Fort Solis - What We Know So Far

In third-person sci-fi thriller "Fort Solis," players take on the role of Jack Leary, an engineer stationed at a mining facility on Mars. When Jack can't make contact with the other crew members following a routine alarm, he sets out to handle the issue on his own. He soon discovers the titular Fort Solis abandoned, kicking off a heart-pounding investigation into what happened to the employees.

"Fort Solis" promises a unique, seamless experience free of cinematics. Instead, players participate in all key story moments, affecting how the narrative plays out. Aimed at complete immersion, the action title unfolds without any loading screens or camera cuts. Placing further emphasis on player agency, every location includes both surface and subterranean levels that allow for greater freedom in terms of traversal.

Described as "Dead Space" meets Duncan Jones' 2009 film "Moon," "Fort Solis" appears to offer a familiar premise with a new spin. It also features an all-star voice and motion capture cast. Can't wait to visit the red planet? Here's everything you should know.

Independent developer Fallen Leaf revealed "Fort Solis" at the 2022 Summer Game Fest. The announcement did not include a release date or even a release window, though the Steam listing notes the title as "Coming Soon." This appears to be Fallen Leaf's first project and it has yet to announce a publisher for the game. Thus far, "Fort Solis" has only been confirmed for a PC launch.

According to information shared in the "Play, Watch, Listen" podcast, work on "Fort Solis" began around the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. A look at the official Fallen Leaf Studio Twitter page reveals several production milestones, including photogrammetry scans and motion capture. In late June 2022, the company advertised openings for senior animator and mid-weight animator roles, indicating that "Fort Solis" remains in active development. Fallen Leaf promised to share more information later in the summer.

The voice cast of "Fort Solis" includes two industry veterans: Troy Baker and Roger Clark. Baker has appeared in hundreds of games across multiple genres. Some of his most notable roles include Joel in Naughty Dog's "The Last of Us" series, Pagan Min in "Far Cry 4," Booker DeWitt in "BioShock Infinite," and Rhys in "Tales from the Borderlands." For "Fort Solis," he portrays another station employee named Wyatt Taylor who sometimes butts heads with protagonist Jack. Fallen Leaf has not established much about the character beyond that.

Though not nearly as prolific as Baker, Clark also boasts an impressive resume. He voiced Arthur Morgan in the Rockstar Games blockbuster "Red Dead Redemption 2," and will bring another lead to life as Jack in "Fort Solis." The duo shared a bit about their involvement with the project in an interview with Geoff Keighley during the Summer Game Fest. "This is a game where you as the player are going to be exploring, you're going to be discovering ... it's a very tight thriller," said Baker. "The narrative is a huge element to this. They didn't waste any resources on the performance for sure."

Fallen Leaf has released a single trailer for "Fort Solis." The one minute and fifteen second segment establishes the atmosphere and direction of the story through a selection of visuals and audio. The latter encompases a medical log voiced by Baker as Officer Taylor, while the bulk of the scenes follow Jack.

When Jack arrives at Fort Solis and receives no radio response from within the facility, he heads inside to assess the situation. Viewers see a few different locations, including passageways lit by red light, an operating area, an office, and a common space with a live tree at its center. Multiple shots highlight a door with a sign that reads "Greenhouse" displayed above it.

At one point another figure in a spacesuit attacks Jack from behind, and a woman screams, urging the protagonist to "Get out of there." She later shouts, "Answer me!" The sequence concludes with a video recording of Officer Taylor. "Something is going on here," he states. "And I need to find out what it is."