Firewatch

The story in this game was ok, I didn't get too upset about the ending, but the actual gameplay was pretty non existent. I preferred the Vanishing of Ethan Carter but both of these games are far too short and lacking in substance. I wanted to explore the world, but the game is designed as a strictly linear path with no rewards for exploring off the beaten track. Everything is telegraphed to you and for those reasons I can't really recommend this game. I'd rather go for a long walk on the beach or settle down with a good book.

I love a variety of games and will even forgive mediocre gameplay if the lore, story, and world are well-crafted. After viewing demos of the world of Firewatch, the stylized graphics and the unique focus on interpersonal relationships seemed to be winning combination for a rather easy, yet enjoyable, adventure game for me to get immersed in. Instead, I found myself disgusted with the character I was forced to be and hoped he would not be rescued during the fire at the end. This game focuses on a protagonist who refused to move for his wife despite her getting her dream job at Yale University. When she developed early onset dementia, he decided heavy drinking was the way to go. After getting a DUI, his wife's parents took her to Australia and now he's too far away to visit her and isn't even sure if he wants to. Perhaps I'm abnormal, but I'm unable to relate to any part of that story, and besides being someone who can't handle pressure or change, what do we actually learn about the protagonist's history? He was a college student, I guess. A little more backstory would have helped me develop empathy for the protagonist. Instead, I just felt sorry for the wife with dementia. You complete basic tasks, trigger an event to advance the story, do more basic tasks, etc. This is completely okay, but the story must be sufficient to overcome the basic gameplay loop. For the most part, I found the story lackluster, with a few good points (i.e. the inclusion of the guy who had a mental breakdown after the kid he was watching died). With a bit more editing and inclusion of backstory, this could have a been a hidden gem in the adventure game category. I also fell through the entire map on three separate occasions in the first 2 days. Perhaps it was my fault for trying to explore too far off of the given path. Who knows. Watch the intro before buying. If you can connect with the story and protagonist, and enjoy adventure games, you'll probably like this one.

The genre tags claim "Adventure - Simulation - Mystery", but this turns out to not really be any of those but actually one of those awful "Visual Novels" wearing the skin of an open-world game. You are Henry, apparently, but you might as well be a rag on a stick for all the agency you'll have in this game. The entire thing is rigidly on rails, and the rare occasion it seems to present more than one option, it is only illusory. I don't identify with "Henry", nor do I find "Julia" interesting. In the fatal words of Dorothy Jones Heydt, "I don't care what happens to these people." I got this for €5 as a 75%-off promotion after I signed up to GOG to buy another game. It's still €6 too much even at that price. Those who paid the full €20 list price must feel completely ripped-off.

This is not a game. This is a short story presented in a first person view. When it finished, all I could think was how much time I would never get back, and how many calories I could have burned if I had gone for a real walk instead. Your choices don't matter. It's like having the freedom to change lanes on an empty highway - there's an illusion of freedom and interactivity but once the thrill of the empty highway wears off after 5 minutes, it doesn't make a bit of difference for the next few hours. You just head in the same direction the highway/game takes you until the end. Yes, a few hours is about how long it takes to beat it... No, scratch that - "beating" implies a challenge or a conflict, and there are none of those in this thing. It takes a few boring hours to reach the end. I held out hope that something exciting was around the corner but nope. Just more of the same. I thought being able to pick up items would make a difference but no, they are just there for you to pick up and drop. I bought this around the time that everyone was raving about it and discovered that the people who loved it were the same kind of hipsters who loved anything that was different. For this price (even on sale), you could buy 2 real books that would provide a better story, and probably last longer. Or you could buy an entire anthology of Sierra games and get weeks of well-written, challenging interactive stories. The only redeeming aspect of this game was a pleasant soundtrack, which you can own and listen to without enduring the disappointment of the "game."

Very few times you see a game come up with a such a great concept wrapped up in a fresh and dazzling art direction and great core game design miss the mark so badly on what should had been an unquestionably excellent game. Firewatch is one of those games. It missed the mark so badly that i have hard time deciding if it is or not worse than Remember Me by DontNod. The problems are unfortunately intrinsic. The origin story, The setup and The core game design are top notch. Everything else is just shockingly frustrating. I will resume it spoiler free in 3 points: 1.- Game length is absurdly short for no reason at all. Even with the very limited game mechanics and very sparse things to interact with. There is no reason why the game could not have at least a 10 hours length and follow and execute the very same story they decided to tell. It is 5 hrs tops. Game should be $9.99 at most. 2.- There is almost nothing you can interact with. You would think that you would be able to see more animals in this game and maybe, just maybe be able to interact with a raccoon or something. Nope, you will not There is a lake and guess what? You can't swim or fish in it even if the game teases you about both activities during the game. Hell, there a few loose rocks you can grab. But you don't get to being able to throw them at the lake. You are at a lookout, I bet you think there would be binoculars there you could use even if tied to that location. Nope, not even once. 3.- Story has no payout, Your character, just like you ends up wasting his time with a few questions without answer. Campo Santo took some seriously questionable design and direction choices when it comes to the story of the game and how it develops. Once you finish the game you will for sure know what i mean by this and if you happen to be an avid gamer, you will probably be left as frustrated as me and others with it. Hopefully, just like it with DontNod, their second will be great.