The Solus Project

 PlayStation 4
The Solus Project Image
Metascore
65

Mixed or average reviews - based on 12 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
6.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 17 Ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
Rate this:
  • 10
  • 9
  • 8
  • 7
  • 6
  • 5
  • 4
  • 3
  • 2
  • 1
  • 0
  • 0
  • Summary: Humanity is on the verge of extinction. You are the last hope, tasked with finding a safe haven for a colony. But now you are stranded on a deserted alien planet and every other member of your crew is dead. The fate of humanity rests in your hands: you must survive
    The Solus Project is a    Humanity is on the verge of extinction. You are the last hope, tasked with finding a safe haven for a colony. But now you are stranded on a deserted alien planet and every other member of your crew is dead. The fate of humanity rests in your hands: you must survive
    The Solus Project is a first-person survival adventure game by the award-winning Teotl Studios and Grip Digital.
    - Plants grow and rot, weather changes from scorching heat to chilling storms, the wind and humidity are unforgiving... The Solus Project contains some of the most advanced environmental simulations ever seen in a video game.
    - Craft items, explore vast areas, monitor your health, sleep regularly, and more A true survival experience!
    - Learn the secrets of a mysterious alien civilization that might hold the key to humanity's survival!    … Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 12
  3. Negative: 2 out of 12
  1. PlaySense
    Sep 25, 2017
    80
    You'll enjoy this long and incredibly atmospheric adventure, even if the game's controls take some getting used to and the experience as a whole lacks a bit of challenge.
  2. GMW3
    Sep 27, 2017
    80
    The Solus Project is a fine exploration and horror title, though it does have its flaws. The excellent ambiance and general air of loneliness, isolation and foreboding make for a truly immersive experience that is worth your time.
  3. GameSpew
    Oct 14, 2017
    80
    The lengthy loading times wouldn’t be as problematic if they were easier to avoid.
  4. GameCritics
    Nov 6, 2017
    65
    While the story about the fate of humanity and the mystery surrounding the unseen alien race was ultimately a disappointment, I still find myself thinking about the most memorable moments from The Solus Project, such as encountering my first raging storm or wading waist-deep through that subterranean pool. At its best (and in VR) it evokes the strange and wonderful sensation of exploring a truly unknown environment. At its worst, it’s a slog that undercuts its unique qualities with finicky survival elements and an inconsistent, sometimes-buggy experience.
  5. COGconnected
    Sep 28, 2017
    62
    The Solus Project does what it sets out to do — immerse you in a dangerous environment for a dozen or so hours and task you with surviving long enough to experience the story. While I wish there was a bit more to the plot, and while the controls frustrated me, it’s a fairly solid exploration and survival game. The VR component makes it worth investing some time in.
  6. PlayStation Country
    Oct 2, 2017
    60
    The Solus Project is an interesting experience, blending on foot exploration with incredibly atmospheric visuals and survival mechanics. This recipe for VR greatness is marred however by its awkward Move controls and diminishing returns. If you are interested in a sci-if sightseeing tour then consider this. However, The Solus Project does end up outstaying its welcome.
  7. Push Square
    Oct 2, 2017
    40
    The Solus Project is poor survival game that plays far better as a walking simulator. The lack of any guidance in controls and direction will leave you feeling clueless on how to proceed throughout. The environments are bland and barren, and although the weather and day/night cycle offer some positives, they're all ultimately overshadowed by the game’s negatives. To top it all off a below par PlayStation VR option and a large number of bugs turn what could have been a good survival title into a disappointing one.

See all 12 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 6
  3. Negative: 1 out of 6
  1. Soleandro
    Nov 26, 2020
    10
    This Game in VR is one of my favorites! I love it because its a mix between Walk Simulator, Survival Game, Exploration with an interestingThis Game in VR is one of my favorites! I love it because its a mix between Walk Simulator, Survival Game, Exploration with an interesting Story. No fights and no fast action. Nice graphic on the PS4 Pro. I especially like the freedom that you have on the many areas that you have to explore. You wanna go on the top of the hill and look down? No problem. And from time to time some extreme weather effects will come. Also nice on VR. Also some areas are really cool.… Expand
  2. Osaka_Doc
    Sep 3, 2018
    9
    If you are looking for a long, engaging, and thoroughly atmospheric exploration/adventure game for VR, then The Solus Project is a treat. WhenIf you are looking for a long, engaging, and thoroughly atmospheric exploration/adventure game for VR, then The Solus Project is a treat. When the game was first available on PSVR it was simply the only game in town that provided a deep and immersive 'otherworldly' VR experience. Now we have Skyrim VR it makes it hard to give The Solus Project the same level of praise in terms of scale, but what it lacks in regard detailed game systems and mechanics, it more than makes up in sheer mood and clarity of vision.

    At times creepy, spectacular, frustrating, thrilling - an amazing job for what I understanding is a tiny development team. At the time of release on PSVR I would have given a 10 given nothing came close to the game in terms of VR engagement and immersion. I still rate the game highly, as almost a year after completion I still find myself remembering some of the vistas, landscapes, and fantastic environmental design (particularly the dynamic weather, absolutely amazing experience for the first time player).    … Expand
  4. BulletPeople
    Jan 8, 2019
    9
    I played this through on PSVR in about 20 hours. The scenery and weather effects in VR are beautiful, The music and sound are haunting.I played this through on PSVR in about 20 hours. The scenery and weather effects in VR are beautiful, The music and sound are haunting. Without auto-mapping, the cave exploration will be a challenge, but although you may find yourself lost at times there are enough things to distinguish the different areas you can regain your bearings after some exploration. The load times are taxing, that's for sure, but there are a wealth of things you can do by jumping out of the game to the PS4 user interface during loading that after realizing this I never minded the load screens again.

    I loved the exploration aspect, and the survival aspects were not difficult enough to be frustrating. I appreciate greatly how you can set the difficulty to 0 and essentially not have to deal with the food/water survival cycle, and I only used that option when I had completed the game with all but 2 items and had to wander far and wide to find them--still cheating but I had essentially beaten the game at that point. It was interesting that at 0% difficulty it becomes a different, very laid back and wonderful exploration game. I am tempted to replay it entirely on 0% difficulty just to witness the spectacle of the amazing level design at my leisure.

    I really loved the level design and special effects. You did feel like you were on a different planet. I tried the 2D version after beating the game, and it was a very different experience, one that felt very small and weak compared to seeing the world around you in VR. Very much looking forward to what this designer produces next.    … Expand
  5. SuperkenGaming
    Sep 22, 2017
    7
    The Solus Project
    From great to unbalanced
    The Solus Project is a first person survival game set on a deserted alien planet, youre goal is    The Solus Project
    From great to unbalanced
    The Solus Project is a first person survival game set on a deserted alien planet, youre goal is to survive the environment and send a signal back home to earth and save the human race
    a lot at stake, a lot of incentive to pull this off…
    The first half of the game was great...
    at first this is a mix of casual walking simulator mixed with survival exploration gathering food and water bottles to make sure your character doesn’t die of hunger or thirst, you also have to deal with the harsh environment... trying not to die of hyperthermia
    the opening moments are mysterious and intriguing.. Finding hidden caves with secrets that once collected improve you stats and chance of survival...
    items to increase your health and inventory size
    There’s very light crafting with you only having to craft 1 torch that burns forever and the occasional tool down the line in story
    This sets up what is initially a really enjoyable and casual survival experience…
    surviving isn’t annoying.. You have an infinite light source, you’ll occasionally have to catch a plant on fire to stay warm, sleep when you’re deprived... eat and drink every once in a while...
    none of which happens that often at all…
    And there are refill stations scattered around…
    so this feels mostly like an adventure game with survival aspects attached to it..
    Exploring this alien planet, picking up documents of other explorers around, throwing switches and finding items to progress them game
    no real enemies here except for one hide and seek like section giving you a sense that maybe you’re not as alone on this planet as you might have thought..
    And the occasional meteor showers shaking the ground around you, really immersing you into this world….
    There is the occasional annoyance I was having with the game like its awful AutoSaving... though there are save posts around the world to save yourself and the face that death can come pretty often as youre trying to figure the game out and the load times of this game are painfully slow…
    But still I was having a lot of fun... I could look past these flows for the great survival adventure this game was
    and then the game decides to not be so linear anymore, get lazy with its puzzles by just forcing you to find keys over and over…
    And halfway through when you get back to the surface after an underground section it broke for me…
    I don’t mean the game crashed or started getting buggy...
    No...
    The game wasn’t balanced in a way to make this section reasonably playable...
    staying warm hasn’t been an issue all game and then all of a sudden it is…
    youre on a part of the planet that gets really cold, is surrounded by water, and there are 0 plants to catch on fire to stay warm…
    so while collecting 4 keys, it started to get dark, the winds were picking up and because of the developers forgetting to balance this level out with items to burn I got caught in a hyperthermia death cycle
    I couldn’t leave my little key island without swimming through the water and just dying the moment I got out
    I can’t possibly call this game a great survival experience with something like this overlooked..
    Cold hasn’t been a problem all game and when it is there’s nothing to be burned...
    After searching my problem I found that plenty of others have had this issue in the same spot since the game came out on pc a year and a half ago and the developers still haven’t fixed it
    that being said I still believe this is a really solid experience, and if you plan to go in after watching this review.. Collect those bushes and hold onto them for this potential game stopping moment
    I give The Solus Project
    a 7/10    … Expand
  6. BITESCREEN
    Oct 4, 2017
    7
    Der Plot des Sci-Fi-Explorationspiels "The Solus Project" ist typisch: In ferner Zukunft ist die Erde dem Tode geweiht, die einzige HoffnungDer Plot des Sci-Fi-Explorationspiels "The Solus Project" ist typisch: In ferner Zukunft ist die Erde dem Tode geweiht, die einzige Hoffnung der Menschheit ist die Besiedelung neuer Planeten. Verzweifelt katapultiert man also Kolonisten ins All – von denen wir nach einem katastrophalen Absturz leider als einziger überleben. Noch schlimmer: Unsere temporäre Heimat Gliese-6143-C ist mit rauschendem Meer und rauen Klippen zwar wunderschön, mit fehlender Fauna und unberechenbarem Wetter aber auch arg unwirtlich – weshalb wir in seichter Survival-Manier ständig Wasser, Wärme, Nahrung und gesunden Schlaf benötigen. Richtig unangenehm wird es jedoch unter der Erde – wenn wir ganz ohne Karte, dafür mit einem unzuverlässigen Missionszeiger durch finstere Höhlen und zyklopische Tempel stolpern. Doch gerade hier punktet "The Solus Project" mit einer herrlich mysteriösen und ungemein klaustrophobischen Atmosphäre irgendwo zwischen "Lost", "Metroid" und H.P. Lovecraft. Viel Gameplay steckt abseits von Entdecken und Überleben aber nicht drin – so teleportiert man sich mit einem praktischen Diskwerfer an versteckte Orte, sucht Schlüssel oder entziffert mit dem Trikorder Alien-Artefakte. Dabei aber ist das locker 10-Stunden-lange Indiegame so immersiv wie kaum eines seiner Kollegen – weshalb man die vielen rauhen Ecken und Kanten gerne verzeiht.… Expand
  7. pacific1
    Feb 5, 2019
    4
    Read the push square vr review, I agree with that completely. Just getting out of the first little area was a nuisance. This game needed aRead the push square vr review, I agree with that completely. Just getting out of the first little area was a nuisance. This game needed a better tutorial system. It seems like some people were able to power through and find some value here but really there are better games than this at this point.… Expand