Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective

Created by the same team that brought us the Ace Attorney series, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is all about uncovering the mystery of your own death as a ghostly version of yourself. Phantom. The gameplay revolves around exploring the curious case in complete depth and then reaching a conclusion – which really makes you feel like a detective making important decisions. It’s all accompanied by some smart writing that never fails to keep you guessing, which makes it such an endearing experience.

Fatal Frame / Project Zero: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse

Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse released in 2008 to some great critical and commercial reception, and Koei Tecmo has been trying to bring the series back into the limelight with HD remasters for these game. The remaster of Mask of the Lunar Eclipse released earlier this year, and it does a really good job of souping up the visuals and smoothing out certain jagged edges to make the experience a lot more palatable for modern audiences. Of course, it isn’t perfect by any means – but it’s a great horror game nevertheless.

Cocoon

Cocoon is a wonderful puzzle game that’s entirely built around the concept of worlds existing within worlds, and players can combine and manipulate these worlds through the use of certain orbs to solve puzzles and proceed with the story. Cocoon comes from the lead designer for INSIDE and Limbo, so you can be confident that it’s a solid game with a minimalist control scheme and an emotional story that will stay with you long after the credits roll.

Hi-Fi Rush

Tango Gameworks delivered an excellent rhythmic adventure with Hi-Fi Rush, which has quickly gone on to become one of the biggest surprise hits of this year. Hi-Fi Rush features a world where everything taps to a beat, and you must time your actions and attacks to that beat to be able to dish out damage to your opponents. It’s a wonderfully imaginative game that’s executed with great attention to detail, and should be experienced by more fans.

Season: A Letter to the Future

Season: A Letter to the Future is a game that talks about the nature of change. As the protagonist, your job is to capture the sights and sounds and take them to the next Season – a time when everyone will be unaware of what happened in the last Season. It’s a simple and laid back game with a strong focus on exploration and engaging in conversations, but the many themes that it manages to effectively convey through its story is what makes it so beautiful.

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is a Soulslike with a complex web of action and progression mechanics that beautifully flow into one another, and what we get is a game that’s surprisingly fun and approachable despite the many mechanics and systems at play. There are a few erratic difficulty spikes here and there, but Wo Long is a largely fun experience where you must overcome brutal but fair challenges ranging from petty enemies to large bosses with multiple health bars and much more.

Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon

Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon is FromSoftware’s attempt at modernizing its long-running mech adventure series, and it’s fair to say that the team has largely succeeded in its objective of providing a modern experience for audiences. Armored Core 6 features a fast and frenetic combat lop that’s just a joy to engage with, and the bevy of customization options makes it all so much more compelling.

Deliver Us Mars

Deliver Us Mars is a spiritual successor to Deliver Us The Moon, and the many merits of the 2018 release shine brightly in Deliver Us Mars as well. The story revolves around a space crew embarking on Mars in the hopes of retrieving some stolen spaceships from a mysterious race of aliens called the Outward. It’s all written and performed well, and while the gameplay doesn’t have too many action elements – it does a good job of keeping you engaged through the compelling plot and a wide variety of gameplay options like exploration, puzzle solving, and much more.

Fort Solis

Developer Fallen Leaf’s latest Fort Solis also sends players to explore the furthest depths of the planet Mars, as our protagonist Jack Leary embarks on a search mission for his missing crew. Fort Solis boasts a star cast with the likes of Roger Clark (the voice behind Arthur Morgan) and Troy Baker (the voice behind Joel from The Last of Us) coming to play important characters in this well-written story. Between this and a strong visual presentation powered by Unreal Engine 5, Fort Solis is a solid game that should be experienced by a lot more people.

Jusant

Jusant comes from the guys at Dontnod, the studio best known for its work on the Life is Strange series. Jusant is all about reaching the top of a tall tower while overcoming the many obstacles that lie in your way. It beautifully combines mechanical challenge with immersive storytelling to create something that’s just hard to put down – once you get the hang of it.

Risk of Rain Returns

The original Risk of Rain was an excellent roguelike that featured some amazing combat and compelling progression mechanics, and Risk of Rain Returns is a remaster that knows how to package that experience in a way that feels worthwhile for veterans and newcomers alike. In addition to the base content, Risk of Rain also features enhanced multiplayer options and new build types to experiment with on your repeat playthroughs.

Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe

Originally released in 2011 for the Nintendo Wii, Kirby’s Return to Dream Land now has a Deluxe Edition that comes with updated graphics and smoothed-out gameplay designed for the Nintendo Switch. Much like every other Kirby game, Return to Dream Land is a simple yet fun adventure where you make your way through a wide variety of levels while consuming your enemies to get their powers and become even stronger.

Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider

JoyMasher’s Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider feels like a glorious throwback to 16-bit games, thanks to some incredible art direction and smooth-flowing gameplay that remains interesting for the entire duration of the experience. Of course, there are some elements and mechanics in place to make the gameplay feel more palatable for modern audiences which makes it feel like you are reliving the glory days of SNES complete with rose-tinted glasses.

Horizon Call of the Mountain

Horizon: Call of the Mountain was one of the first games to be released for PSVR2, and it’s an excellent adaptation of the full-fat Horizon experience in VR format. Sure, the open-world aspect has been swapped out for a more linear game where you make your way through carefully curated combat challenges and platforming runs – but it all works surprisingly well within the context of the game. And then of course, getting to experience the post-post-apocalyptic world of Horizon from up close is also a really distinct kind of joy in and of itself.

Planet of Lana

Planet of Lana puts players in the teeny tiny shoes of Lana as she kickstarts a grand adventure through fantastical realms inhabited by all sorts of robotic and humanoid creatures. Created by developer Wishfully, Planet of Lana takes players on a joyous ride through a wonderfully well-realized world and tells a heartwarming story that hits just the right notes at every moment. Add to that some amazing visuals and cinematic gameplay, and Planet of Lana becomes a thrill ride like no other.

F1 Manager 2023

There’re grumbles surrounding the graphical performance of F1 Manager 2023 on console, with opinions centring on its visuals being a downgrade compared to 2022’s iteration. However, play on PC with graphic settings set to ultra and the splendour of Unreal Engine 5 comes to the fore – sun-glinting reflections bounce realistically off body work and helmets, and warbly heat haze rises from the tarmac. The pièce de resistance though is F1 Manager 2023’s new visor cam – visual flairs, dynamic head movement, and true-to-life depth of field make this driver’s eye-view the go-to camera angle to immerse yourself in the relentlessness of elite wheel-to-wheel racing.

You play as Jack Leary, played by Roger Clarke, an engineer who responds to a routine distress call coming from the titular mining facility known as Fort Solis. After a short hike on the Red Planet’s soil, you arrive in the facility, only to quickly realize that something is not quite right, primarily because it’s entirely abandoned. The first hour or so of Fort Solis is definitely a slow burn, with a lot of time being spent on picking up new clues and pieces of the story that murkily fill in some vague details about the work that was being done by the people stationed in Fort Solis, and how it may have led to whatever went wrong here. The tidbits that it does dole out in that opening hour do an effective job of reeling you in, and once the story gets going, it doesn’t let up until the end.

"Fort Solis is an engaging experience from start to finish, and though it doesn’t necessarily set new standards for narrative-driven games – or walking sims, so to speak – it does succeed in almost everything it sets out to do."

Chiefly responsible for that is the game’s incredible star cast, which I mentioned previously. Roger Clarke, who played Red Dead Redemption 2 protagonist Arthur Morgan, and Troy Baker, who has a litany of iconic roles in the medium, are joined by Julia Brown in her first role in a game, and all three knock it out of the park. The camaraderie between Jack, the protagonist, and Jessica is at the core of a lot of what Fort Solis does, storytelling-wise, and the relationship between the two characters is sold very effectively here. It helps, of course, that the characters themselves are instantly likeable here. Meanwhile, the wildcard of Wyatt Taylor, Baker’s character, sets the narrative’s fuse alight when he’s introduced, and remains a highlight of the experience from that point forward.

There are some occasions in the first half of the game where some of the light-hearted friendly banter between Jack and Julia feels like it’s tonally clashing with the events of the story, and with what kind of frame of mind you’d imagine Jack would be in given the situation he finds himself in, but by and large, the writing is solid, the dialogue is snappy, and all of it is very well acted. That last bit in particular really shines through thanks to the excellent performance and motion capture work done by the developers in Fort Solis, with cutscenes capturing the nuances and mannerisms of the characters and their faces in impressive detail.

Those high production values can be found in other aspects of the experience as well, from its strong audio design, which contributes significantly to the eerie and unsettling vibe of the whole experience, to the impressive visuals. Fort Solis does a great job, on a technical level, of bringing its art design to life. The facility feels like a real, lived-in space and is brimming with a great deal of detail. Whether you’re exploring some of its cleaner, more pristine interiors, parts of it that are more run-down and have accumulated wear and tear, or even its immediate exterior, where you can see the red environments of Mars, Fort Solis consistently looks great. And barring some minor audio glitches and that made some of the dialogue sound a little distorted on a couple of occasions, I didn’t run into any technical issues either.

"By and large, the writing is solid, the dialogue is snappy, and all of it is very well acted."

Something else that also cements Fort Solis’ narrative strengths is the game’s strong sense of place and atmosphere. This is not a horror game, in spite of what its early showings may have suggested to some, but there are definitely some strong horror-esque vibes here. Fort Solis is, on paper, a psychological thriller, and a lot of that ends up going hand-in-hand with how well it builds up its atmosphere. Exploring the abandoned, isolated interiors of a station on Mars with a number of its systems failing, all while furious and hostile sandstorms rage outside on the Red Planet- that creates a very strong and very distinct aesthetic that elevates the experience even further. And as the story progresses and gathers pace, that atmosphere only continues to grow stronger.

Most of what I’ve talked about in this review has revolved around Fort Solis’ story and storytelling, because frankly, that’s the vast, vast majority of this experience. Fort Solis is very light on gameplay. That is, of course, by design- with developer Fallen Leaf’s single-minded focus being the cinematic and narrative experience on offer here, you shouldn’t be heading into the game expecting a strong mechanical foundation or a ton of interesting gameplay.

From its first second to its last, Fort Solis keeps things simple. The vast majority of the game involves walking through environments, interacting with and picking up objects, and reading emails, watching video recordings, and listening to audio logs. There are some optional collectibles that you can track down in the form of posters, and there’s the occasional puzzle here and there, though calling them “series of linear button pushes” instead of “puzzles” would be more accurate. All of it is very simple and straightforward, and does exactly what it’s supposed to do. It keeps things nicely moving along and facilitates the main drive of the experience- the story.

"Fort Solis is very light on gameplay. That is, of course, by design- with developer Fallen Leaf’s single-minded focus being the cinematic and narrative experience on offer here, you shouldn’t be heading into the game expecting a strong mechanical foundation or a ton of interesting gameplay."

There are, however, some issues with the gameplay experience that can be problematic. On the most fundamental level, movement in Fort Solis isn’t great. It’s heavy and lumbering, and more often than not, feels unresponsive. Its slow and plodding nature can not only be a bit frustrating at times, it can also make exploration feel a bit too plodding. Those who don’t like forced slow walking in games will probably be perennially annoyed while playing Fort Solis. Meanwhile, navigating the facility can also get a bit confusing at times. Fort Solis is quite compact, and it’s quite linear, but even so, the poor signposting in the environments themselves and the very unintuitive and unhelpful in-game map can make for the odd moment of meandering confusion every now and then.

It’s a good thing, then, that gameplay is very much not the focus in Fort Solis, because even though it can be an issue at times, at the end of the day, it’s just the conduit through which the game is telling its story- which, after all, is where it really excels. At just 4-5 hours long, Fort Solis is a brief experience, but it fills up that runtime very effectively, thanks to a compelling story, high, cinematic production values, strong acting performances, and excellent atmosphere. If you’re looking for a strong narrative experience, or if you’re a fan of science fiction settings, Fallen Leaf’s debut outing is well worth a look.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.

It’s unclear exactly what’s happening, but Leary must find out what happened. Julia Brown’s character provides support over the radio, and the incident seems to involve medical officer Wyatt Taylor (played by Troy Baker of The Last of Us fame). The story takes place over four chapters with no camera cuts, loading times or HUD, and the visuals look stunning, thanks to Unreal Engine 5.

Fort Solis launches on August 22nd for PS5 and PC. Check out some more extensive gameplay here. It’s not confirmed for Xbox, but game director James Tinsdale says the team wants to release it for “any and every audience.” Stay tuned for more updates in the future and check out our interview with the developer here.

That said, 2023 has also been the year of dark horses. Games such as Hi-Fi Rush and more recently, Viewfinder seemingly came out of nowhere and instantly won the hearts of many fans. And when talking about dark horses, it’s impossible not to mention the upcoming Fort Solis which is another ambitious sci-fi game that looks like it could make a name for itself and end up becoming one of the biggest games of 2023.

Currently in development at Dear Villagers who previously published the excellent time looping adventure The Forgotten City, Fort Solis describes itself as a sci-fi thriller set on Mars. The game takes place in a future where mankind has expanded its horizons beyond Earth, and the planet of Mars is being used for mining important minerals and resources in huge mining rigs. Upon hearing a distress signal from a large mining facility named Fort Solis, our protagonist Jack arrives at the facility only to be met with nothing but questions and a mystery that only grows deeper as you progress through the story.

As mentioned previously, you will be assuming the role of Jack for most of the adventure but later stages will allow you to swap characters with your companion Jessica portrayed by Julia Brown. The writing looks to be quality stuff, and the characters in Fort Solis are morally gray ones with understandable motivations and compelling character arcs that will unravel during the course of the story. It’s also wonderfully brought to life with high-quality motion capture and performance by popular voice actors like Troy Baker and Roger Clark – which definitely has us excited to see what these familiar faces will be bringing to the table for the final release.

Dear Villagers has cited Quantic Dream’s works like Detroit: Become Human as major inspirations for Fort Solis, so naturally choice and consequence mechanics will play a huge role in the game. You will get to choose your preferred path at several critical points in the story, and the choices that you make during those moments will ultimately dictate which one of the many endings you get.

Coming to the gameplay front, the moment-to-moment gameplay of Fort Solis revolves around exploring the many environments as you search for the answers to your questions and finally get to the bottom of what actually happened to the station crew. There’s a wide variety of environments available for you to explore, ranging from the sandstorm-stricken surface of Mars to the many cramped-up interiors and corridors of the indoor facility.

Exploration on the surface is largely done through a Mako-like space vehicle, and getting around Mars will progressively get difficult as the sandstorm will continue to worsen as you make your way through the story. The indoors, on the other hand, provide a different kind of traversal challenge where you must solve different kinds of puzzles to gain access to locked areas and move on with the story.

One of the more interesting things about Fort Solis’ approach to exploration is that all areas are technically open to be explored from the get-go. Sure, there’s going to be a critical path that will guide you through it all – but the only thing stopping you from accessing late-game areas and locked doors is the knowledge of how the game actually functions. Players will have a useful Unitool available for use, and important elements like hacking doors or bypassing other security measures will be done through the same tool – and its utility will only grow as you progress through the game. It all sounds something like the puzzles in Outer Wilds where progression and exploration are strongly linked with one another, and such type of knowledge-based progression will hopefully make Fort Solis a highly refreshing experience.

As for the combat, Fort Solis sticks to the fact that our protagonist Jack is an engineer – so he wouldn’t obviously be very effective with weapons. As such, you will not be taking part in shooting or fighting segments but there will be set-piece moments peppered throughout the adventure which will help add a dash of action to the gameplay proceedings. On the topic of action sequences, it’s also important to mention that Fort Solis will be a one-shot experience from beginning to end much like the recent God of War games, so it’s going to be interesting to see how the action transitions from one scene to the another without the use of any traditional camera cuts. The developers have also stated that players will have a lot more agency in these segments when compared to traditional QTEs found in narrative thrillers, so that’s pretty exciting to hear as well.

And we’d be remiss if we didn’t take a moment to talk about the visuals. Fort Solis is a highly atmospheric game, and it’s all brought to life in a beautiful manner thanks to the power of Unreal Engine 5. Everything from the carefully rendered character models to the imaginative environments and impressive lighting implementation comes together to create a highly evocative world that would most likely be a joy to explore.

While we could go on and on and keep on waxing lyrical about what makes Fort Solis such a promising game, but it takes a lot more than just making a good game to turn it into a success. Thankfully, Fallen Leaf Studios seems to be on the right track in this regard – though not without some issues. Take for instance, the release date of 22 August, 2023 – which is usually a rather dry period for video game releases. While Fallen Leaf’s upcoming title will be going up against the highly anticipated Armored Core 6 which comes out on August 25, but both of these are drastically different experiences catering to entirely different audiences. Armored Core 6 is a brutal action game, while Fort Solis on the other hand is a comparatively laid-back thriller with little to no combat sequences.

Of course, the marketing for the game has been somewhat on the weaker side since many elements of the gameplay and details about the story continue to remain scant even less than a month ahead of its release. But once the developer course corrects this issue, Fort Solis will make an even stronger case for itself as yet another surprise hit of 2023.

In conclusion, Fort Solis is definitely a game that has an interesting premise brought to life by a star-studded cast of actors and compelling gameplay with plenty of choice and freedom for both exploration and progression. It has a lot of potential, and we are hoping that Fallen Leaf is able to capitalize on its merits and create something that surpasses expectations. Fingers crossed, until then.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

Showcasing a section from the beginning of the game, the video kicks into chapter 1 of the story early on, and shows protagonist Jack (played by Roger Clarke of Red Dead Redemption fame) arriving at the titular Fort Solis and finding the base completely deserted. The gameplay does a solid job of giving a taste of the sort of QTE sections, exploration, narrative focus, and atmosphere you can expect from the game. Check it out below.

Fort Solis launches on August 22 for PS5 and PC. For more details on the game, make sure to read our interview with game director James Tinsdale.

Baldur’s Gate 3

It’s a testament to the kind of year that 2023 has been that Baldur’s Gate 3 is only one of many major releases. Nevertheless, Larian Studios’ tremendous role-playing game is a dream come true for Dungeons and Dragons fans. It offers a dozen classes, 46 subclasses, over 600 Spells, 11 races, 31 subraces and many more options to customize your character.

With a massive campaign that spans over 75 hours on a single playthrough with dozens of quests and multiple locations to explore, Baldur’s Gate 3 promises peak role-playing when it launches on August 3rd for PC.

Tower of Fantasy (PS4, PS5)

Hotta Studio’s Tower of Fantasy is an open-world action RPG, albeit with a sci-fi twist. As a customizable character, players travel the surface, learning more about the fall of civilization at the hands of Omnium, and battling all manner of threats. With four-player co-op, World Bosses and numerous quests, Tower of Fantasy also features an arena mode for PvP.

The combat also employs some interesting mechanics like equipping three weapons with different roles, building up charge and switching between them for more damage, and Simulacrums to transform into a unique character. Though currently available on PC, Tower of Fantasy arrives on August 8th for PS4 and PS5.

WrestleQuest

Wrestling video games are often simulations, rarely arcade titles, with the hottest talent. WrestleQuest takes a different approach, imagining the hero’s journey from the perspective of an up-and-coming wrestler in a fantastical pixel art universe. You start as a rookie and work through the ranks by training and learning from the greats like “Macho Man” Randy Savage, Andre the Giant and more.

As you customize your wrestler’s moves and entrance, you take on all sorts of opponents and fight alongside legends like Diamond Dallas Page, the Road Warriors and more. WrestleQuest launches on August 8th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PS4, PC and Nintendo Switch.

Atlas Fallen

In a world where everything has become sand and humanity is oppressed, you play as an Unnamed and discover a magical gauntlet. With the ability to manipulate and weaponize sand, you embark on a quest to take down Thelos and restore humanity. Developed by Deck13 of The Surge fame, Atlas Fallen is more of an action-adventure title with three weapons – the Dunecleaver, Sandwhip and Knuckledust – that change shape as you accrue Momentum in combat.

They can further be upgraded with over 100 Essence Stones, encouraging experimentation. Atlas Fallen releases on August 10th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC, and on top of lasting 25 to 30 hours, the entire game supports two-player co-op.

Sprawl

Would it be much of a month without a retro-style FPS? Probably not, but even by boomer shooter standards, MAETH’s Sprawl looks intriguing. Set in a cyberpunk city, you control former special ops SEVEN, who seeks to escape and venture to the SPIRE, while a mysterious voice pushes her onward. Corpo forces oppose you, but thanks to the Icarus implant, you can wall-run and slow down time, slaying enemies with katanas, pistols and a shotgun. Sprawl is out in August for PC, with a more definite release date to be announced.

Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew

From the team behind Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun comes a brand-new strategy stealth title. Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew is set in the Golden Age of Piracy, as you venture the Lost Caribbean with eight crewmates, each possessing unique skills. You can freely select crew members for a mission and take any approach, utilizing new magical abilities to one-up enemies.

In addition to cleverly executed strategies and split-second timing, you can pause the game and instantly rewind to a previous point to try something else. Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew arrives on August 17th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC.

Madden NFL 24

For the uninitiated, EA Sports’ Madden NFL series is its other golden goose that has proven a monstrous success year in and year out with even fewer changes than FIFA. However, as EA transitions from FIFA to its new EA Sports FC franchise, Madden NFL 24 offers several improvements. FieldSENSE returns for added realism and control; the AI is smarter and more reactive; Franchise Mode features Free Agency changes and new commissioner tools; and new modes like 3v3 Superstar Showdown promise some unique experiences. Launching on August 18th, Madden NFL 24 will be available for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 and PC with cross-play support.

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk

Lethal League developer Team Reptile presents a spiritual successor to Sega’s Jet Set Radio – Bomb Rush Cyberfunk. As Red, players join the Bomb Rush Crew and compete against rival crews for turf, tagging spots and earning REP while executing all kinds of tricks, whether it’s inline skating, skateboarding or BMX. Police forces will try to stop you, and new members join the crew, backed by the tunes of Jet Set Radio composer Hideki Naganuma. Bomb Rush Cyberfunk arrives on August 18th for PC and Nintendo Switch.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

Based on the 1974 classic, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a new asymmetrical multiplayer title, which previously published Friday the 13th: The Game. Releasing on August 18th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 and PC, it sees Ana Flores, Julie Crawford, Connie Taylor, Sonny Williams and Leland McKinney searching for Ana’s sister Maria.

Of course, the Slaughter family, including The Hitchhiker, The Cook and good ol’ Leatherface aren’t keen on letting them escape. The victims must use stealth and complete objectives to escape while the killers stop them. It’s pretty straightforward and backed by plenty of realistic kills.

Fort Solis

This cinematic sci-fi adventure game from Black Drakkar Games and Fallen Leaf is unique in its immersion. There are no camera cuts, loading times or a HUD, and its story is composed of four chapters with an all-star cast featuring Roger Clark (of Red Dead Redemption 2 fame), Troy Baker (The Last of Us) and Julia Brown (World on Fire). As engineer Jack Leary, players venture to the titular Fort Solis for a routine inspection and find the crew missing. Strange events begin to occur, pushing Leary to the brink. Fort Solis launches on August 22nd for PS5 and PC.

Immortals of Aveum

Ascendant Studios’ magic-based first-person shooter has been five years in the making, utilizing Unreal Engine 5.1 for its stunning visuals and Michael Kirkbride of The Elder Scrolls fame to help craft its narrative. Set in the world of Aveum, with Lucium and Rasharm at constant war, players control Jak, a recruit in the Order of the Immortals who looks to take down the big bad Sandrakk.

As a Triarch, Jak can utilize all three Colors of magic in devastating ways. With several different spells and talents, tons of gear pieces, and a meaty campaign with plenty of side content, Immortals of Aveum could be a dark horse in a jam-packed month. It releases on August 22nd for Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC.

Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon

FromSoftware’s latest entry in the mech combat series begins with a clean slate, taking players to Rubicon 3, where megacorporations and factions battle over a precious resource Coral. As a mercenary pilot, you pilot a fully customizable Armored Core, utilizing different long-range and melee weapons while battling all manner of mechanized opposition in fast-paced combat.

Larger environments, seamless switching between projectiles and melee attacks, a new stagger mechanic, multiple endings and more await fans along with the return of the Arena when Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon arrives on August 25th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 and PC.

Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy

It’s hard to keep a band of heroes down, especially the Heroes of Trine. Amadeus the Wizard, Zoya the Thief, and Pontius the Knight embark on a new adventure to battle the Clockwork army. As a 2.5D action-puzzle platformer with co-op support, players must use each character’s skills to traverse environments in unique ways (like using Pontius’s shield to skate across water).

A new combat system and bosses, more variety with skill quests, and an adaptive difficulty to encourage replay value await fans when Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy launches on August 31st for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PS4, PC and Nintendo Switch.

RIDE 5

If you’ve looked upon The Crew Motorfest or Forza Motorsport and wanted something more bike-oriented, RIDE 5 may be worth checking out. The latest in Milestone S.r.l.’s motorcycle sim franchise features over 35 tracks and 200 bikes to ride. This year’s Career Mode sees players working through various Rivals to make a name for themselves, braving the dynamic weather to succeed.

Along with extensive motorcycle customization, the Race Creator lets you shape custom tracks and scenarios while riding aids help ease newcomers into the experience. RIDE 5 is out on August 24th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC.

Daymare: 1994 Sandcastle

As the sequel to Invader Studios’ Resident Evil-inspired Daymare 1998, Daymare: 1994 Sandcastle is a prequel with new characters, improved visuals and a revamped UI. It also features dismemberment, a la Dead Space, and a scanner for revealing items and puzzles in the environment. While it won’t compete with Dead Space Remake, Daymare: 1994 Sandcastle may be an enjoyable blast from the past for fans of 90s survival horror when it releases on August 30th for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC.

Co-developer Fallen Leaf Studio has announced via a Twitter post that Fort Solis has gone gold. With the game’s master code now ready and sealed, any and all work Fallen Leaf Studio and Black Drakkar Games should continue to do on the game will likely arrive in the form of pre-launch or day one updates.

Fort Solis is due out on August 22 for PS5 and PC, though game director James Tinsdale has suggested that an Xbox Series X/S version will be explored following the game’s release. Head on over here to read our interview with Tinsdale for more details on the game.

https://twitter.com/FallenLeafSA/status/1682416615189561345

Starfield 

Set in the far reaches of space, Starfield looks set to take the Bethesda RPG formula into an entirely new dimension – and it looks nothing short of breathtaking. You get to explore over a hundred different planets brimming with quests to track and people to meet, and the choices that you make during these quests will ultimately dictate the outcome of this adventure. Between a solid gameplay loop and impressive NASA-Punk designs, Starfield is looking to be worth all the hype and anticipation. It releases for PC and Xbox Series X/S on September 8, 2023. 

"Early in the process we gravitated towards horror elements to help reflect the events and emotion of the evening, but as the game developed it felt much more natural to move towards a mystery thriller tone. This helped retain focus on our character development and their progression in relation to the events of the narrative rather than queuing up jump scares to help relieve tension."

Clearly, Fort Solis is blending horror with its sci-fi setting, but what’s the style of horror that the game is attempting? Is it a story that very much puts an emphasis on where its central mystery is concerned, or would you describe it as primarily a character-driven tale that also features some horror elements?

When we first set out to build the theme and tone of Fort Solis, we focused on finding moments and atmosphere that best served as a companion to the narrative. We isolated our biggest moments and looked further at other media to help associate how the presentation should be blended.

Early in the process we gravitated towards horror elements to help reflect the events and emotion of the evening, but as the game developed it felt much more natural to move towards a mystery thriller tone. This helped retain focus on our character development and their progression in relation to the events of the narrative rather than queuing up jump scares to help relieve tension.

Our emphasis remains on the central mystery and understanding the motivations behind the characters’ actions rather than presenting horror moments. That’s not to say there isn’t an accompanying tone, we just felt through dialogue and character action, those moments can be much more gratifying when delivered through the backdrop of the tone rather than bringing it to focus.

What can you tell us about Fort Solis’ choice and consequence mechanics? What kind of decisions will players be making throughout the experience, and how radically will the story be altered based on those choices?

When we originally looked at choice and consequence within Fort Solis, we started down a path of exploring multiple outcomes and options. We spent time looking at the value of multiple outcomes and how that could add or dilute our core story.

We decided to move more in the direction of The Last of Us or God of War where player input results in an action relative to that choice, but it doesn’t create branching narratives. We wanted to tell a tight story and one that’s focused on delivering the tone and beats we set out to make. With this in mind, we do not have narrative trees or dialogue options. We feel this is Jack’s story, just like Joel in the hospital in The Last of Us, during our biggest moments we wanted Jack to act true to his character and for it to remain his story.

With no HUD, no camera cuts, and no load screens, Fort Solis is putting a great deal of emphasis on immersing players in its world and its story. How challenging has it been to consistently execute on those ideas throughout the experience and ensure that it’s a single, seamless experience?

We set out to make a game that took the existing narrative genre and moved it closer to the production of Netflix, Amazon, or any of our favourite streaming service shows. Within the game industry medium we have the tool of immersion at our disposal and it’s something we really wanted to maximise through our systems.

With no HUD, camera cuts or load screens we challenged ourselves to create an experience that immerses players in the story and the events unfolding in front of them. We wanted everything to be present physically in the world. Content can be consumed within the world space via the Multi Tool device. We want the player to live in the world as Jack does and create logical boundaries to his capabilities and surroundings. This helps further ground the character in the role of an engineer whilst adding to the immersion of the experience.

A great example would be Silent Hill’s P.T. You are simply walking through a corridor but the fact you must instigate that action adds a level of tension and suspense that film or TV can’t provide. We wanted to capture that feeling at every opportunity throughout Fort Solis.

"With no HUD, camera cuts or load screens we challenged ourselves to create an experience that immerses players in the story and the events unfolding in front of them. We wanted everything to be present physically in the world."

Starring the likes of Roger Clark, Troy Baker, and Julia Brown, Fort Solis boasts an impressive cast of actors. What has the experience of working with them been like, and what have they brought to the table where their characters and the story are concerned?

From the very start of the journey, we knew that the story we wanted to tell was intense and at its core, very human. We had to reach out and speak to actors we knew could not only handle the source material but ultimately iterate, bring more to it, and perhaps even leave a piece of themselves in Fort Solis. 

Roger already had a lead role in Read Dead Redemption 2, with his background in theatre we knew that he was a perfect choice. I really love theatre and even in the darkest moments, theatre actors always find relatable ways to show humility to live crowds. This is something that comes across in Roger’s voice perfectly. It was fantastic to work with Roger on Jack’s body language, expressions, reactions, even the weight of his walk.

Beyond our lead role we knew we wanted to add someone who could bring Jess alive whether it’s on comms or elsewhere. Julia initially auditioned for the role with such energy and tenacity it really felt like I was talking to Jess. So much so we used Julia’s likeness and original accent.

Having already worked on TV, Julia really understood what we were trying to achieve and where we wanted to go. Working with her at the mocap shoot was a great experience. I will always look back and feel how much Julia helped improve our game and bring the performance to life. The way Julia was able to work with Roger and elevate our scenes really created something special that I can’t wait to share later this year.

Once we had the core cast, we had to add our last piece. Troy is a phenomenal actor and someone we really felt could take on our most conflicted character Wyatt Taylor. Troy’s vast experience over several amazing roles helped not only shape the character over the years but add empathy to a vessel in a way we hadn’t planned for previously. From talking medical jargon, to stunts, to calls throughout the project, Troy was able to really come together with Roger and Julia and create a special dynamic that as a director, is such a humbling experience.

I couldn’t be prouder of the cast and their performances. Where we landed is pretty special and I can’t wait for others to witness it!

Where the gameplay is concerned, how is the game structured? Will it be presented to players as a series of levels, or does it adopt a more freeform approach that puts an emphasis on exploration?

The game has a traditional chapter structure in terms of progression, but the location is always open form. All chapters occur at the Fort Solis location and the journey of Jack will take the player throughout all locations. The base itself is fully open whilst not immediately, the player will have to discover how to progress through the lower levels and emerge at the surface.

The structure follows similar paths as The Last of Us or God of War but obviously on a much smaller scale. We allow the player to explore the whole location. Doors will be locked, environments will be puzzles, and various other aspects have the aim of keeping the tension and story moving along. Players are free to explore, gain materials, and participate in interactions at each location. They can even revisit rooms and areas later at their leisure to grab missed content. We are embracing the freeform approach and inviting players to investigate the mystery at their own pace.

What should players expect from Fort Solis where things such as its combat and puzzles are concerned?

Combat and puzzles are always a tricky pacing tool when dealing with the narrative genre. Having too many or too difficult puzzles can become frustrating and immersion breaking. Too much combat dilutes the seriousness of the more intense moments. So, you must look for a balance.

In terms of systems, we have no combat systems. We have physical altercations throughout the game, but they will play out with player participation. This is hopefully designed to make them more meaningful when they do occur, as well as more impactful. They serve to further the story and add stakes to the characters.

Our puzzles are applied to logical moments and can be something as simple as finding power to a door, turning on servers, or more complex moments. These exist to make the mundane feel immersive. This comes back to our core concept of immersing players in this very realised world and trying to add practicality to Jack’s actions.

"I couldn’t be prouder of the cast and their performances. Where we landed is pretty special and I can’t wait for others to witness it."

Roughly how long will an average playthrough of the game be?

As an indie development team, we must be realistic about our resources and budget. It would be great to flesh out a 20-hour experience, but the game has been designed with scope in mind from the beginning. We always wanted to make something that felt in keeping with the shows we consume at home. Whether that’s in one night, two sittings or more, players will feel like they just finished a show.

Hopefully once the player has finished Fort Solis they feel the quality, storytelling, and performance was a great time investment. A lot of time went into figuring out how long the experience should be? How long can you watch a show without it overstaying its welcome? I think we landed in a really great place with other titles within our genre like Stray.

We placed a big emphasis on quality over quantity, and felt we landed in a great place reflective of something like the Chernobyl series, running around 4-5 hours.

After announcing it as a PC title, you recently confirmed that Fort Solis will also be launching for PS5. Do you have plans to eventually bring the game to Xbox as well?

We are always looking to bring Fort Solis to any and every audience we can. We recently announced the title will be coming to Mac and we will continue to work with external partners to explore avenues and platforms for future releases.