Fort Solis is, by most metrics, a pretty good experience. It has stellar production values, a top tier cast, and an (eventually) captivating story. And yet, I can’t shake this feeling that I really didn’t enjoy it all that much. Its slow, plodding opening half put me off more than once (it took me a few weeks to even work up the will to carry on with it, truth be told) and even in the back half we’re more along for the ride than engaged with any real gameplay mechanics. It’s the kind of game that feels like it’s trying too hard to be a film, and forgets the core mechanics of why we play games rather than watch them.
We take on the role of Jack Leary who, along with fellow crewmate Jessica Appleton, is part of a team based at the Martian mining station, Fort Minor. The titular Fort Solis is its nearby big brother, and after a distress signal is raised there, Jack goes to investigate in order to see if Solis’ crew are in need of help.
As mentioned above, the production values here are excellent. The weather effects sell us on the game’s vision of a Martian storm, the sci-fi vehicles and bases are intricately detailed, and even the character models of Jack and his companions look fantastic. As we travel into Fort Solis, we’re greeted with incredible detail – from cluttered desks to blood-caked metal surfaces and detailed digital signage. It really is a great-looking game, which does a heavy amount of lifting to sell the atmosphere.
What also helps is the voice-acting cast: Red Dead Redemption II’s Roger Clark is our lead man Jack, and while it may initially be a bit jarring to hear Arthur Morgan chatting shitty sci-fi films with Julia Brown’s Jessica, we soon get over it and find Jack to be a fun, if slightly dim, protagonist. Troy Baker (last seen in every videogame ever) also delivers a game-stealing performance as Wyatt Taylor, Fort Solis’ medic. As we gradually uncover the fate of Fort Solis, the interplay between all three cast members gets very tense. I can’t deny being on the edge of my seat for the final 30 minutes of the game as everything came to a head.
The story – which we won’t spoil – rounds-off well but takes far too long to get going, even though it’s only a few hours long. The slow pace made the opening chapters feel plodding, and by the time the tale started to get interesting I must admit I’d missed a detail or two, which made certain plot points slightly harder to grasp.
Slow and plodding is also the only way to describe the small amount of interactivity we have in Fort Solis. Jack lumbers around at walking pace – and only at walking pace – for the entire game. I can’t tell you the number of times I longed for a ‘run’ button. We’re constantly made to feel on edge, yet no true scares ever come, because we know we’ll never be able to run. Outside of cutscenes, combat is non-existent. Even when QTE prompts appear in cutscenes, they’re so infrequent and inconsequential that they almost don’t need to be there.
For the entirety of the game we walk slowly from room to room, interacting with items in order to move to the next room, and so on. I’m not against this type of linear experience by any means, but it does feel to me that Fort Solis’ aims would have been better achieved with fewer bits of filler in between the exposition. Slowly walking up staircases and along corridors with very little to do or see just exacerbates the plodding feeling. Jack also controls like a drunk tank, with heavy movement that apparently aims for realism but ultimately makes it annoying to move through anything narrower than a wide corridor. One section of the game has us jumping off of a tram to open doors, where there is a little set of stairs to walk up to access a switch. Without fail, Jack would get stuck on these stairs and end up spinning around at least once. It’s a hard thing to describe, but for a game where 99% of the experience involves walking, you’d think that at least this aspect of it would be polished and straightforward.
As previously mentioned, I almost gave up on Fort Solis because of these slow and awkward interactions and opening chapters. But, to a degree, I’m glad I went back to it. The final hour is great, cranking up the tension and storytelling while delivering on everything built up to this point. It’s just a shame that the first two-thirds of the experience feels off-putting enough that many probably wouldn’t reach the finale.
Conclusion
While it improves massively in the final act of the game – thanks to fantastic performances and a wrapping-up of the story that had me on the edge of my seat – there’s no denying that the opening hours of Fort Solis are tedious. Between slow progression and a lack of interactivity, Fort Solis seemingly does everything it can to put us off from reaching the finish line.
This game was reviewed based on Xbox S|X review code, using an Xbox S|X console. All of the opinions and insights here are subject to that version. Game provided by publisher.
