Fort Solis Review (KaiSupa)
I really found it hard to decide whether to give this game a thumbs up or down. I'm not one to downvote a game because I didn't like something that is primarily subjective in nature. I wish there was a neutral option. I will go ahead and hit the "Yes" button purely because I do feel the devs put a lot of love into this game, and perhaps it's just not resonating with me the same way it might with others.
Pros:
Short and sweet. About 4 hours to finish. Great atmosphere. Looks great graphics wise as long as your machine can handle it. I ran it on high settings fsr balanced on and it was pretty stable at around 70-80 fps. Need to really be observant and explore to get all the collectibles. I think I got around half. Characters were likable, mostly. Voice acting was phenomenal. Also Troy Baker.
Cons:
1-I can't say I'm motivated enough to do a subsequent play-through. It's kind of a one and done game unless you gotta get those achievements/collectibles. I understand that the devs were setting the pacing with only having one set walk speed, no run functionality, but it does kinda drag when nothing is happening, or especially when you backtrack. Not much of that is required fortunately. Would be nice to add in a run function as a unlock-able for beating the game so that going through again isn't as monotonous.
2-Character dialogue/exposition-Characters monologue nearly every time you interact with something. Not a bad thing, except I felt it really broke the immersion later on when things are supposed to be super tense, and you pick something up or look at something and the character says something in a really cheery voice or makes some kind of sarcastic response. Spoiler alert for the first chapter-You find a recently murdered person and not 5 minutes later the characters are making jokes back and forth.
3-Story-While not bad, I also can't say it had me hooked. I didn't ever really feel emotionally invested or attached to the characters. I felt more for the antagonist or at least was far more intriguing with their motivations rather than the protagonists which kind of left me unsure how to really feel at the end of it all. I also don't feel that I truly understood what exactly was going on. I know I missed some logs so it may just be on me. I may have to look into an in-depth analysis of the story to get it.
4-QTE's-I would prefer the game without them. Again, immersion breaking. especially when it felt like you were just meant to be watching a cutscene and the prompt just shows up on your screen out of nowhere. I mean, it does add a little interactivity, but with how minimal it is anyways, why even have them. It didn't even seem like missing one or hitting one really changed anything anyway.
5-pro or con depending on preference-I don't mind a good walking sim, but this is the walking sim champion. So if those kind of games aren't your cup of tea, you're better off just watching a playthrough on YT if the story at least interests you. I'd say the game is 75 percent walking, 20 percent reading/watching logs and other notes, and 5 percent pushing e.
Specs:
Ryzen 7700x
Radeon 6800
32 GB @ 6000 Mhz
1TB M.2