Firewatch: Gameplay & Impression

[damon8r351]

I finished this game twice and it's well worth people's time to try it. It's on par with Journey, Flower, or The Unfinished Swan. Whereas something like Assassin's Creed is a summer blockbuster, Fallout is the newest Harry Potter novel, and Flower is a piece of abstract art at a museum, Firewatch is a finely written character driven short story in a mystery journal. The voice acting is top notch, which is a good thing because your character interacting with his boss over radio is what drives the entire game. There's all sorts of tiny details thrown in like real Wyoming place names, and a mention about clonal groves of quaking aspen trees like Pando, which is the world's heaviest single organism and one of the oldest. Also, the comments about naming forest fires are authentic, major fires in the western US are named not unlike hurricanes; when I lived in Nevada, there was one named the Autumn Hills Fire that was caused by two teenagers lighting lizards ablaze. The main gameplay days for your stay in Wyoming's Shoshone National Forest take place on day 1, 2, and 76 thru 79, while days 3, 9, 15, 33, and 64 feature short tasks or conversation only, and the entire game can be done in about 5 hours. You're probably wondering just how much fun a game about hiking in the Wyoming Yellowstone wilderness playing rent-a-ranger can be, but that's not what this game is about, that's just the backdrop. There's actually sort of a mystery to be solved here.

 

Below is a gameplay video showing the first day of the game. In particular, it shows off the superb voice acting between the two main characters, as well as the navigation style of the game, which is with a paper map and a handheld magnetic compass. The video is spoiler free, but if you don't want to see the stinger at the end that sets the main mystery rolling, I suggest you bail out by 41 minutes in.

Also, if you never have any intention on buying and playing this game but still want to see the story, here's the entirety of my 2nd playthrough.

Edited February 15, 2016 by damon8r351

[Jacob_Neal01]

A friend keeps raving about how good the game is, I might have to pick it up!

[damon8r351]

You should. This game is probably going to win some awards this year, for voice acting at the very least, and if it doesn't then it got robbed.

[damon8r351]

I'd already known that the Guinness World Record holder for most lightning strikes survived was a park ranger, but I'd never knew his name, never knew he started his career as a fire watcher, or that he survived all 7 strikes only to die of suicide at 71 years old. Or that reference to him in Firewatch is not fictionalized.

[DuckSwimmer]

Just finished the game now, it was really enjoyable! Kinda sad it was that short of a game, although the story was pretty good! Kinda learned some stuff here and there as well from the game, lol.

 

I also just realized the watch tower on the title screen is Delilah's. Found that kinda neat as well.

[sp1xy1ay]

Yeah was a good game. I'd actually LOVE to have a game quite similar to Firewatch, as an episodic title. I think 5 episodes or so of about 3-5 hours of doing the forest park ranger thing would be alot of fun. I found Firewatch quite atmospheric, and I do travel to parks here in Canada in the summer. I guess Im just loving this game, being a park ranger and doing all those things they do in the summer would be the ticket. 

 

Edited February 22, 2016 by sp1xy1ay

[IngloriousMia]

What a beautiful game. I wasn't crazy about the story length but the exploration aspect was very peaceful.

[Dead-Sync]

I really enjoyed the game. It was hardly perfect, but what it made me feel throughout made it easy to overlook its shortcomings.

 

The game causes you to feel a whole range of emotions, without ever MAKING you feel a certain way. Nothing seems forced, and you can respond with a range of dialogue which, while it never alters the story REALLY, does change the tone and that causes to feel different things throughout the game even during mundane tasks (which admittedly the game is mostly made out of), and the fact that it can MAKE those tasks have weight, importance, and a sense of mystery is a big accomplishment.

 

Polygon summed it up best: "Firewatch is the video game equivalent of a page-tuner" 

That's accurate, and it's a GOOD page-turner, the one you don't want to put down, to boot.

 

If you haven't played the game yet and intend to, I recommend going into it knowing as little as possible. I did and I think it paid off. 

That said, I do feel as enjoyable as it was, it MIGHT be a tad overpriced (If I were to give it a true-value estimate I would say $15 is a more fair price), so it isn't a terrible idea to grab it on a sale.

[poetic_justice_]

Firewatch finally went on sale this year (2022) after being full price since 2018. I echo what Dead-Sync wrote: Wait for the game to go on sale and experience it knowing as little as possible. Don't read the trophy guide for the main game, but do read the DLC trophy guide as two trophies are tied to Day 2 and three trophies to Day 77. I would not have found any of these trophy locations/items on my own.

 

The voice acting is amazing. I didn't recognize Rich Sommer (Henry) because the television work he's done usually has him play a supporting character, not a lead. Cissy Jones (Delilah) took two years to record her part, and it is excellent. The game is short - four hours - so $20 dollars is more than most gamers will pay for it. However, if it is $10-$15, Firewatch is well worth it. The writing, characters, story, and voice acting are what more games should aspire to emulate. It's one of the best short narrative games I've ever played.