Fort Solis, a game that seemed highly praised after the announcement of the development team. A game that focuses more on cinematic storytelling than action-packed adventure. Did the game eventually live up to these expectations or was it more of an experimental type of game? Let’s check it out.
Your journey starts off on the planet Mars where you take on the role of Jack. Jack is a mechanic who tries to fix issues on a drilling platform on the outskirts of the red planet and he does this with the help of Jessica. What seemed like a normal day on the planet, quickly became a day full of intrigue and mystery. During a reparation, the team receives an emergency signal that’s coming from one of the bases on the planet which is called “Fort Solis”. Jack, as helpful as he can be, wants to make sure everything is okay, so he puts the wrench down and takes the rover to check up on the people at Fort Solis. It doesn’t take long to notice something’s up at the base…. Everyone seems to have disappeared and during your exploration, more questions rise up.
“It’s a great way to get a feeling for things and get into exploring.”
So the story progresses as you walk around the base and find scattered puzzle pieces that make you hint at the bigger picture. These scattered pieces are often e-mails, audio logs, … that are being found around the base. It’s a great way to get a feeling for things and get into exploring. In the beginning, it definitely pushed me to go around and find out what happened. Unfortunately, the revealing of the case was at a very slow tempo and the game didn’t turn out how I expected it would.
The developers definitely focused on the storytelling as gameplay actions or gameplay elements were limited: there was the element where you had to find a keycard that would unlock other places and personal chambers which is nothing “unexpected” for a story-driven game but the finding of the keycard felt a bit off because of the fact that these keycards coincidentally lay at a desk somewhere, coincidentally on the only path your exploring. There were also elements where you had to find a chip that could power up doors to gain access and of course, the QTE that felt a bit clunky and unresponsive. Don’t forget the Rubik’s cube that could be solved in-game. I love storytelling games but I do believe that they could have improved the gameplay elements.
“Fort Solis does have a great graphical presentation that definitely builds up the suspension during your adventure.”
Also, something that bothered me a lot was the use of “walking” instead of “running”. Even though you had this eerie feeling of being chased or being hunted, the protagonist didn’t have the necessity or opportunity to run. It felt so unnatural to move around in this creepy place. Also, the QTE’s were definitely present but they didn’t feel responsive. I would sometimes press a button ( within the time) and it didn’t recognize the input. Also, some QTEs shouldn’t have been there and felt to drag down the tempo of the game. Also due to this delay, It felt like the QTEs, especially the failed ones, didn’t really impact the story that much. It would have felt a lot more impactful if the failed results actually did something but maybe I’m thinking a bit more in “gaming” than “storytelling”. It could have perfectly been a conscious decision and I respect them for it.
Fort Solis does have a great graphical presentation that definitely builds up the suspension during your adventure. The eerie feeling, the realistic bodies and facial expressions, the lighting features … The game also had a strong cast to do the voices which also builds up the credibility of the characters and story. For graphical and audio presentations, Fort Solis does an amazing job. Unfortunately, the game did suffer from stuttering during some sequences but it didn’t feel too impactful to blow up my immersion. It was only noticeable.
Conclusion:
Fort Solis is a good atmospheric cinematic experience that focuses on graphical presentation and story. Even though I’m all up for the storytelling, the game did feel a bit bland on the interactive part of the game. I’m okay with limiting gameplay extensions but a cinematic experience also needs some interesting gameplay elements to keep your interest going. I’m glad that the game only took me around 4-5 hours but it shouldn’t have continued any longer because I would be demotivated. Also, the story-telling started off great, it really took my interest but the plot was very disappointing. I felt like the story at the end was being rushed… I was expecting a bit more “climax” but there wasn’t…
