Fort Solis Review

"Life on Mars"

Campaign

August 31, 2023 at 4:25pm
By Jason Stettner

This is a narrative driven walking simulation of sorts, told across four chapters not unlike say a TV Show. It features light interactions for play, therefore being something that literally anyone could experience and engage with even if they don’t play games.

That of course won’t make this something that everyone will enjoy, but if you want a laid back setup for a game it fits for a relaxing evening or to be played in smaller bursts. This is a horror game where it’s about a suspenseful build up.

You’re playing as Jack Leary (Roger Clark) who’s investigating an alarming call from an aged Mars base. He’s joined via radio by his close colleague Jessica Appleton (Julia Brown) and the two have tight communication. This helps set the mood and provide a calming feel with building tension.

You’re able to interact with many elements of the environment from toys to drinks and the two will talk. It’s a neat back and forth that helps set the mood. So you really do get more out of the game by interacting with what’s present within it. That includes the odd video or audio log as well.

The story is told across these chapters bringing some elements of calm and then rather intense moments as things ramp up. It’s actually well presented in that regard and the mystery really had me hooked. I was however a bit let down by the conclusion aspect to that very mystery, as I was assuming something more satisfactory or surprising was going to happen but at least everything is very well grounded.

Gameplay

As mentioned, this game is just you moving about. There are little elements of puzzle solving that are present but you do mostly move in a linear fashion walking about. This won’t be for everyone, but I do want to make it very clear the type of game it is.

There are also some mechanic like areas where small bits of repetition are present to slightly pad things but those aren’t terribly long or high in quantity of presence. The game is also very dark taking place on Mars in a night situation. You’ll see some well lit areas within the unit you enter and they use this space effectively. You see some areas locked down, and will later have access to new spots if you choose with better card access.

When it comes to the visuals of the world I was impressed with the aesthetics. This is Unreal Engine 5 at play, but with it being so dark most of the time it does hide elements that we’ve seen detract in other offerings with the engine thus far. You get two graphical options to choose from, including performance or quality mode.

The Conclusion

Fort Solis provides a fun mystery, a good level of suspense and some engaging characters well grounded by the great performances behind them. With this being a game you literally just walk about to engage with I know it won’t be for everyone. I definitely enjoyed the build of the mystery and the tension that was created.

It was a neat experience that was unique and offered something fresh. I would certainly enjoy more similar tighter stories like this as fun little narrative adventures to dive into. Just keep in mind it’s not super long, but it’s basically like engaging with a film or limited series and that’s fine for me. It’s definitely different and I like experiments or well games that do things like this one provided.

Read our Dead Space 2023 Review
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Fort Solis Review on Playstation 5
Review Code Provided by Plan of Attack

Rating Overall: 6.8