Fallen Leaf Studio and Black Drakkar Games collaborated on their debut title, a narrative-heavy, cinematic experience published by Dear Villagers. Developed in Unreal Engine 5, Fort Solis takes place in a space station on Mars and looks to deliver a thrilling sci-fi adventure albeit not as gory or jumpy as it’s space horror counterparts. Making use of the interstellar location and star-studded cast, Fort Solis is heavy with existential dread and stays light on the game mechanics.
Fort Solis is available on PC and PlayStation 5 for £24.99 ($29.99), with a 1-hour trial available to PS Plus Premium subscribers.
Story – Space Protocol
It’s the year 2080, and engineers Jack Leary and Jessica Appleton are at their Mars based work station. When they receive a distress signal from the titular neighboring base, Jack decides to investigate solo. He arrives at Fort Solis to find the space station seemingly empty, instantly unnerving you as you wonder who triggered the SOS. Jack’s laid-back approach was slightly concerning at first, asking questions an engineer on Mars should definitely know the answer to, although this provided the opportunity for an effective character shift when crisis occurs.
The plot unravels itself through collectibles; audio logs, video files and emails which are discovered by exploring multiple rooms and floors. Through these various items you meet the missing crew mates, learning their personalities, struggles and about the rising tension in the station The more you find helps piece together the overall narrative, filling in the blanks and unraveling the mysteries of Fort Solis. This information is enticing, and just as you begin to feel bored by the repetitive collecting, the story grabs you by the shoulders and pushes you into more thrilling sequences.
The story is linear in progression. Other than deciding whether or not to explore every nook and cranny of the isolated space station, there is no player agency in making choices. This further enforces the feeling of this being a cinematic experience at its core. Fort Solis is split into four chapters, which if you don’t lose your bearings should take roughly an hour each. Yet there is no clear divide between chapters, no chapter select and no opportunity to manual save, which makes the chapter number appearing on screen feel somewhat redundant.
Fort Solis is split into 4 chapters, each roughly an hour long.
Gameplay – Slow and Steady
Jack has one walking speed: slow. While this aids in creating apprehension in the player, it can also lead to some frustration, in particular when exploring outdoors. Because of Jack’s unwillingness to pick up the pace, backtracking was tiresome, dampening my motivation to search all areas. It was through spamming every button in an attempts to speed up his lumbering footsteps that I discovered pressing the touch pad opens up photo mode. The more “action-heavy” moments are played out through QTEs. Whether these QTEs impact how events play out is questionable, as a few missed button prompts seemed to have no effect.
You are able to interact with a small number of items throughout your isolated journey, which are highlighted with an X button prompt. There are miscellaneous items to be found, including a punching bag, family photos and an interactive Rubik’s cube, which allows you to rotate it and solve the multicoloured cube puzzle. Interacting with the computers and memory cards you find is how you access the files of the station’s tenants. These are then automatically transferred to your watch-like device, your electronic multi-tool.
Electronic Multitool
The wrist-watch like device is essential to Fort Solis. Using the multi-tool you can download all computer files, such as maps, videos and audio logs. Most importantly, there are keycards to be scanned onto your device. These keycards are tiered, using levels 1-5, and allow you to access previously locked doors to find more information. On top of this, a handful of locks can be overridden through a sequence of button presses. While exploring these rooms is rewarding, this will require some going back on yourself, which is again hampered by the sluggish movement.
Despite the the linear narrative, it is surprisingly easy to find yourself lost in Fort Solis. Viewing the map is as simple as pressing R1, but your destination is never marked out for you, requiring you to zoom in on the minuscule 2D map. Adding to this, there is no visual aid for navigation. Slightly disorientating at first, it is easier to memorise the layout of the space station than constantly checking your watch. This differs however in the outdoor areas, which require you to slowly stumble across the rocky terrain, opening the map every few steps to try to find your way.
The slow gameplay is broken up with shorter, fast-paced sequences.
Audio and Graphics – A Cinematic Venture
Developed using UE5, Fort Solis is visually spectacular. The eeriness of the isolated space station is intensified through the flickering lights, altering the way the shadows fall and toying with your imagination. There is the option to play in either Performance or Quality mode. The difference between the two graphically is minor, however when playing in quality mode there was a notable difference in fluidity, with performance mode offering a significantly smoother experience. UI is fairly straightforward, given the light gameplay mechanics. That being said, there were one or two occasions when button prompts were indistinguishable from the background, and text on computer screens could be too small to decipher.
The soundscape is a key part in keeping the atmosphere thick with suspense. Lumbering through the hallways you can hear electricity humming, your own echoing footsteps on metal staircases and distant clangs from unknown sources. Through the options menu you can also choose which sounds emit from the DualSense speaker, adding immersion of your electronic multi-tool. And finally, tying all the sci-fi thriller to life is the voice cast. The camaraderie between Jack (voiced by Roger Clark) and Jessica (voiced by Julia Brown) is obvious and entertaining throughout. Pairing these performances with the unhinged portrayal of Wyatt (Troy Baker) creates a riveting experience.
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- Your electronic multitool stores your map, key cards and files collected.
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- While slow to traverse, the outdoor areas of Mars also have discoveries to be made.
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- While not as gory as other sci-fi thrillers, body horror still makes a bloody appearance.
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- The video files and audio logs reveals the crew’s personalities and the story of Fort Solis.
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- Interaction is limited to certain objects, the most impressive remaining a functional Rubiks cube.
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- The extras tab in the main menu keeps track of collectibles found.
Fort Solis was reviewed on PS5 with a key provided by Plan of Attack.
