these seasons are separated by several years, you are actually jumping backward and forward through the timeline of the village.
A path, for example, may be blocked in the winter. So you need to travel back to the spring to alter an event that changes the landscape. It’s fun to pay close attention to how the environment shifts. Cause-and-effect is a thing here.
From a technical standpoint, the game is incredibly impressive. Doubly so when you consider its indie roots. It’s built in the Unity engine, but the visual fidelity is outstanding thanks to the developers’ extensive use of photogrammetry. They actually traveled to ethnographic museums to scan real historical buildings, tools, and everyday items before putting them straight into the digital world. Talk about genuine sense of history.
The audio design backs this up perfectly. The valley is filled with ambient sounds that further enrich the atmosphere. Then there’s the soundtrack. It ties everything together by mixing traditional Slavic folk music. It was nice listening how uniquely were used fiddles and flutes with heavier drums. It’s easy to play this game. It’s even easier to live it!
Slow-burn experience
The End of the Sun is a beautifully crafted passion project. It asks for your patience and rewards you with a rich and culturally authentic world. Everything is slow here, however. You walk. You backtrack. The timelines might not appeal to everyone. Even so, those who enjoy a relaxing, story-focused puzzle game will find a lot to appreciate. We sure did.
Dev & Play Media 
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