When I first heard the solo dev behind ADACA was working on a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. style game, I was immediately interested, but also a bit apprehensive that Project Silverfish might just turn out to be ‘scaly S.T.A.L.K.E.R.’, with no identity of its own. After playing the Beta 0.1.8.3 version of Project Silverfish, however, I’m already confident that this game will bring a lot of its own ideas to the table, even surpassing the series it’s inspired by in some ways.

Being made by a solo dev, Project Silverfish unfortunately doesn’t have the resources to implement something as complex as S.T.A.L.K.E.R.’s A-Life system to simulate life in the zone, but it actually does a lot of very interesting things that even (vanilla) S.T.A.L.K.E.R. can’t offer. For one, while S.T.A.L.K.E.R.’s anomalies often just boil down to ‘damage zones’ with different visuals, Project Silverfish has strange and fascinating things like floating will-o-the-wisps that automatically draw your aim towards them, enemies that can telekinetically pull you towards them over half the map, or zones of darkness that cause hallucinations. It also offers notably more environmental interactivity, from breaking down doors to setting environmental objects on fire. And it features a plethora of interesting tools that offer additional gameplay options, such as picking locked doors, spray painting the environment to make navigation easier or giving you a quick burst of air while diving.

Importantly, Project Silverfish does away with dull artifacts that simply provide a tiny numerical advantage (+3 % ‘bulletproof cap’, how thrilling!) and instead has them give you much more tangible advantages and disadvantages. Like being able to jump higher, which seriously changes the way you move around the environment, or taking damage from contact with water. Some artifacts even have active uses, giving you the ability to teleport or summon hostile anomalies to fight your enemies (and you, if you’re not careful).

If Project Silverfish continues in this particular design direction, I think it may end up being one of my favourite games ever, since it effectively combines the atmosphere and core gameplay of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. with some light immersive sim elements which offer you more freedom when interacting with the environment. Yes, it’s a much smaller project compared to something like S.T.O.L.K.O.R. 2: Hort of Chornobol, but it’s already on a good path to being something like ‘S.T.A.L.K.E.R. meets Prey’, albeit on a significantly more limited budget.

As of its initial Early Access release, Fortune’s Run is already one of the most exciting imsim/shooter projects I’ve played in many years. And if the developers can keep up the current level of quality for future content drops, the game may very well grow from the hidden gem it already is into a full-on cult classic. But be aware: Fortune’s Run is a two-person project with many idiosyncrasies that make it feel very special to fans of niche imsim/shooters like me, but may turn many others off. If you love the original System Shock despite its rough edges, and E.Y.E. - Divine Cybermancy precisely because of its eclectic design, Fortune’s Run will scratch that itch for you, and leave you wanting more!

At its core, Fortune’s Run is a first-person shooter with imsim elements. That means you’ll be spending a lot of time navigating believable environments, sneaking up on enemies, stacking boxes to reach air vents to crawl through, and using surgical staplers to fix your broken legs. But the shooter DNA is still strong in Fortune’s Run, so don’t expect to be able to avoid combat entirely. This becomes very noticeable with the boss fights in the Early Access build, only one of which is completely avoidable, as far as I can tell. And while the boss arenas do sometimes feature environmental hazards you can use against your enemy, there simply aren’t many specific ways to take those bosses down if, for example, you want to focus entirely on the stealth aspect of the game. This is perhaps the biggest potential caveat I currently see in the game: While the actual levels give you tons of different options to play as you want, the boss fights may turn into roadblocks for players who just aren’t any good at shooters.

Though if you are at least decent at playing shooters, you’ll really appreciate all the different player expression tools Fortune’s Run offers. Notably, the game has a very robust melee system, with punches, (jump) kicks and slides as well as invincibility frames, guard breaks and stagger attacks. Fortune’s Run takes your basic fists and turns them from a simple fallback option into a sophisticated and genuinely useful choice of weapon. We also get the ability to block ranged attacks with well-timed melee weapon attacks – and we definitely need that edge, as firefights in Fortune’s Run are always quick and extremely deadly! Where the dynamics in many other shooters are geared more towards a constant flow of action, Fortune’s Run oscillates between slow, methodical exploration and lightning-fast hyper-violence, almost feeling like a first-person Hotline Miami at times. Luckily, Fortune’s Run allows you to save whenever and wherever you want – so unlike Hotline Miami, you don’t need to replay the entire level when you’re inevitably killed by some shotgun-toting goon who snuck behind your back.

The environments also make Fortune’s Run stand out among its peers, as it feels like all of the levels in the current Early Access build were created as believable environments first, and video game levels second. Sure, that can lead to some of the idiosyncrasies I’ve hinted at above. For example, you’re taught wall-jumping in the tutorial, but you won’t really need to use it much inside the cramped interior of the space station which constitutes the game’s huge first level. Once you go for a spacewalk, however, that system really comes into its own – not to mention the extensive use you’ll have to make of wall-jumping when playing the demo level (which is included in the Early Access version and will become part of the campaign eventually). So instead of making the space station unrealistically big on the inside to accommodate all the traversal options the game offers, the developers decided to stick with believability, even if that means certain systems won’t be very useful in all parts of the level. Don’t worry: Fortune’s Run has plenty of other systems you can utilize inside the space station instead, and figuring out how to approach any given situation is a huge part of the fun, after all.

You may think that’s a weird or even flawed design decision, but I love the fact that this gives all the levels a chance to be distinct and mechanically believable environments in their own right, sometimes with unique mechanics specifically designed for them. Here’s an example: The space station in question generates artificial gravity by constantly rotating about its own axis, but your shuttle is docked at the center axis. Thus, you can actually move freely on the inner walls of the shuttle once it’s docked, as you’re effectively weightless. You then use guide rails and a ladder to drag yourself towards the rotating outer ring of the station, and now there’s gravity! You’ll also open some airlocks that lead to broken-off hallways, which can blow you out of the space station as the room behind you explosively depressurizes. These little details appear to have been programmed specifically for this level – not because shifting gravity and decompression will be a core gameplay mechanic throughout the entire game (I assume), but because this one level required these ideas to be implemented.

I’m also happy to say that Fortune’s Run is shaping up to be a retro shooter that actually cares about things like world building, plot and characterization. Sure, the current Early Access content isn’t enough to come to a definite conclusion on how good the overall story will be, but just from what’s there, I already find Mozah and her troubled past very emotionally engaging, and some of the themes already brought up will definitely excite you if you enjoy cyberpunk stories. And I mean the gritty and politically subversive original Mirrorshades/Burning Chrome style of cyberpunk. In the case of Fortune’s Run, this means tackling topics like economic oppression, commodification of people, and colonial cultural hegemony – and I just can’t deny it: I love it when games dare to explore weighty subjects!

In short: Fortune’s Run is shaping up to be a very unique and highly detailed first-person imsim/shooter that wants to tell a proper story about serious topics while setting the action in mechanically believable environments. It’s the kind of indie game where you can’t tell if you love it in spite of its quirks, or precisely because of them. A truly niche game that could only ever have been made by a tiny team with a strong vision. I, for one, can’t wait for what’s to come!


P.S.: The current Early Access build (as of September 2023) contains a detailed tutorial level, a small story-focused level and one huge story mission, which came down to a combined play time of about 8 hours for me – though I’m sure you could whittle that down to about half of that if you don’t explore every nook and cranny like I did. The Early Access build also contains a fully fleshed-out alternate tutorial and story mission which were originally released as a demo for the game and are set later in the story. The demo content will probably last you between 3 and 6 hours, in my estimation. So while you may balk at the idea of paying 20 bucks for an Early Access game with “only two proper missions”, keep in mind these are pretty meticulously designed and extensive levels offering plenty of replayability as they accommodate a wide variety of gameplay approaches.