Firewatch

It wasn't really wroth the money as a game, and if it was a movie, I probably wouldn't wanna pay to watch it either.

Campo Santo did a mostly great job putting this together. The entire approach to its visuals is fantastic and presents the prettiest "walking sim" I've ever seen. Voice acting and overall sound design is great. The writing is where it falls short, which is why I give it such a low rating. It was a great experience for the first two hours, where a meaningful narrative that developed a hook may just have the entirety of your attention. It's at a key moment where this starts to go awry and you see puzzle pieces falling into place far faster than they did prior. Before you know it, the puzzle is complete and you might be left there like a stick in the mud. Some might find the "human" direction the game takes as something endearing, but I found it to be void of value in both entertainment and meaning. That's not to say the writing is the only flaw. Gameplay-wise, it doesn't offer a whole lot in ways of interesting things to do. You'll be walking over your previously set footprints several times during your four-to-five hours of playing this game. It's a lot of going from point A to point B. This wouldn't be all bad if the story built up to something more interesting. This game was not the game I remember seeing in the previews they had put out. I only recommend this game for when it's available at a lower price. It's very short, there's a greater chance you'll walk away disappointed then with most games you are interested in. Gorgeous looking game, though. Be sure to take some pretty pictures. Cheers to Campo for giving it a shot. I hope they invest more time into a conclusion next time around, which I very much look forward to.

Firewatch is a solid walking simulator. The forest was very nice and enjoyable to walk through. Some days you have to walk a fair while around the forest, but it wasn't so long as to be boring. There is an interesting dynamic between the main character and the operator. The dialogue was well written and humorous. The story is compelling. It was very suspenseful at times (I was nearly terrified at some points), and wraps up in an interesting way.

Not the type of game I normally play, but I decided to give it a try and I could not walk away. I played the whole game through in one sitting; ~4-5 hours. The mystery/story comes right out of the time in which the game is set, and the level design is absolutely fantastic. I won't spoil the story, that would ruin the game, but I will say the "reveal" is so completely obvious, and also unravels all the red herrings and other "noise" created by the characters.

It's an interesting story, with a fair amount of suspense and good voice acting but didn't finish the game feeling very satisfied. I think it's because I just need more to do, I like a bit more gameplay in my games or a the very least, some more impactful decisions- I felt most of the time I was just along for the ride aside from dialogue choices here and there. Also I realize there's meant to be a lack of human interaction, but it would be nice if nothing else to interact with the other person in the story. She's a position where she can see me, and while I can see her tower, I never see her. Howabout, just give the character some binoculars so I can look over and her silhouette can give me a wave? I'm glad I played it but- also glad I didn't fork over full price.