[XBLA] Sol Survivor Review

[Suave Peanut]

Sol Survivor Review

Title: Sol Survivor
Platform: Xbox LIVE Indie Games (PC version forthcoming)
Developer: Cadenza Interactive
ESRB: Unrated
MSRP: 800 MSP ($10 USD)
Editor: Ryan 'Suave Peanut' Carrigan

What's Hot: Orbital support brings a new twist to turret defense; multiple characters and strategies; co-op up to 8-players.

What's Not: Kinda pricey compared to other indie games; forgettable story; drab levels.

Although it hit the Xbox LIVE Indie Games channel a few weeks back, Sol Survivor, a finalist in Microsoft’s Dream.Build.Play competition, just recently made its way to our attention. It can be easy for these indie games to slip through the cracks, but this is one we are glad to have caught.

Sol Survivor is a new and shining example of the increasingly-popular turret defense genre. You take the role of a space commander who travels from planet to planet defending your people from the evil invading forces of the Ascendency. Before each battle, you select your officer who you will send into battle. Each of the officers has a different arsenal of turrets and orbital support options with which to defend your people. It's clear that the developers put some work into the story, but sadly you don't get too much information about it. A few paragraphs about each of the officers when you select them, and a few story-advancing notes after each battle, but nothing terribly meaty. I would have liked to at least have the option to learn more or perhaps an introduction to the universe when you start the game.

Use your space laser to rain destruction... from space.

The game has three levels of difficulty, and each one feels just right. Easy is a great place for beginners just learning the turret defense ropes, normal is a great middle ground like it should be, and hard is a great challenge for strategy veterans.

On each of the four planets you will work your way around five maps doing that whole "defending-your-base-from-turrets" thing by pulling the right trigger and selecting a unit to place wherever you deem strategically appropriate. What makes Sol Survivor special among turret defense games is the Orbital Defense feature. In addition to placing an obscene number of towers along the enemy's path, by pulling the left trigger you have the power to summon additional help from space. Did a couple of baddies get past your last turret? No worries, just summon your space laser (or any of your other support options) and wipe them out before they can reach one of your bases.

Enemies will attack in waves, making their way across a path toward your base. If you run out of resources to build another turrets or summon an orbital defense and an enemy makes it all the way to one of your bases, you will lose health. You begin each round with 20 health, each unit representing the soul of one of your base's inhabitants. Run out of souls and you can guess what happens. (Here's a hint: you don't win.)

Souls are shuffled off this mortal coal via this, um, mortal... coil.

Sol Survivor shines among the sea of uncertainty that can be the Indie Games channel. But at 800 points it is one of the pricier options on the channel, especially considering the short length of the campaign. However, this feels like a professional XBLA release and I would consider it totally worth it. Cadenza Interactive has made something very impressive for a studio comprised of just a few friends. However, the minimalist story and bland environments are what keeps the game closer to good rather than great.

Score: 3.5 out of 5 CoGs


Ryan says, "Sol Survivor is a great game for anybody who already loves turret defense or anybody else who may be checking it out for the first time. The campaign is not terribly long, but the multiplayer options open things up for replayability."

[Mike Kelehan]

Great review. If Indie Game reviews will become a regular thing on the site (and I think that would be great; they get too little coverage), maybe they should have a different tag than [XBLA], since that's not really accurate. Maybe [XBLIG]?

[Suave Peanut]

Originally Posted by Mike Kelehan

Great review. If Indie Game reviews will become a regular thing on the site (and I think that would be great; they get too little coverage), maybe they should have a different tag than [XBLA], since that's not really accurate. Maybe [XBLIG]?

Thanks for the feedback, Mike. I really enjoyed doing it and would love to discuss more indie games in the future. Either through more reviews or a dedicated indie games feature, it's something I've thought about.

Oh, and I did consider an indie games tag, but then figured it could be a little confusing to throw a new acronym at our readers. I went with XBLA because it is on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace.

[Ghostbear]

Excellent review Ryan, You sold me a copy!

[rein]

It looks pretty cool but I'm left a little confused after reading the review. Is the game good because it's from an indie developer or is it a good XBLA title? It seems like most of the positive comments were connected to it being an indie game. I may be the minority but I don't care if it was an indie developer or any other XBLA game developer. I just care if it is worth my $10. That is why I put my vote on keeping the XBLA acronym. I will support any developer, established or indie, as long as the game warrants it.

[Suave Peanut]

Originally Posted by rein

It looks pretty cool but I'm left a little confused after reading the review. Is the game good because it's from an indie developer or is it a good XBLA title? It seems like most of the positive comments were connected to it being an indie game. I may be the minority but I don't care if it was an indie developer or any other XBLA game developer. I just care if it is worth my $10. That is why I put my vote on keeping the XBLA acronym. I will support any developer, established or indie, as long as the game warrants it.

It is both, really. It's a good game on its own, but it is fantastic compared to most of the other things you find on the Indie Games channel on Xbox LIVE.

[MagGnome]

Great review Peanut!

I'm personally going to pass on the game as the environments are quite bland (as you said) and I have enough tower defense games as it is.

Still, I'd love to see you do more of these.

[Suave Peanut]

For those holding out for the PC version, it is now live! Check it out on Steam for $9.99.