Firewatch (2016)

It's a pretty good and simple story about broken people, as I got it, of course.

I think it makes almost no sense to write about gameplay, since such games are usually played only for the sake of aesthetics and history, and everything is fine with that. Although I came across a couple of bugs, one of which was with graphics and scared me even a little (GPU go bzzz), but it didn't knock me out of the dive into story.

A great game for the evening, the duration is just the thing to go through once and remember on occasion, like "oh, I have played it, good game"

Firewatch is a hiking simulator with some very beautiful landscapes to explore and sunsets to see. Firewatch transports the serene feeling of being alone in a cabin in the wilds very nicely. There's an instant summer camp nostalgia in its atmosphere. As a walking simulator it's relaxing and very chill, but there's some conspiracy against you going on and I found that rather thrilling. You're talking to a woman called Delilah on your walky talky and there's a lowkey romance going on between you and her and to be honest, that was the most beautiful part of this game. It actually made me fall for her and her beautiful voice a little, because the dialogues came off so natural and the flirting was very subtle and cute.

I'd say Firewatch is a pretty good game, play it if you like relaxed walking simulators.

It's been a frustrating week. Due to unforseen circumstances, I have a week at home with hardly anything to do. I was looking for a good puzzle game to really sink my teeth into, maybe some city building or simulation. But I don't have those games in my library. My library is filled with unplayed story games that people have recommended to me over the years. Apparently, I have a reputation in that regard. On top of their recommendation list: Firewatch.

So, with a bit of reluctance I boot up Firewatch and try to see if it's anything.

My first reaction

"Why am I getting these choose your own adventure questions". Is this the whole game?" "No no, this is just the setup", says my partner besides me, brimming with enthusiasm that I'm finally playing the game.

Then the game starts. Oh god, it's a walking simulator! The most boring of the story games genre. I start walking.

At least it's pretty.

My second reaction

Who is this Delilah and why is she digging into my private life? Jeesus. I am going to be such a bitch to her!

Hiking in this game is amazing. With the map and the compass I only get lost half of the time. This game is making me want to go out and hike. And I have a camera! I get lost all over again taking pictures of my favorite sites - and getting frustrated because on camera they don't look as good as in "real life".

It's wonderful to start getting a feeling for the forest, becoming more and more accustomed to it's shapes and winding paths. It becomes a bit like home. Just like it should.

My third reaction

jules: Firewatch lady is flirting with me!

partner: You're only noticing now? "What do you look like? What about your eyes?"

jules :Well, she was drawing me!

...

oh

partner: lol

By now I am heavily invested in the game and all of the strange events that are happening. I am nervous, I am paranoid. I feel vulnerable out alone in the forest. I'm both very suspicious of everyone, and desperate to trust someone. It is glorious and makes every step through the forest thrilling. I love it.

My final reaction

Well, that wrapped itself up quickly! I was crushed Dee didn't want to move to my home town to live with me and my dementia wife :(

The end was rather quick and, to many, unsatisfying. I'm quite okay with that. I'm okay with never really knowing the full story with everything neatly tied up in a bow. The best part of the game was how it made me feel, hiking along in the forest by myself. How it make a walking simulator exciting by charging it up with emotions and strange events. This is a well made game.

Thanks to a 40C degree day I finally got the chance to knock this one off my Steam Pile of Shame.

FIREWATCH is essentially a point and click adventure, where you play as Henry, a man who has taken a job at an isolotated Firewatch Tower in an attempt to run away from his past. Rather than a peaceful summer alone with his our thoughts, what unfolds instead is a steadily building mystery unfolding with no one but Deliah, a fellow firewatcher pn the other side of the radio for company.

This game is a slow burn, but a good one. Despite the high likelihood of getting lost in the forest and walking around in circles, the beautiful setting and short length of game is more than enough to pull you through the slow walk/talk mechanics, if the story isn't enough to get you through.

First off, SPOILERS!

I played this on a PS4 and it took me about 5 hours over a weekend.

From the very beginning I could tell this game was going to be different, I was holding back tears before the title "Firewatch" even appeared. The first few moments of the game walk you through your (Henry's) backstory and give simple choices about how you react in your past. After that you then find yourself in the Wyoming wilderness having taken a summer job as a lookout. In your lookout tower you pick up a radio and on the other end is Delilah, your boss and veteran lookout. Delilah is really the only person you can interact with but she is all you need. Talking with Delilah is the best part about this experience, no matter how you decide to interact (you can choose to be rude, sarcastic, walled off...) she will respond in a very believable, human way. I almost forgot I was playing a game, instead I was talking to a friend.

So the next morning, your first day, Delilah gives you a task to check on some damn teens causing trouble at the nearby lake, which will send you out into the beautiful wilderness. You get a compass, a map and a destination and you need to find your way. It is easy to navigate because this isn't truly an open world, rather a bunch of paths connected together. The surrounding get a mention here because they are spectacular. The art style is cell shaded-ish and the colors of the forest pop no matter if it is morning or night. I always found myself stopping to look at the beautiful landscape. After checking on the teens you will finish you first day on the job (days are sometimes skipped to show that time has passed and advance the story). On your second day things will get stranger and I won't give any more away but you will want to keep playing. Over the course of the game you will explore more of the Wyoming wilderness but exploration off the path is only rewarded by little trinkets which I didn't see as worthwhile. You discover more about the mystery and Delilah, which leads to some very tense moments.

Sadly it is time for me to talk about the not great things. Looking around the area my frame rate would dip far more often than I would expect from a PS4 game, especially because Henry isn't really fast. It took me out of what should be a very immersive experience with amazing voice acting and beautiful scenery. The ending is what really got to me, it was so underwhelming and made me feel like I shouldn't recommend this game to friends. The story up until the ending was fantastic, it did such a great job of building suspense and intrigue I was preparing myself for a fantastic ending that would be just as great as the story so far but I was ultimately let down.

I had a difficult time coming up with a rating for this game. I like to stick with the 5 star rating system because there is a real difference between a good and great game (1=bad, 2=meh, 3=good, 4=great, 5=amazing/fantastic). At the end of the day I would call this a good game. I had a lot of fun playing it and the visuals and acting were top notch but the performance issues and the ending were just not great and unexpected. It is a short game and I would recommended it.

3/5

-dreese

Firewatch’s first quarter and third quarter are really good, the introduction of the setting and the mounting of suspense is done really well. I’m usually impatient while playing games, but I actually navigated the forest using a map and compass, for what that’s worth. Most of the time, the game is good about not making you backtrack (but, unfortunately, there are times where you have to cross the entire map and basically nothing happens). The game occurs over a whole summer, but you only see glimpses of a few days, which allows for the rapid relationship growth between the player character and Delilah be okay (however it’s still a bit jarring to the player). The second quarter has you do everyday tasks, which aren’t that interesting. Sure it sparks more conversation with Delilah, but there could be a minor subplot there to keep something going.

[Ending discussion follows]

The main issue is the ending. Now, not every game has to have a big twist ending, and it does fit Firewatch better to have the suspense be due to a not-so-glamorous reason (so the suspense builds from the paranoia you'd have from being alone for a whole summer), but what of the camp? There was a huge fenced-off area not on anybody’s map, with assumedly hi-tech equipment. It’s not Ned’s, so was it just some government thing? From when? Delilah doesn't know of it, and it's not exactly hidden. While it's fine that we never see most of the threads brought up to their conclusion, the game just kinda ends, with no real reason for the player to do so other than the impending fire (you're not leaving to do anything, just because you have to or else you'll die)

Oh, there’s also maybe (= I hope so) a Look Around You reference where Delilah says “thanks, Hank” and then suggests “thanks” rhymes with “Hank.”