#Stories from Sol

[satoshi-mochida]

Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog launches February 20, 2025 - Gematsu

Science-fiction visual novel Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog will launch for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC via Steam on February 20, 2025, publisher Astrolabe Games and developer Space Colony Studios announced. It will feature English, French, Spanish, German, Japanese, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese language options.

The companies also unveiled the new “Full-Color Mode,” which makes the game playable in full color. An update for the previously released demo featuring this new mode is available now for PlayStation 5 and PC, and will launch for Switch on September 19.

As previously announced, PM Studios and Meridiem Games will publish physical editions of Stories from Sol: The-Gun Dog in North America and Europe, respectively. The physical edition will be available for PlayStation 5 in North America, and for PlayStation 5 and Switch in Europe.

Here is an overview of the game, via Astrolabe Games:

About

War is over. War is just beginning. Planetary Calendar 214. Four years have passed since the end of the Solar War. Our protagonist, scarred from the loss of his crewmates in the war, is re-assigned to the Jovian patrol ship Gun-Dog as it’s dispatched with orders to investigate mysterious signals coming from the edge of Jovian Space. Unknown to the Gun-Dog’s crew, a new danger looms deep in the ocean of stars, threatening not just the Gun-Dog but all her crew. Take on the role of the Gun-Dog’s security officer as you attempt to save the ship from an unknown assailant whilst navigating the paranoia, conspiracies and vendettas that break out amongst the crew. As camaraderie falls apart can you overcome the challenges that await?

The Game: A Love Letter to Retro Anime and 80s Science-Fiction

Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog is a visual novel adventure in the spirit of classic PC-9800 titles. Featuring a vintage green screen aesthetic, Space Colony Studios strives to create an “era-accurate” game that exudes retro vibes in every way, from the text to the visual effects. As the Jovian patrol ship sails into the darkness among the stars, the players will feel like they are on an adventure in an 80s Sci-Fi as they solve the mystery they find themselves in.

The Story: A New Threat Emerges From the Void

Humans have long since freed themselves from the grasp of gravity, but they are still unable to escape the hold of war. It’s year 214 of the Planetary Calendar. Four years have passed since the end of the Solar War and an uneasy peace persists throughout the solar system. The Jovian patrol ship Gun-Dog is sent on a reconnaissance mission to investigate mysterious signals coming from the edge of Jovian space. What starts as a routine assignment quickly escalates into a battle for survival as an unknown threat terrorises the crew.

The Gameplay: Investigate. Interact. Analyze. Advance.

Utilizing traditional point-and-click adventure mechanics, during your time on the Gun-Dog, you can navigate various locations on the ship, examine the details of the richly realized backgrounds or talk with the different crew members on board. You will need to listen closely to the characters’ words to reveal important clues or duplicitous intentions and keep your eyes peeled for key items and interactive elements in the backgrounds that you can use to advance the story.

The Characters: Get on Board With the Crew of the Gun-Dog!

All stories are about people and the cast of The Gun-Dog bring the story to life, so much so that their charm and charisma convinced the team at Astrolabe Games to board the Gun-Dog and sign up to be the publisher. From the elegant yet distant Captain Bartermews, to the bubbly Lieutenant Commander Cassandra Quinn, to the assertive and domineering Chief Mackenzie Cathays, The Gun-Dog features an extensive cast of characters for you to meet. Each crew member has a distinct personality, role and history. Get to know them and their quirks and decide whether to work with or against them to unravel the mystery that lies at the story’s heart.

The Place: Adventure in an Entirely Explorable Ship!

The main stage of the first installment in the Stories from Sol series, as the Jovian patrol ship Gun-Dog heads into deep space it serves as the setting for the game’s story. It has been exhaustively realized. Rich and evocative descriptions of the ship, including the constant rumble of the engine room, the bustle of the bridge, the silence of space pair with an extensive range of scenes that have been meticulously designed and animated in detail to deliver an immersive experience. Inspired by the best that anime has to offer the ship even features “Armored Frames,” mechanized, human shaped, weapons of war.

Watch a new trailer below. View a new set of screenshots at the gallery.

Release Date and Full-Color Mode Trailer

[kbutzkorner]

Hey, I've been working on (several) games, but Stories from Sol just had a recent, big announcement!

It's coming to Switch, PS4/5 and we're showing off a bunch of new features!

Will be available in French, German, and Spanish on top of English, Chinese, and Japanese!

[gallusneve]

STORIES FROM SOL: THE GUN-DOG (2025) dev. Space Colony Studios Mackenzie "Chief" Cathays

[otaku553]

Save me yi nine sols

(You should play nine sols it’s very very fun)

[solarockk]

13 year old tea

designs // first meeting

shiny duo pokemon au "Pokémon’s Shiny Jewels Sun&Moonstone" by @wyvernspirit and I

[simmersofia]

venessa jeong makever

[feza-creations]

drinkin

[ria-starstruck]

and also "putting everyone in a simulation will make it all ok 👍" and also "let's park next to this random system's sun" and also "we can't live on our own planet because of our own folly" and so on

[geekysteven]

[arriettyspin]

If the Clone Wars came out in today's streaming bloodbath, it would've been cancelled after season 1. Hell, season 1 itself probably wouldn't have been greenlit at all due to the reception of the movie.

[satoshi-mochida]

Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog launches this winter for PS5, PS4, Switch, and PC

From Gematsu

Science-fiction visual novel Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC via Steam this winter, publisher Astrolabe Games and developer Space Colony Studios announced. A demo is available now for consoles, joining the existing demo on PC.

Additionally, Astrolabe Games announced that it has partnered with PM Studios in North America and Meridiem Games in Europe to release physical editions of Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog for PlayStation 5 and Switch.

Here is an overview of the game, via Astrolabe Games:

About

War is over. War is just beginning. Planetary Calendar 214. Four years have passed since the end of the Solar War. Our protagonist, scarred from the loss of his crewmates in the war, is re-assigned to the Jovian patrol ship Gun-Dog as it’s dispatched with orders to investigate mysterious signals coming from the edge of Jovian Space. Unknown to the Gun-Dog’s crew, a new danger looms deep in the ocean of stars, threatening not just the Gun-Dog but all her crew. Take on the role of the Gun-Dog’s security officer as you attempt to save the ship from an unknown assailant whilst navigating the paranoia, conspiracies and vendettas that break out amongst the crew. As camaraderie falls apart can you overcome the challenges that await?

The Story: A New Threat Emerges from the Void

Humans have long since freed themselves from the grasp of gravity, but they are still unable to escape the hold of war. It’s year 214 of the Planetary Calendar. Four years have passed since the end of the Solar War and an uneasy peace persists throughout the solar system. The Jovian patrol ship Gun-Dog is sent on a reconnaissance mission to investigate mysterious signals coming from the edge of Jovian space. What starts as a routine assignment quickly escalates into a battle for survival as an unknown threat terrorizes the crew.

The Gameplay: Investigate. Interact. Analyze. Advance.

Utilizing traditional point-and-click adventure mechanics, during your time on the Gun-Dog, you can navigate various locations on the ship, examine the details of the richly realized backgrounds or talk with the different crew members on board. You will need to listen closely to the characters’ words to reveal important clues or duplicitous intentions and keep your eyes peeled for key items and interactive elements in the backgrounds that you can use to advance the story.

The Place: Adventure in a Entirely Explorable Ship

The main stage of the first instalment in the Stories from Sol series, as the Jovian patrol ship Gun-Dog heads into deep space it serves as the setting for the game’s story. It has been exhaustively realized. Rich and evocative descriptions of the ship, including the constant rumble of the engine room, the bustle of the bridge, the silence of space pair with an extensive range of scenes that have been meticulously designed and animated in detail to deliver an immersive experience. Inspired by the best that anime has to offer the ship even features “Armored Frames,” mechanized, human shaped, weapons of war.

The Characters: Get on Board with the Crew of the Gun-Dog

All stories are about people and the cast of The Gun-Dog bring the story to life, so much so that their charm and charisma convinced the team at Astrolabe Games to board the Gun-Dog and sign up to be the publisher. From the elegant yet distant Captain Bartermews, to the bubbly Lieutenant Commander Cassandra Quinn, to the assertive and domineering Chief Mackenzie Cathays, The Gun-Dog features an extensive cast of characters for you to meet. Each crew member has a distinct personality, role and history. Get to know them and their quirks and decide whether to work with or against them to unravel the mystery that lies at the story’s heart.

Watch a new trailer below.

Consoles Announce Trailer

[kbutzkorner]

Hey, been set up at the Tokyo Game Show for our game, Stories from Sol: The Gun-dog!

[purplepeptobismol]

Aight y’all… im gonna be honest….

I don’t have a song to put on the IWMOY playlist that matches the ending of chapter 6….

SO IM OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS!!!

[autumnslance]

In reference to this post I reblogged earlier, but don't want to muck up UC's activity:

#i think it's more important to see that redemption is in the eye of the beholder #not everybody (characters or real people) will accept the same type or amount of repentance for the same sins #some people might not care at all if the person who wronged them feels sorry; only if they materially repaid their crimes #others can feel the opposite #and either way that's their prerogative #you can disagree with the characters or the fans or the writers about who “deserves” OR has “achieved” redemption and that's okay #because it's ultimately a complex philosophical issue #like i agree with OP!!! but there's media literacy in accepting that not everyone will

I'm going to disagree with many of these tags, especially it being "in the eye of the beholder" and would argue it's more media literate to recognize when a character has a workable redemption arc even if one disagrees they "should" get one. It took me a long time to learn this cuz of how we're usually taught redemption = forgiveness in Western (especially very Christianized, and especially if explicitly raised Christian) culture:

It doesn't rely on anyone but the person seeking redemption.

Yeah, it's the wronged party's prerogative to never forgive, to think the perpetrator's atonement (and/or punishment) is not enough and never will be. Anyone (characters and actual people) who sympathize, and who are on their side, can agree it's not ever enough and that character/person's sins are unforgivable.

And that still doesn't matter to their redemption.

We have an example of a workable redemption arc that not all accept in Final Fantasy XIV with Fordola's situation, through the Endwalker healer role quests. She was raised a collaborator of Ala Mhigo's imperial occupiers, and thought the best way to help her people was to soldier for the empire, becoming their Butcher.

In the Stormblood patches, Raganfrid says he will never forgive her; he thanks her for the aid she gave in the throne room that day, but that's all. And even in the EW healer role quests, their interactions are complicated. He still can't forgive the collaborators, even as he works to reintegrate them into Ala Mhigan society. He recognizes many thought they had no choice. He can't, won't, forget the pain of losing his own loved ones to them. This is stated multiple times.

And others, like M'rahz, Sarisha, and M'naago also struggle, also say they won't forgive...but reluctantly agree they can understand how for the sake of their families, the collaborators felt pushed against a wall, and what lengths have they themselves gone to for their own families? M'naago even scolds Fordola: she doesn't get to give up, she has to keep working--or she dies as exactly what everyone said she was.

Fordola starts out as the one punished for her sins. Through the story, she makes her choices to change and fight and work for her people as a free woman. There are still those who despise the Butcher, and always will. Redemption comes from Fordola's actions, Fordola's choices. Who forgives her and who doesn't can't change that she has changed, and continues to do so.

And in the interest of fairness, for the opposite of Fordola, we have Laurentius. In A Realm Reborn, he collaborated with the empire, selling out his nation. He came out of his punishment wanting a new chance, so joined the Crystal Braves...and immediately fell under Ilberd's sway. While others remained loyal and stuck to their morals (and paid for it with imprisonment or even death), Laurentius went along with all of Ilberd's plans. And in the end, the player gets an opinion in the punishment he and his comrade face, but it's clear from talking to Raubahn there isn't much hope. Laurentius had his chances, but he didn't make any effort to actually change--so faced the consequences.

For Reference for the Healer Role Quests: Garland Tools Healer quest text starting with "Far From Free", and my own saved text in Gdocs (raw, not very organized compared to my later saved/updated docs).

(Nero's the war criminal who...didn't even get a slap on the wrist, he just waltzed into a leadership meeting 15 mins late with Starbucks and has been helping us save the world since. Gaius is the war criminal that went through traumas, saw his privileged preconceptions torn apart, and is starting down that road in the wake of Werlyt to clean up his mistakes and not let his children's sacrifices be in vain. None of these characters "need" punishment to decide to change; some of it simply happens as part of their stories, but they make their own choices and actions toward atonement.)

(Also redemption is usually an ongoing process, which is why "Death Equals Redemption", like how Yotusyu's situation is framed, is so dicey and often unsatisfying; are they actually changed, or they just getting out of putting in that effort to? Nothing indicated Yotsuyu actually cared to change, as sympathetic as she was in the end! But she has her redemptive moment for her fans, and the people who hate/won't forgive her also "win"--the trope is a "have your cake and eat it too" writing cop-out IMO at this point.)

[0tacat]

Cassandra Quinn from Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog. You can find the info for this awesome retro-inspired game here!

[seraphirism]

what happened at the end of chapter 4?? im not really updated anymore due to busy schedule :/

hii, and I’d be happy to explain (*^^*)!

readers, please be aware that there are spoilers below (of chapter 4 and “wish upon a black rabbit” or 黒兎に願いを込めて event story) so proceed with discretion!

I tried my best to condense it but I wasn’t sure how far you had read, plus the story following part 3 of chapter 4 till part 5 is completely connected (in a way that you wouldn’t understand one part if you didn’t know the previous part) so I gave it my best shot! I’ll include a tldr at the very end so you can read that if you want to avoid the barrage of text; I went kinda overboard?

in chapter 4, as we know, Boschi’s demon took over him; he lost control to it. but unlike the case of Bastien, Haures and Lato where they lost control because of an emotional outburst (caused by extreme despair or rage), Boschi gave control to his demon on purpose.

(just in case if you don’t know/remember why, let me give a brief summary!)

Aruji and the second floor butlers were sent over to guard the Seirans/セイラン, a noble family in the East. this was after kidnappings and attacks were done by an unknown assailant (the white headed, elf looking guy). the stranger was specifically targeting nobles associated with the Sardis family.

while they were there, the butlers were at the same time investigating if the Seiran family had been in cahoots with the Sardis family (you know in, child trafficking and experimentation).

earlier in the chapter Boschi revealed that around 300 years ago, his mother and grandmother (who was actually his nanny) were killed on the orders of Seiran family. (that was a long story; if you want me to explain that, please send me another ask, I’ll do that separately :D!)

then skip to a week later, while Aruji and the butlers were staying at their residence (and doing their guard duties) the elf guy kidnapped the head of the Seiran family. Boschi decided he and Ammon would protect Aruji and the wife of the head of the family (while they stayed in the Seiran family’s residence), and Haures and Fennesz would leave to search for the head of the Seiran family with the help of his guards.

elf guy was targeting the families associated with Sardis. that’s because a large group of his people/compatriots went missing/were kidnapped; he suspected the Seiran family was involved with it (due to their association with the Sardis family that were publicly exposed to be carrying out human trafficking. )

it is later revealed that the Seiran family was responsible for that, in particular the wife of the head of the family (because of her twisted obsession with beauty; you’d need a separate post to understand her). she was later injured by Seraphim and killed by elf guy. unfortunately for elf guy, his people are then taken by Seraphim and Cherbim.

then Chrone/スローン attacked Aruji, Boschi and Ammon whilst this happened. however this time was different; instead of trying to kill the butlers, he was attempting to kill Aruji (so the butlers would become seriously upset/angry and thus fall under the control of their demon, fight Chrone in that state to see how strong the butlers really are. (his mission was to access the full strength of the butlers).

whilst fighting, Boschi loses his prosthetic arm protecting Aruji.

(boschi’s demon is called Zaebos/ザエボス by the way!)

Zaebos offers to give Boschi all his power for this fight (basically unlock his full potential) if Boschi agrees to give up his life to the demon (i.e die) by the end of the fight. their whole talk and meeting happens in Boschi’s subconsciousness. Boschi agrees after he loses his prosthetic arm, the incident acting as a trigger.

(he realised he and Ammon couldn’t defeat Chrone by the time Haures and Fennesz would arrive and Aruji could lose their life.).

before fully losing control to his demon (like how Bastien and the rest did), he gives Ammon a warning. then he attacks Chrone. in the end, both Ammon and Boschi managed injure Chrone enough for him to agree to leave when Seraphim asks him to (since they got an idea of how strong the devil butlers are under the influence of their demon.)

but Boschi, having lost complete control to his demon side, now attacks Ammon. Ammon, having trained with Boschi for years and years on end, well aware of Boschi’s moves and what was Boschi’s weakness in a fight (—he gets exhausted easily and rapidly loses energy to fight.), exploits this. Boschi collapses in the end, Aruji comes over and does their whole usual going into their ���heart”.

this time though, when Aruji goes there, Boschi was chained to a throne (I think it was a throne?) and asleep, and Zaebos (who has the form of a leopard by the way) appeared and told Aruji that it’s no use trying to awaken Boschi because he had promised his life to him in return for power.

Aruji tries their best (which was a very emotional scene by the way, the way they kept calling out for Boschi despite Zaebos telling them that Boschi is gone for good 😭) and Boschi finally manages to hear their voice (he was in a dream-like place with his mother and grandmother, possibly passing over to the other side/about to die). he comes back and tells his demon that while he did promise to give his life to the demon, he did not specify “when” he’d give his life up (that was such a move on his part, our king ✨). so long story short, Boschi promises to give his life up to the demon when Aruji dies in the future (so he’ll die when Aruji dies.).

next thing you know, he manages to wake up with Ammon collapsed at his side. Fennesz and Haures arrive with the master of the Seiran family (who they found on their way back in a bad state). His wife, Falin is dead. there will be trials in the East to implicate the Seiran family officially.

there’s a whole mess going on with Eastern Lords Alliance but Finley will attempt his best to settle the situation; he also adds that the butlers may be asked for their assistance in the matter of finding the stranger (mr elf; please devs, give him a name already or I’ll—).

[also, I nearly forgot to add; mr elf is being suspected for the crime of killing Falin, the mistress of Seiran family since she was killed with a sword and the public believe angels would not use swords to kill, rather their light/power. in actuality, he attempted to end her life with a quick blow of his sword instead of leaving her to bleed to death from Seraphim’s attack which was from a sword.

the angels use swords now too by the way ✨ like yay, their powers weren’t enough.)

then, we’re back at devil’s palace (yay! our visit was more than a week long, less than 2 weeks, if I’m not wrong). Aruji and the second floor butlers get some much needed rest. Boschi shows Aruji their new prosthetic arm (which was made from the material of his old prosthetic arm.).

he seemed much more at peace now (but we later learn in the black bunny festival [黒兎に願いを込めて] event story that losing his prosthetic arm did trigger his memories of losing his actual arm, so now whenever he spars he gets flashbacks of Chrone cutting his prosthetic arm off. those flashbacks make him freeze up while fighting. for this reason, he trains a lot more to get over this, than he did prior to this incident.

anyhow, that event story and his card story sheds light on to boschi’s state right after chapter 4, in a bit more detail.).

lastly, Berrien visits Belen and says he hopes to be able to save Belen someday.

i read the story about 2 weeks ago; though, there’s a huge chance i might have gotten something mixed up/wrong. so feel free to correct me in the comments or send me an ask! there’s also a lot of stuff i left out because i was afraid it would get too long (it still did 😭) like about:

a: Falin/フアリン, the mistress of the Seiran family, who i’d say was the most interesting character in this chapter. i could write paragraphs upon paragraphs about her.

(i love the writing of aknk but i also believe they could have given more information on Seiran family and how they came to be what they are. They have a lot of potential for a follow up event story or even a side story. I hope in a side story we get more information or maybe in the next main story?)

b: Boschi’s past; we got a lot of information about his life and, how after everything he came to meet Berrien and became a butler.

c: Ammon! we got insight into his thoughts and feelings from when Haures became demonized, and how he feels inferior to the other butlers, how he puts less effort into training because he feels he can never reach the level Haures and Boschi are on. And so on!

d: i also skipped explaining the first two parts and a bit of part 3 of chapter 4 since you asked for the ending; (but that involved Berrien, Belen, Lono and were not exactly relevant to what happened with Boschi and the ending of chapter 4.).

Tldr: Boschi loses control to his demon after losing his prosthetic arm, he manages to defeat Chrone with the help of Ammon. Aruji brings him back from the control of his demon though ultimately he will have to give his life up to his demon the day Aruji dies. there’s investigation going on into the Seiran family, the stranger (mr elf) and his identity. his people (from the valley) are still missing because Cherubim and Seraphim took them. the butlers might get a request to aid in the investigation of mr elf.

i hope this helped (^^)! feel free to send another ask if you’re confused about something or want further explanation; i like talking about aknk so it’s no trouble for me. i hope your schedule eases up a bit, please remember to take breaks and eat/drink — have a wonderful day ✨!