Forts Review

I remember when the Worms franchise was on the top of my favourite IPs of all time. There I was, 9 years old, sitting at my family computer running Windows 98 on a CRT monitor, waiting for the ol’ girl to finally boot up and allow me to jump in to another vacation day of blowing the little pink cretins into oblivion. Simpler times, but I digress.

Now it’s 2017, and what do we have to scratch that nostalgic itch? Look no further than the Aussie-made indie effort Forts. Brisbane-based EarthWork Games have delivered a stylish call-back to the strategic turn-based combat of the Worms series, blended with creative fort building and resource gathering and management, ala Starcraft or Warcraft.

The first thing that really impressed me was how the construction elements were strongly locked into the laws of physics. The first time I tried to create a bridge between two towers, it collapsed unceremoniously into the chasm betwixt them. My second attempt saw me attaching ropes to anchor points to keep the bridge sturdy, and using upgraded materials like armour plating to reinforce the bridge’s structural integrity. This attention to detail is rarely seen in PC indie efforts, at least from my experience, and it was simply a joy to experiment with different configurations and strategies to build the ultimate fort.

The art style of Forts is vibrantly colourful, taking great care to make each battle theatre feel different through its visuals. The character models are quirky and unique, and the physical game environment is expertly crafted, shedding any idea that the game is somehow lesser being an “indie” title. The sound design, particularly the weapon and destruction sounds, are among some of the best I’ve heard in the genre, topping that of Worms and Angry Birds, two games I feel must have been a big inspiration on Forts.