#wyattdidnothingwrong

This game isn't a total disaster at all. The acting and voice work is very good, especially on the part of Wyatt. The script is great. It's obviously very nice to look at. The story is interesting and entirely plausible in a sci-fi kind of way; it's engaging and certainly gives you pause for thought when you realise exactly what surviving the situation might mean. I think the main problem for many is that Fort Solis clearly aspires to be a TV show. It says so, right there on the store page, describing the actions of the characters as "performances" and comparing itself to something on Netflix. The closest it comes to actual gameplay is quick-time events - with one major exception it doesn't even matter if you fail at these - or playing hunt the hidden object to access the audio and video logs that contain most of the backstory. On my part, I've no problem with walking sims; I've played many and loved some of them. They're totally upfront about what they're doing on the store page so nobody can claim to have been deceived by the marketing blurb. I do have a problem with the leisurely pace at which our protagonists (yes, plural: you switch characters halfway through, so if you're getting this as a huge Roger Clark fan don't expect to spend the whole game with Jack) drag their reluctant feet around the place while apparently in fear for their lives and those of others. Your joy at discovering a sprint button will be decimated as you realise that "sprinting" in this case means "moving like you're in rehab for a spinal injury but are making real progress and the doctors are optimistic". If you were to remove all the waddling about from the game, you'd be left with enough content for a movie rather than a TV series. And at £20.99, it's not a lot of movie for the money - I ran through the whole thing in just over 4 hours, including finding about 85% of the collectables, doing another loop of the base to take in the sights, redoing the last bit to get the alternate ending, and pausing the game while I made myself some noodles (satay, if you're curious). Completionists might add another hour of space dawdling at the very most, while those brainrotted into a short attention span and skipping all the collectables could plausibly finish it all in 2-3 hours. Plotwise, I'm not sure why more attempts to reason with the antagonist weren't made - it seems obvious that he's only the immediate threat rather than the real villain of the piece, and there's more than enough evidence left laying around the place that he might've been reasoned with in spite of his current condition. The climax also feels incomplete - I'm the right person to be charmed into liking a middling cinematic walking sim, but if I'm to care at all what's going on it might be good to finish the story properly, even if it's just in a note at the end. I won't spoil it for those who do play it but the consequences of your victory are left in an unknown state that could only really be resolved by a sequel, which unfortunately will probably never come. It's a shame. I'd have probably forgiven the flaws, even the constipated limping around, if they'd managed a satisfying ending to top it off.

This game is thoroughly okay. The visuals are great and it has good bones, but they didn't flesh out the threat...at all. There's a hand tremor and a few mentions of odd behavior and that's it. The game never fleshes out what's happening to the crew, so the story boils down to one guy losing his marbles. In addition to that, some of the collectibles are incredibly hard to find. I like the surface walk segments, but with swirling dust everywhere and a decreased movement speed I am NOT going to check all the grey, angular surfaces to see which ones open to reveal collectibles.

Superb demonstration of what UnReal 5 can offer hungry eyeballs even with low system specs, but otherwise a terrible visual novel/walking sim/demo reel for yet another bland sci-fi streaming service "event."*

If this was priced accordingly (and tweaked to player expectations just a hair's breadth) for what it is (a tech demo/elevator pitch hybrid) and not to meet financial or future casting expectations/opportunities, it might have been one of the greatest releases of its time.

Instead it is a bloated, poorly paced mystery marred by sudden, difficult but inconsequential QTEs and a somewhat cliché plotline. Worth it with foreknowledge and a steep discount.

*Literally created in lieu of/to pitch a future "Netflix-style series" by shameless creators to make an easy buck.