Take on the role of a mortally wounded sun on a road trip quest back to the sky through a gloomy twilit world where the real treasure is the friends we made along the way.
Some highlights:
- The title is a pun. This is good.
- This is a game about dead or dying gods. This is great.
- Gameplay is simple, narrative heavy, and every mechanic builds towards the story's climax.
- It uses playing cards, not dice, which I have a fondness for.
The mechanics of resolving turns present the sun with a choice: prioritise overcoming trials, or prioritise gathering companions. Failing challenges costs faith, losing faith ends the game and makes a bad epilogue more likely, but gathering companions for the journey makes the sun stronger (or more versatile) in the long run, and increases the chances of a positive epilogue. Of course, it's not always up to the sun's player: the luck of the draw plays into everything, because this is a game, not freeform storytelling (which is fine, but a different thing). So the sun often has to make the best of bad situations.
All of these factors - faith, companions, the goals of the sun and their mortal needs - come together to define the end of the game, be it a glorious re-ascension, a bitter exile, or something else entirely. The epilogue then touches on the impact of the sun on the world and on their companions.
W.H. Arthur's concise and evocative rules writing is a joy to read, and the game bubbles with potential. It's one of those games that you can feel how it will be to play just by reading it.
I definitely recommend this game!