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A tense sci-fi walking simulator that you can finish in one sitting - Fort Solis Quick Review

4K View2023-08-27

Fort Solis

8.6

Lore-RichCinematicSci-fiLinearThrillerInteractive FictionMarsRealistic

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SHOULD I PLAY FORT SOLIS?

Fort Solis is absolutely worth playing, as long as you know the type of game you’re getting into. And that is, to be clear, a one hundred percent narrative game. Virtually all of the “gameplay” in Fort Solis is made up of walking around the titular creepy abandoned base on Mars, with a small handful of very simple puzzles and quick time events. That said, if you’re down for a creepy, suspenseful story, this one will get under your skin in all the best ways.

TIME PLAYED

I played through Fort Solis to completion in two short sessions, totaling four-and-a-half hours. I definitely took my time and explored way more than necessary too, so you could likely finish the game quite a bit faster if you aren’t as slow-moving as I am. Notably, there is some replay value, as there appears to be multiple endings, and the game is loaded with collectibles that reward unlocks and backstory.

WHAT’S AWESOME ABOUT FORT SOLIS?

• An excellent, creepy science fiction story. Fort Solis puts players into the spacesuit of Jack Leary, an engineer on Mars who answers a strange distress call from a base that appears to have been abandoned by its crew. Where did everyone go? What’s going on? And will Jack make it out alive? The game does a fantastic job of ratcheting up the discomfort and slowly doling out new details that kept me pushing along. And unlike many walking simulator-type narrative games, things do eventually boil over in a dramatic and memorable fashion.

• Best-in-class voice acting. The real glue holding together the Fort Solis experience is its voice acting. Jack is played by Roger Clark, who you may remember from his role as Arthur Morgan in Red Dead Redemption 2. Jessica Appleton, Jack’s engineering buddy who speaks to him via headset throughout the game is voiced by Julia Brown, an actress from shows like The Alienist making her video game debut. These two have wonderful chemistry and the acting chops to deliver some moments of comic relief to cut through the otherwise intense atmosphere.

The biggest surprise, though, was Troy Baker in the role of Fort Solis’s missing medical officer, Wyatt Taylor. Since the Solis crew is MIA, most of their story is presented through audio and video logs, one of those silly video game conventions that can be hard to pull off in a way that feels natural. Baker is a veteran voice actor, with standout work in everything from The Last of Us to the Batman: Arkham games to Persona 4, so it’s no surprise that he’s good here. But he’s not just good; he turns in what might be one of his best performances ever. Really! It’s worth the price of admission all on its own.

• A beautifully realized space setting. The Mars base of Fort Solis feels like a fully-realized location. Yes, this is a walking simulator, but it still afforded me the freedom to explore, backtrack, and open up new areas as I upgraded my keycard. It feels like a lot of thought has gone into everything about Solis, from its layout to little details like the location of bathrooms near the mess hall and crew quarters. And all of that is presented with extremely good next-gen visuals.

• Binge-worthy pacing. The developers at Fallen Leaf and Black Drakkar Games have purposefully split Fort Solis into four chapters, with each one meant to last about an hour, to mimic the pacing of a great streaming TV show. Like a show, that means you can split each “episode” up into shorter sessions or binge it all in one sitting. I preferred the latter, but whichever path you choose, it’s a great way to structure a game, and I’d love to see more narrative games presented in a similar style.

WHAT SUCKS ABOUT FORT SOLIS?

• Not a lot of actual game here. As mentioned earlier, Fort Solis is all narrative, all the time. If you’re into walking simulators, you’ll likely find a lot to love here. If you find that type of game boring, this one isn’t going to change your mind. Your mileage will vary depending on your tolerance for slow movement, environmental storytelling, lots of audio logs, and almost no action.

• No, really, sloooooow movement. If there’s one serious complaint I personally have for Fort Solis, it’s that the game needs a damn run button. I get that Jack’s chunky, deliberate steps emulate the reality of moving around in a big, awkward spacesuit. But at a certain point, it feels like the lack of faster movement speed is a purposeful way to drag out the game’s run time. It’s especially annoying if you’re like me and just have to backtrack and double- or triple-check areas you’ve already been to for things you might have missed.

• Mostly low-stakes story. When I first saw a trailer for Fort Solis, I said that it gave me Alien vibes. After playing, I still think that’s a pretty solid comparison, as long as you remember that Alien was actually a pretty lethargic movie. I won’t spoil where Fort Solis goes, but be warned that this isn’t remotely meant to be some massive sci-fi epic. There are hints at a grander story playing out in the background, but Jack, Jessica, and the other damned souls of Mars are the only perspective the player gets, and that perspective is just a sliver of the whole. I’d love more stories expanding on the lore here, but I’d also be fine if this is a small stand-alone game.

• Weirdly punishing quick time events. For a game that’s mostly about slowly trudging around and examining items on desks, Fort Solis features some of the hardest-to-hit quick time events I think I’ve ever experienced. Maybe part of that is because of how suddenly they pop up and interrupt the otherwise languid pace, but there were more than a few button prompts I swore I nailed but the game told me I missed, leading to some pretty bad outcomes in cutscenes.

💬 Will you be taking a trip to Mars in Fort Solis, or are you happy leaving the Red Planet to billionaires? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.