Hello, sunshine is worth sweating to survive
Blog Andrew Joseph 05 Dec , 2025 0
Go out in the sun…and risk the worst sunburn of your life. Hello Sunshine is an impressive step up from the usual post-apocalyptic survival RPG formula, with some clever ideas around scorching sunlight, blissful shadows, and day-night cycles.
I previewed the pre-alpha portion of Hello Sunshine's story-driven single-player campaign with developers at Red Thread Games, many of whom are veteran developers in the world of narrative games (think Dreamfall, The Longest Journey, and The Secret World).
Hello Sunshine looks incredibly polished for a game made by just seven people, and is a cool take on what “suspense” means in the genre. From the scorching heat of the day to uncovering legends on the cold nights – that’s why I believe the future is bright for Hello Sunshine.
The heat is coming
The team didn't mention any inspiration from the Fallout series, but the visual similarities are undeniable right from the start screen – a skeleton in a folding camping chair, still clutching a drink as if the world ended mid-drink. Press the start button and the player character stumbles across, instantly transporting you into this strange wasteland world. I'm not sure if she's a preset or customizable character, but (at least in this preview) she seems to be the silent type.
She was clearly suffering from the early symptoms of heatstroke in the brutal desert heat, and was distressed to find an empty water bottle. This scene introduces Hello Sunshine’s mechanics of heat and thirst—a delicate balancing act that avoids collapse from dehydration or slow cooking in the harsh sunlight. Aside from robots, the sun is essentially your worst enemy (but with ray tracing).
Destroyed buildings generate water and other supplies that help you maintain the body temperature you need to survive, but shadows also play a huge role. If you're baking, resting in the shade can lower your body temperature. Almost immediately, you're introduced to the most interesting shadow dynamic – Hello Sunshine's other “protagonist,” a skyscraper-sized robot who seems to know where he's going better than you do.
chasing shadows
This metallic gentle giant wanders these wastelands just like you. It ignores you at first, but you'll appreciate the huge shadow it casts as it moves, protecting you from UV-based damage as you follow it along sand dunes and rusty shipping containers. No, it will not wait patiently for you if you walk away; If you don't want to end up humiliatingly dying from sunburn, you need to keep up with it.
This is done through solar instinct and (coined a hot new term here) shadow management rather than just a health bar – creating a sense of urgency that adds an unconventional form of suspense to your strange journey.
Of course, the landscape hides valuable resources – but you'll need to strategize and carefully time your short detours away from the robot's shadow. If you spend too much time dawdling, the robot may go too far, meaning you won't be able to come back until the heat meter is depleted. The sun's path is particularly bright from afternoon to sunset – as the shadows lengthen or shrink as the day progresses, you'll need to adjust your decisions about how far you want to go.
Of course, you can expect that the further you go, the more awesome loot you'll find. There's no word yet on whether the loot will be randomized each time you play, but I'm hoping that's the case. Whatever ingredients you have access to will likely limit what you're able to craft, adding further challenges depending on the gear you're able to craft and how that limits your desired playstyle.
bring the heat
However, it's not all sunshine. Hello Sunshine does include combat, and you can shape it to suit your desired playstyle. For example, being noisy and aggressive in shooting (or, more accurately, bowing) may attract more enemies and plunder more loot from their remains.
Or you can choose more defensive options and possibly even avoid a head-on confrontation. I didn't really realize what stealth gameplay would be like, but I expected a wide range from confrontation to avoidance.
Your enemies, by the way, are more like robots – certainly angrier than your giant friends – and oddly enough, they seem to have taken the form of fleshy species that I assume have been wiped out during the apocalypse. For example, a small metal jackal might bite your heels, or a giant robot crab might try to impale you with its giant claws.
Your character's bow is one of the primary weapons. At first, it doesn't look like much – really, it's a bit pathetic against giant armored robots – but you can upgrade it throughout the game and craft better ammo for it, like explosive arrows.
Little events happen here and there to make your journey interesting – like an airdrop of unspecified items in the distance, or a sandstorm that temporarily shields you from the sun, but also reduces visibility, making it easier to lose your robot friends. Many of these events are procedural and will hopefully unlock different experiences in subsequent games.
Make friends with the sleeping giant
Conveniently, your giant robot companion has a circadian rhythm: once the sun sets, it takes a break to recharge. In the trailer, this happens in the ruins of the Sunshine Service Station – owned by an ominous corporation whose shareholders presumably vote to minimize and maximize humanity's budget for destruction.
The service station is basically your inexplicably cheerful craft workshop, complete with cheerful tinkling music. Here you can take a break, check out the day's loot, “recycle” unwanted items, and use the parts to 3D print new gear – from health packs to flashlights and even new shoes. You can also repair wear and tear on your gear throughout the day. Did you tear your pants and slide down the dune? Fix them here.
The Sunshine Building also acts as a robot repair station, allowing you to repair or upgrade the big guy. As I mentioned before, it will pretty much ignore you in the early stages – but if your continued care impresses it enough, it may start to care for you too.
You don’t want to go too far at night, though, as it can get colder. The preview doesn't show off any “night runs,” but that's clearly something you'll be able to do, which could be a good (or worrisome) accompaniment to your daytime journey – there's no indication of how optional these runs might be, or whether they'll offer different rewards (or even plot developments).
Much of the story unfolds in these nighttime scenes. Light a bonfire and strangers may show up. The preview doesn't show interactions with these strangers, but they may or may not be very nice people. Whether they end up being friends or villains, they'll uncover some of the mysterious origins of Sunshine Corporation.
In short: Shadow wins
Sunshine Rest is where our preview ended – although we're told players will be moving through different biomes throughout the rest of the game. Since I only saw desert areas, various other environments with vastly different weather conditions could really change expectations pre-launch.
While I only saw part of the single-player campaign, there will be co-op modes (split-screen and online); playing together, you'll both experience a reimagined version of the story. It's recommended that you do this after the main campaign so you can understand the full story behind what's going on in the world.
Hello Sunshine is the studio's first foray into the RPG and survival genres, so can their narrative pedigree succeed? Based on what I've seen so far, I like their chances. Everyone loves a good “Evil Corporation” story, and I honestly still can't get over how cool those dawn-to-dusk shadow mechanics are (I can imagine other game designers thinking, “Damn, why didn't I think of that?!”).
If your overall question about Hello Sunshine is “Does it look good?” then yes, it's very promising. If it's “Am I going to melt to death holding a handmade bow?” the answer is still yes – but with passion.