The infinite darkness of house is a canvas upon which people steadily paint our fears. Aliens, monsters, gods all occupy house “up there” as we yearn to determine our personal sense of place “down right here.” Fort Solis, a third-person linear narrative thriller, tries to faucet into the strain that house is supposed to evoke.
It has attractive graphics, spectacular voice appearing performances, and an fascinating premise. However the recreation is hampered by irritating mechanics, together with the shortcoming to run or dash, and an over-reliance on quick-time occasions. Worst of all, Fort Solis’ storytelling is so linear that the participant’s selections don’t appear to affect narrative outcomes in any respect.
In 2080, Jack Leary (voiced by Purple Lifeless Redemption 2’s Roger Clark) is a part of a two-person engineering crew on Mars. He responds to a misery beacon at a close-by mining base, the titular Fort Solis. Nevertheless, nobody seems to be round, and there are indicators somebody or one thing is sabotaging the bottom. Jack should discover out what occurred to the skeleton crew and what’s inflicting the continued emergency.
I spent many of the recreation exploring the deserted station, inspecting staff’ quarters, rec rooms, and varied employee hubs. I discovered work stations deserted, and explored greenhouses and lab stations the place work appeared to have been stopped midway by. As I wandered, I interacted with audio and video logs of the lacking crew to piece collectively what individuals on the station have been “actually” doing and ultimately what occurred.
![A tank-like vehicle drives through inclement weather on Mars in Fort Solis.](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/RlKrN0wVp8NfhW2meXNVPMOtwcQ=/0x0:3840x2160/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:3840x2160):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24864654/fortsoliscar.jpeg)
Picture: Fallen Leaf, Black Drakkar Video games/Expensive Villagers
That is essentially the most linear recreation I’ve performed in a while. Participant actions don’t seem to affect the story in any manner. There are not any dialogue choices, choices, or obvious ethical repercussions to participant enter. Certainly, the sport’s design didn’t actually let me contribute in any respect exterior of primary exploration throughout its five-hour run time.
Fort Solis is visually stunning and properly carried out, at the very least. I liked the sport’s environment, notably the attractive retro sci-fi aesthetic and liminal areas the gifted artists created. So as to add to that, the sport has some gorgeous sound course that usually gave me goosebumps.
The principle forged additionally pulled out all of the stops. Roger Clark will dwell in infamy as Purple Lifeless Redemption 2’s Arthur Morgan — and in Fort Solis, we hear his pure Irish American accent which may shock those that are extra accustomed to his earlier roles. Even minor characters who seem for mere seconds deserve reward for excellent performances. In consequence, dialogue feels pure and plausible.
Sadly, Fort Solis can be hampered by aggravating design selections. The sport has no dash or run function. Contemplating how a lot strolling is concerned, this was extremely irritating, since Jack ambles forward slowly. There’s no denying the visible fantastic thing about Mars, together with Fort Solis’ impeccably designed interiors. However no quantity of aesthetic magnificence may make up for having to carry down one button for minutes at a time, with no quicker motion velocity as an choice.
The sport’s map can be completely incomprehensible and did little to assist navigation — in truth, fairly the alternative. The map merely offered digital blueprints or ground plans, however I all the time struggled to know the place the character was compared to sure rooms or objectives, not to mention easy methods to navigate. Gamers are higher off studying doorways and entryways than the map.
![The side profile of someone in a space suit in Fort Solis. They are standing in front of a door that reads “Welcome to Fort Solis.”](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/9B9TJnPCKrVRH1IWlrahb8C8MCI=/0x0:3840x2160/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:3840x2160):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24864665/fortsolissideshot.jpeg)
Picture: Fallen Leaf, Black Drakkar Video games/Expensive Villagers
Lastly, the sport depends on QTEs and doesn’t supply some other fight choices. They usually occur abruptly, with minimal warning. Whereas different video games with QTEs will both play a sound impact, decelerate, or convey some preemptive change to prep you {that a} QTE is going on, Fort Solis simply… does them. For instance, I activated a cutscene whereas Jack was taking a look at a console. For about 30 seconds, I watched him study it, go searching, and chat to himself. Then a struggle began, and the sport offered what was a cutscene as a sudden QTE. Having sat again to observe the scene unfold, I used to be on no account ready to immediately “struggle.” This occurred continually.
This might have been redeemed if the sport instructed an exhilarating story. However once I lastly found out the thriller driving the sport’s narrative, it was… effective? The science fiction plot twist was just like tales I’d learn or watched earlier than of planetary expeditions gone flawed, the place humanity’s attain exceeded its grasp. It’s acquainted floor that’s not thought of in a brand new mild. The lackluster storytelling felt hardly deserving of the menacing environment, stunning visible buildups, and heartfelt performances from the actors.
It didn’t assist that the plot was buried amid its irritating recreation design and lack of dialogue choices — in contrast to different interactive thrillers, like Till Daybreak and even Quantic Dream’s video games.
Fort Solis has some spectacular expertise behind it, not least the artists and performers. However nearly all the pieces else drowns beneath a thick sludge of annoyance because of the stifling mechanics, such because the ineffective map, lack of dash, and overreliance on QTEs for the underwhelming thriller. If Fort Solis had been a 4K YouTube video as an alternative of a recreation, I think about the expertise wouldn’t have differed a lot. And possibly it ought to have simply been a video. No less than I may have fast-forwarded by the tedious strolling sections that comprise many of the recreation.
Fort Solis was launched on Aug. 22 on Mac, PlayStation 5, and Home windows PC. The sport was reviewed on PS5 utilizing a pre-release obtain code offered by Fallen Leaf. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These don’t affect editorial content material, although Vox Media might earn commissions for merchandise bought through affiliate hyperlinks. You will discover extra details about Polygon’s ethics coverage right here.