Children of the Sun is a revenge game all about taking the perfect shot

Devolver Digital has revealed Children of the Sun, an upcoming indie shooter from solo developer René Rother. I had the chance to play an early demo of the game prior to its announcement, where I hunted down sinister cultists, methodically assassinating them with a magical sniper rifle.

One by one

Children of the Sun stars a masked protagonist hellbent on finding and killing the members of Children of the Sun, a cult. They’ll do so with their trusty sniper rifle, which can not only eliminate enemies from a distance, but deny the laws of physics in order to kill multiple enemies in rapid succession.

This is where the game’s primary gameplay mechanic comes in. At the start of each level, you use the mouse to move your character around the perimeter of the stage, finding the best vantage point for your assassinating duties. Once you’ve found a good spot, you aim your sniper rifle at an enemy’s head and pull the trigger.

Outrun my gun

From here, Children of the Sun gets a bit wacky. Once the first enemy is dead, the game drops into slow motion and allows you to redirect the bullet towards the dome of another cultist. Depending on whether or not they witnessed the preceding kill, hostiles may attempt to flee your wrath. This chain of assassination continues until there are no cultists standing and the level is cleared.

Once you’ve cleared a level, the game zooms out to a bird’s eye view, where you can look at an illustration of your bullet path. You’re also given points depending on how many shots you fired, how long it took you to complete the level, and other factors. This score is then placed on a leaderboard against other players.

Do revenge

Children of the Sun is incredibly stylistic in its gameplay and presentation, as evidenced by its grungy visual aesthetic and experimental soundtrack. It’s clear that Rother has taken inspiration from series like Hitman and Sniper Elite, and we look forward to seeing how the full game comes together when Children of the Sun releases later this year.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_