Fort Solis: PS5 Review

Developed by Fallen Leaf
Published by Dear Villagers
Platform: PS5

It's a classic sci-fi trope, one that's been deployed a billion times before - a base goes dark during a storm, necessitating a visit from unsuspecting souls just before things go utterly chaotic.

You've seen it many times - from the small screen efforts of Doctor Who to the big screen thrills of the likes of Alien, if done effectively this can be chilling and intense.

Fort Solis manages that in equal measures, but to limited effect. 

Despite some stellar visuals and some impressive vocal work, Fort Solis is at heart a walking simulator set on the red planet of Mars in an isolated mining facility. A third person game with you taking on the role of Jack Leary as he responds to an alarm, Fort Solis is more about the journey and the experience, rather than the direct thrills and chaos of a familiar story.

Taking its time to build up atmospherics and deploying them with relative aplomb, Fort Solis is more about exploration than direct payoff. Ultimately, that can be frustrating as the player plods from one moment to the next, buoyed by a system which demands tasks be done in a certain order to achieve results.

In many ways, this is a character piece strengthened by some incredible visuals that feel both otherworldly and also yet strangely familiar. QTEs and button prompts make up most of what transpires here and it's frustrating there's no way to run when needed. But yet that's not what the heart of Fort Solis is - it's about the experience, and feels more like a TV serial given how it plays out and the pace at which it goes.

If you're expecting a Dead Space, then you're out of luck here - Fort Solis is more about psychological impacts and gameplay mechanics than simple jump scares.

To that end, and thanks to its brevity, Fort Solis is a game that impresses and frustrates in equal measure. Stunning visuals set with a pedestrian pace are only successful thanks to great character acting within.

There's life on Mars, definitely, it's just not quite at the pace you'd have felt was promised from the trailers and premise - but it's ultimately worth exploring and enjoying.