Fort Solis
A 2023 Martian horror adventure with streaming-TV cinematic style.
Fort Solis is a 2023 horror adventure game from developers Fallen Leaf and Black Drakkar Games, published by Dear Villagers. The story takes place in 2080 on a Martian mining station, where engineer Jack Leary responds to an emergency alert. Players explore the station from a third-person perspective, interacting with objects and, during certain sections, controlling Jack’s colleague Jessica Appleton. The game was first imagined at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the goal of bringing the cinematic feel of streaming television into an interactive format. Its narrative was meant to mirror real-world issues like the pandemic, highlighting human vulnerability in hostile settings. Motion capture and voice work were provided by Roger Clark (Jack), Julia Brown (Jessica), and Troy Baker (Wyatt Taylor).
Fort Solis launched for PlayStation 5 and Windows in August 2023, with a macOS version following in October and an Xbox Series X/S release in December 2025. Critical reception was mixed: reviewers praised the cast’s performances, visuals, and sound design, but were divided on the story and criticized the gameplay. Fallen Leaf later partnered with Studios Extraordinaires to develop film and television adaptations based on the game.
**Gameplay** Fallen Leaf describes Fort Solis as a psychological thriller, while gaming outlets call it a horror and adventure game. It uses a third-person perspective with no camera cuts or loading screens. Players control Jack Leary, with two segments featuring Jessica Appleton, as they navigate the Martian station after an emergency alert. The station has nine interconnected areas, including surface buildings and underground levels linked by tunnels; a rover is available for surface travel. Exploration involves finding key cards to unlock new sections, solving puzzles, and collecting logs that reveal more about the world. A handheld device lets players interact with the environment, such as picking locks or hacking doors. Quick time events appear at key story moments.
**Plot** Maintenance technicians Jack Leary (Roger Clark) and Jessica Appleton (Julia Brown) are preparing for a storm at the Martian colony Fort Minor when an emergency alert comes from the nearby mining station Fort Solis. Jack investigates and finds the station locked down with no crew in sight. His progress is limited by the lockdown and his lack of secur
- Release Date
- August 2023 (PlayStation 5, Windows); October 2023 (macOS); December 2023 (Xbox Series X/S)
Lore & Background
Fort Solis was conceived in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic by game director James Tinsdale, inspired by his experience watching streaming television. The team aimed to adapt that narrative style into a video game format, prioritizing a character-driven story over horror elements. The developers intended the narrative to reflect real-world issues such as the pandemic, human vulnerability, and hostile environments. The game was influenced by films including Solaris (1972), The Thing (1982), and Sunshine (2007), as well as video games from Quantic Dream and Supermassive Games.
Reader's Guide
Fort Solis received mixed critical reception upon release. Reviewers praised its cast performances, visuals, and sound design, but were ambiguous towards the narrative and criticized the gameplay. The game is played from a third-person perspective without camera cuts or loading screens, and features quick time events at specific story points. The developers sought to make the game 'dense and deep rather than wide' and as 'unbloated as possible,' drawing inspiration from streaming television series in length and plot structure. Fallen Leaf later partnered with Studios Extraordinaires to develop film and television series based on Fort Solis. The game's legacy lies in its attempt to bridge the gap between interactive gaming and passive television viewing, though its mixed reception highlights the challenges of that approach.
Did You Know?
- Fort Solis was conceived in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The game was pitched to Troy Baker as a blend of Dead Space and the film Moon.
- Roger Clark, known for Red Dead Redemption 2, was cast as Jack Leary.
- The game features an alternate ending where both Jack and Wyatt die from blood loss or suffocation.
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