Game Review: Firewatch (2016)
The game I will be reviewing today is hands down one of my favorite games from 2016, Firewatch. Firewatch is a first person mystery/adventure game and was developed by Campo Santo and published by Campo Santo and Panic in early 2016. The version I'm going to be reviewing is the PC version, though the PS4 version is also just as good from what I hear. This game takes place is 1989 taking place a year after the Yellowstone fires which took place is 1988, and revolves around our main character named Henry.
Henry is a loving husband who is having an extremely rough time in regards to his life, and is unable to make a very difficult choice that will affect his and (especially) his wife's future. He finds himself unable to accept the weight of the choices presented to him, so he instead takes up a job as a national forest fire lookout for the rest of the summer to try and put his troubles to the back of his mind and tries to forget, just focusing on relaxing. Unfortunately, relaxation is the last thing Henry will get with his role. As Firewatch definitely tells a story full of tension and uneasiness at times.
The region of Two Forks that you're placed in is pretty vast, and you can explore quite a large area thanks to that. With how spacious it is, as well as the large cliffs and lush tree's, you can really get a sense of being lost out in nature at times. Each and every mission checkpoint or goal that is assigned has at least 10-15 minutes of trekking across the forest, map checking, cliff climbing, and just taking in the scenery for anything you might miss. I really can't stress how enormous the map feels while you're walking on it.
At the start of the game, we're shown the events which have led up to Henry's current point in life. Within the first 15 minutes of the game, you will experience a variety of emotions as you choose through a series of choices that determine how Henry's life has been thus far. Some of these choices will make you chuckle or laugh, some will make you fell uncertain, and others will be quite sad. By the time you get to the tower after making your choices, Henry definitely won't have a clear conscience any longer.
The only other main character and company you get in this game is your supervisor and veteran fire lookout, Delilah. They communicate via walkie talkie radios throughout the game, and Delilah brings an impeccable humanness to the game with her charismatic and playful personality. Often having engaging conversations, or trading jokes with each other. With everything you face in the game, Delilah is always on the other end breathing some fresh air into what's going on out in the forest.
The only other human contact you really get to experience throughout most of the game is very much an alien presence in comparison to Delilah and Henry. They are shadow figures on the distant horizon, seemingly only there to make things uneasy for Henry and to complicate what is going on with his job. They appear as quickly as they disappear, vanishing into the grove leaving Henry with growing paranoia throughout the game.
The game almost gets into horror territory at times, without actually crossing the line. The atmosphere of isolation and the lack of civilization helps build up a creeping feeling that can really be unnerving and get under your skin, making you feel like things are going to become a nightmare at any second while you're playing. (Walking around in a dimly lit or sometimes dark forest while investigating strange things with no human contact besides a radio will do that to you, at least in my opinion.) You'll rarely get breaks from this feeling once you're a few hours into the game, and even when you do they don't seem to last too long.
As you explore the forest of Two Forks you'll sometimes run across supply caches that were left behind by past volunteers. These caches leave behind some useful items for your character, as well as little notes and other little things that help feed the story a bit and fill out some small details. In short, these little things will help build up the atmosphere and history of Two Forks a bit.
But, besides the caches, and having a camera which lets you photograph the scenery, exploring the forest doesn't bring much to the game. At least in my opinion. It all starts to feel mechanical to a point, because unless the story is progressing there's just not much to do within the world. So, I would definitely say the exploration is really only there to help further the story and move the game onward. (Though the scenery and graphics of the game are quite beautiful and easy on the eyes, at least.)
The best thing about this game overall though is the story and narrative. There are tons of twists placed throughout the game, as well as creeping dark areas that build up the tension and anxiety quite well. Maybe the only issue with the narrative of the game is that the dialogue gets quite one sided at times, with the conversations only happening when Delilah is directing the player, or when Henry has something he needs to report in.
The only urgency you get to converse is a timer that pops up in the corner urging you to select 1 of 3 choices in response, and if you choose not to respond at all the game skips that section and just moves on. I think these things impact the narrative at least a bit. However, the dialogue choices have impact and emotion to them, and do help to make a great story.
So, without the excellent story of the game, I can't say that this game would be anything groundbreaking or new to the genre. While the timed dialogue choices aren't anything fresh, they do help to build up the tension at least a tiny bit. The graphics and artwork are gorgeous, and there's a great attention to details for the notes, fliers, posters, etc. that you find throughout the game. This all helps to strengthen the short narrative, which will run you probably about 6-8 hours depending on how much you explore.
All I can say, is that I would definitely recommend this game solely for the story it tells, and to consider the gorgeous background and art as just a bonus. It shares with us one of the most excellent and tense stories that I've played through in an adventure/mystery video game. I think anyone who's a fan of stuff like The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, or the Telltale series of games would definitely enjoy this. If you're looking for something that has high replayability, tons of action, or lasts for dozens of hours, then this probably won't be the game for you.
So, thanks for checking out my review! I hope it's helped you get interested in trying out Firewatch, which you can get on either Steam or on the PS4. If you liked the review, or appreciate the effort I've put into this I would greatly appreciate your upvote and maybe a resteem if you're feeling really generous. Hope you've enjoyed the review, and thanks again!
For anyone interested, here are a few other game reviews I've done!
This post has received a 1.41 % upvote from @booster thanks to: @deadspace.
I personally love this game i have played it, watched it and so upvote qand follow from me hopr you can check my gaming channel out too
I've never played the game, but I've watched playthroughs, and it's a beautiful, very fascinating game. It's the kind of game where you call it an "experience". Anyway, great review, upvoted