Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog

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Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog is a single player role playing game with romance, drama, mystery, thriller and others themes. It was developed by Space Colony Studios and was released on February 19, 2025. It received very positive reviews from players.

Survive the mystery that awaits the JFS Gun-Dog in deep space in this retro visual novel / graphic adventure.

Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog screenshot

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93%

Audience ScoreBased on 413 reviews

story116 positive mentions

grinding3 negative mentions

The game offers a strong and engaging retro sci-fi visual novel experience with beautiful pixel art and animations inspired by 80s and 90s mecha anime, capturing authentic PC-98 aesthetics.
Characters are well-written, distinct, and memorable, with meaningful interactions and a compelling mystery story that captivates players and encourages multiple playthroughs.
The soundtrack and sound design complement the atmosphere perfectly, enhancing immersion, and the game includes quality-of-life features like multiple visual styles and effective skipping functions.

The story feels short and rushed, especially towards the ending, which many players find abrupt, unsatisfying, and heavily reliant on a cliffhanger setting up a sequel without fully resolving key plot points.
Player choices have limited impact on the overall narrative, with many branches funneling into mostly similar endings, reducing replay value and agency.
Some writing issues are noted, including occasional verbose descriptions, clumsy pronoun usage, inconsistent pacing, minor text display problems, and some characters being stereotypical or underdeveloped.

story
340 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
64%
2%
The story is a well-crafted, engaging sci-fi visual novel inspired by 80s-90s mecha anime, with memorable characters and intriguing mystery aboard the ship Gun-Dog. While praised for its writing, atmosphere, and branching choices, many find the narrative short, somewhat rushed, and ending on a cliffhanger that sets up future installments, leaving players eager but sometimes frustrated by unresolved plot points. Overall, it offers a captivating experience with strong potential for deeper worldbuilding and continuation.
- “The writing is strong, the plot is engaging, and the characters are truly memorable.”
- “A loving tribute to the PC-98, visual novels, and all things mecha manime; Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog is a great six or so hour romp through a charming sci-fi setting with a great cast of characters, a solid espionage story, and wonderful visuals and sound.”
- “The story lives up to its beautiful art, the fact it manages to be so varied and engaging within the confines of such a small space speaks to the sheer quality of the writing.”
- “An interesting detective-like story in a cool setting, only to be ruined by a flat and empty ending.”
- “The story feels like a late 80s or early 90s sci-fi OVA in the vein of 08th MS Team or similar, but the characters are either annoying or straight-up dumb (these military officers feel so incompetent that it's ridiculous)... it also feels like the story is very much incomplete.”
- “In summary, 'Stories From Sol: Gun-Dog' is a generic sci-fi adventure that tries to be clever, and instead insults the player by pulling a last-minute bad ending that invalidates the player's inputs and interest in the story they just read.”
graphics
140 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
49%
49%
2%
The game features gorgeous, nostalgic pixel art heavily inspired by 80s and 90s mecha anime and classic PC-98/88 adventure games, with multiple graphical styles to suit player preferences. The visuals and aesthetic design are consistently praised for their charm, atmospheric quality, and faithful retro sci-fi ambiance, effectively complementing the story and music. While some wish for more varied animations or font customization, overall the graphics are regarded as a standout element that deeply enhances the experience.
- “The old-school graphics add a strong sense of nostalgia and work wonderfully.”
- “The visuals and music are charmingly retro and really feel like a love letter to 80s sci-fi anime.”
- “First off the graphics are fantastic.”
- “Otherwise, this is just a 5-hour boredom snooze fest with retro graphics.”
- “So: I would very much appreciate a proper low-resolution font that is consistent with the rest of the visuals.”
- “The visuals can only make up for so much.”
music
112 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
54%
42%
4%
The music in the game is widely praised for its authentic retro, chiptune, and synth-driven soundtrack that perfectly complements the nostalgic PC-98 and 80s sci-fi anime aesthetic. While many find the tracks catchy, immersive, and mood-setting, some note the soundtrack can become repetitive over extended play and express a desire for greater variety and additional musical layers. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a key strength that enhances the game's atmosphere, even inspiring some players to purchase it separately.
- “Lovingly drawn pixel art, a crunchy 8bit soundtrack and the atmosphere of a type of 'retro' game that I'm not sure ever really existed in as good a form as this.”
- “This combined with wholesome retro PC-98 aesthetics and an awesome soundtrack (I even bought it separately after finishing the game) made it really special to me.”
- “Beautifully drawn art and artisanally crafted music both exemplifying classic Japanese sci-fi adventure VNs on the PC-98 serve as the vehicle for a well-written, solidly paced, and gripping narrative that's loaded with mystery & intrigue delivered by charming & compelling characters.”
- “Some of the soundtrack kind of hurt my ears with some of it too piercing.”
- “The music was just alright.”
- “The music was okay, and set the tone fairly well, particularly in one of the more creepy sections of the plot - but a little more variety would have been welcomed.”
gameplay
35 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
71%
9%
The gameplay is primarily a simple, old-school point-and-click visual novel with light investigative and puzzle-solving elements, offering some interactivity beyond standard reading but lacking depth and challenge. While it features charming art, nostalgic mechanics, and multiple endings, many find the gameplay somewhat repetitive or shallow, with occasional frustrating design choices. Overall, it provides a decent but modest experience typical of its genre, leaving room for more engaging mechanics in future installments.
- “It's a fantastic blend of old-school point-and-click gameplay with a more standard visual novel format, featuring gorgeous artwork, a solid soundtrack, and a really lovable cast of characters.”
- “Absolutely beautiful art, a really fun cast of characters and a lot deeper gameplay than I was expecting!”
- “The characters look great and the visual novel gameplay is smooth; it’s essentially just like an adventure game from the 80s and 90s: no action or platforming, just point and click to highlight parts of the environment to examine or interact with.”
- “The mechanics of the point and click adventure parts can be tedious and frustrating, including the characters within the game providing 'hints' that stall your progress.”
- “Gameplay is nothing to write home about.”
- “As an investigation game, the mechanics in this aspect don't seem to go deep enough (no moon logic pitfalls, thankfully).”
atmosphere
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game excels at creating a distinctive retro-inspired atmosphere through its vibrant pixel art, fitting 8-bit soundtrack, and tense, engaging environments. Its well-crafted narrative and character interactions further enhance the immersive sci-fi thriller vibe, often drawing favorable comparisons to classic genre influences. While additional musical variety and sound effects could improve it slightly, the overall atmosphere is consistently praised for its depth and authenticity.
- “Lovingly drawn pixel art, a crunchy 8bit soundtrack and the atmosphere of a type of 'retro' game that I'm not sure ever really existed in as good a form as this.”
- “It nails that old-school anime vibe without trying too hard — the pixel art feels alive, the soundtrack fits perfectly, and the whole thing just oozes atmosphere.”
- “A tremendously well-written little thriller with engaging characters, atmospheric and effective environments, (heck, the contained "it all takes place on a small ship" approach gave me big Last Express vibes - and that's a very good thing) tons of nods to Trek, and a core mystery and setup that felt absolutely targeted to my very specific likes.”
character development
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
28%
27%
The game features charming, retro-inspired character designs that evoke nostalgia for 90s mecha anime, complemented by beautiful animations and a strong aesthetic. While character development varies and depends on player choices, some characters receive meaningful growth throughout the story. Overall, the visuals and personalities effectively capture the genre's classic feel, enhancing the narrative experience.
- “Some even get actual character development depending on your choices!”
- “The character designs and attitudes of the cast of the gun-dog are exactly what you expect from mecha animes of that era.”
- “I'm not great at writing reviews, but as everyone else has stated and from even the trailer & preview images, this vn takes a strong inspiration from Gundam; from the aesthetic, character personality, character design + naming conventions, the mechs, and the story itself.”
- “Some characters even undergo actual character development depending on your choices.”
- “The character designs and attitudes of the cast are exactly what you expect from mecha animes of that era, lacking originality.”
- “The visual and personality designs strongly borrow from Gundam, making the characters feel unoriginal and derivative.”
replayability
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
40%
30%
The game offers some replayability through branching choices and multiple endings that encourage multiple playthroughs to see different story paths. However, its relatively short length and lack of detailed choice tracking may limit the depth of replay value. Opinions are mixed, with some appreciating the alternate story options and others finding the replay value minimal due to pacing and character development issues.
- “The story goes to some interesting places and has some surprising twists, all the main characters are well-portrayed, and there's some replayability from branching choices.”
- “Game has decision trees that affect the story in different ways including changing the events of the ending a bit, so it leans towards the replayability side thanks to the short length.”
- “Its short but with lots of alternative options for progressing the story there is a fair amount of replayability.”
- “* Ending kind of says that game must be completed multiple times to get "the whole picture" (tm), but it seems to have next to 0 replay value.”
- “Annoying sounds, barely any worldbuilding, barely any character interaction, non-stop rollercoaster of clichéd plot twists after intro (bad pacing), near 0 replay value despite game having multiple routes/endings.”
- “One thing I'd wish for (a bit of a spoiler): I wish the ending screen would show you which choices you made rather than just a visual path, just to help with replayability and understanding what decisions did what. Maybe it could be added after completing a playthrough so you can more easily view the other paths or start an alternate path from that point without having to redo everything or try to remember which choice corresponds to which path.”
emotional
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
86%
14%
The game delivers emotionally impactful storytelling with well-developed, layered characters that deeply engage players, often evoking strong feelings such as sadness and nostalgia. Its heartfelt narrative and retro aesthetic enhance the emotional experience, though some may find the story predictable and overly text-heavy. Overall, it provides a tense yet touching journey for those invested in its style and genre.
- “Every character is immediately presented in a way that best helps you understand who they are, and while they stick to their characterization, they prove to have more layers of depth and complexity that made me feel invested.”
- “I bought this and immediately played through the entire game in one sitting (and I cried for 20 minutes through the ending).”
- “It’s tense, grounded, and weirdly emotional.”
- “Cute art style, but an utterly predictable and rather boring story, told through way too much text you have to click through.”
humor
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is consistently praised for being clever, quirky, and well-written, blending funny characters and moments with an engaging sci-fi story. It offers lighthearted fun that enhances relaxation, with memorable comedic details and amusing choices that add to the overall charm.
- “Exceeded my expectations in writing and humor.”
- “It's funny and a nice game for moments you just want to relax.”
- “From her name, to her look, to her eating habits and (very funny) medical issue, it was crazy.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game is often seen as tedious and contrived, particularly in escape scenarios and point-and-click mechanics. Players find the process frustrating due to slow progress and overwhelming character introductions.
- “Some of the escape scenarios are a bit tedious where you know what to do but telling the game that is a bit contrived.”
- “The mechanics of the point and click adventure parts can be tedious and frustrating, including the characters within the game providing 'hints' that stall your progress.”
- “The next hour was fine, but somewhat tedious as you have to get to know so many characters at once.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The optimization is praised for delivering a smooth and impressive performance, allowing players to enjoy multiple playthroughs and reload choices without technical issues.
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game exhibits excellent stability, with users reporting no bugs or glitches during their experience.

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6h Median play time

6h Average play time

3-9h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 3 analyzed playthroughs

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Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog is a role playing game with romance, drama, mystery, thriller and others themes.

Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog is available on Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 and others.

On average players spend around 6 hours playing Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog.

Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog was released on February 19, 2025.

Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog was developed by Space Colony Studios.

Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog has received very positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its replayability.

Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog is a single player game.

Similar games include Stories from Sol part 1: The Gun-Dog, Backbone, Lacuna, 2064: Read Only Memories, The Pale Beyond and others.

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