Children of the Sun: Everything We Know

Heads up, third-person shooter fans — developer Rene Rother and Devolver Digital are rustling up a new type of adventure for PC—an action-centric game that’ll look to fuse the core nodes of a tactical puzzle shooter with combat that’s both engaging and rewarding. That’s Children of the Sun, in a nutshell, and it’s currently scheduled to launch on Steam at some point in 2024.

So, what more do you need to know about Children of the Sun ahead of its release? Well, if we have piqued your interest with all of that introductory jargon, then be sure to read on for the full story. Here’s everything we can tell you about Devolver Digital’s upcoming IP.

What Is Children of the Sun?

Children of the Sun is a third-person and first-person shooter game, and one that’ll center its attention around one thing: a bullet, and its ability to swerve, duck, and ultimately kill its chosen target. Or in this case, multiple targets. As it turns out, players will only have access to a single bullet in each level, which will need to be manipulated in order to secure a web of critical kills in and around one of several maps. Think Sniper Elite, but without a wealth of additional bullets, and you’ll have a good idea of what it’s getting at.

“Children of the Sun is lethally replayable by design,” the devs explain in a press release. “There are multiple solutions to each level, encouraging creativity and experimentation, with a satisfying scoring system that rewards accuracy and efficiency. Then, you can check the online leaderboards to see how you stack up against your friends and the rest of the world.”

Story

Story-wise, Children of the Sun doesn’t seem to plunge into anything overly complicated; on the contrary, it’ll mainly revolve around one thing: a girl’s desperate quest to enact revenge and wage war on “The Cult”—a band of unruly misfits who, according to the blurb, have conceived countless atrocities. As for what part you’ll play in this whole fiasco, however, is still unclear. Either way, you can expect to fill the boots of a sharpshooting mercenary, of sorts.

“Burning with anger, THE GIRL wages a one-woman war against THE CULT, taking them down cultist by cultist, bullet by bullet, until she reaches her true target: THE LEADER,” the game’s blurb reads in part. “Along the way she will unravel the dark truth about this mysterious order and the atrocities committed by them in the name of their master.”

Gameplay

As mentioned in the introductory spiel earlier, Children of the Sun will adopt a gameplay style that’s slightly reminiscent of Sniper Elite, in the case that each level will invite you to manipulate a bullet and pierce a target from a multitude of angles and locations. The only catch is, well, you only have the one bullet to use in each section of the campaign, which means precision shooting is an absolute necessity. In other words, if you’re a little sloppy with a rifle, then you might struggle to wrap your head around Children of the Sun’s unorthodox approach.

“In this tactical third-person puzzle shooter you assume control of one bullet, guiding it through increasingly complex and challenging levels to kill cultists, trigger traps, and reshape the environment,” the game’s description adds. “Every shot counts and ruthless precision is rewarded. Taking down THE CULT is deeply satisfying; doing it with style even more so.” Right on.

According to the devs, Children of the Sun also “accompanies its unique one-bullet action with an evocative, mystery-filled storyline that unravels as you exact your revenge on the people who made your life hell and relentlessly pursue the enigmatic LEADER.” So, there you have it: one bullet per level, and numerous ways to approach the target and squeeze the trigger. Color us intrigued.

Development

Introducing 'Children of the Sun' by @primaerfunktion.

Control the path of a single bullet and unleash a fury of vengeance on a sinister cult in this surreal tactical puzzle-shooter.

Play the demo now on Steam. pic.twitter.com/bMaQaVT8fj

— Devolver Digital (@devolverdigital) February 1, 2024

In case you skipped out on the initial announcement, Children of the Sun is being developed by Rene Rother. What do we know about Rene Rother? Well, not a whole lot as it turns out, what with their site being a little, shall we say, bare bones. Nevertheless, you can check out their portfolio and all of their latest patch notes over on the official handle here.

The good news is, you can get ahold of a demo of the game at present. If all goes according to plan, then the team behind it should, with any luck, roll out the red carpet for the full game at some point in 2024. Until then, you’ll have to settle for the teaser that’s currently available on Steam, I’m afraid.

Trailer

If you’re hunkering for a good old-fashioned trailer, then look no further. You can check out the latest announcement trailer for Children of the Sun in the video embedded above.

Release Date, Platforms & Editions

Children of the Sun will be launching on PC via Steam at some stage in 2024. As for when it’ll be shaping up for a debut this year, however, is still something of a mystery. With that said, you can get ahold of a demo of the game over on its Steam handle right now.

Interested in staying up to date with Children of the Sun? If so, then be sure to check in with the folks over at Rene Rother for all the latest updates via their official social handle here. If anything does change ahead of its global release, then we’ll be sure to fill you in on all the key details right here on gaming.net.

So, what’s your take? Will you be picking up a copy of Children of the Sun when it arrives on its chosen platforms? Let us know your thoughts over on our socials here.