Firewatch

Firewatch fits into a genre which some call a walking sim but which I prefer to think of as interactive fiction; it shares more with a good novel or binge watching a great TV show then it does a traditional game. In the case of Firewatch, the story is one which contrasts the idea of escape versus escapism. Are you as the main character running away from your problems, moving on from them or taking a break? Interactive fiction succeeds best when the visuals, sound design and interface are focused on emphasizing the core themes of the story. Firewatch is a great example of this: the setting of a US national park has been designed to not be photo-realistic, but to be a sculpted, beautiful location with a wall implemented day / night cycle where you could easily spend your time wandering off the beaten track and taking photos of sunrises and sunsets rather than engaging with the story at hand. The main game mechanic of a relationship between two characters through radios is a clever way of bringing human interactivity into the story without losing its sense of isolation. Ultimately, there does have to be incident to propel the narrative and its here where Firewatch stumbles. Like Gone Home before it, Firewatch relies on utilizing tropes to create a certain mood. And this is where the disappointment in interactive fiction can sometimes set in: tropes are more of a tease than a promise. I feel that Firewatch's tropes could have been better chosen; a paranoid thriller makes sense but only on a smaller, more human level. Firewatch chooses to play with the idea of an overarching Government conspiracy complete with Alien-style tracking device and it suffers while that thread is played out. But the core story works beautifully and so Firewatch succeeds. More then that, it succeeds in living out the promise of interactive fiction and embodying its theme of escape vs. escapism. I spent hours letting the story idle, just wandering the trails at sunset with my in-game camera.

I'm just one person, so take with a grain of salt. This game's dialog is extremely cringey and seems to be appealing to losers that can't land a decent man or woman. This terrible dialog combined with boring gameplay makes for a really bad game.

Firewatch is a birlliant game for a very specific audience. At it's core, the game is about relationships under extreme stress and how people react. If you've ever had a loved one that has suffered from an illness, run away from your problems, or have been misunderstood, this game will hit particularily hard. It's important to note that the game is written like a hard-boiled story like "No Country for Old Men" in which things happen like they do in real life and it doesn't guarantee ANYTHING. It knows what you're expecting and it DOESN'T give it to you. Want to feel good about yourself? Tough, this isn't the game for that. Want everything to have a grand payoff? Super tough, cause this definitely isn't the game for that.

I was a bit cautious about this game because people saying the ending is kind of a bore. So I picked it up at a sale, and boy, were those guys wrong (as far as I'm concerned)! It's not a long game, but it does give a satisfying, full story/experience. The conclusion is damn good. The mood, the characters are great. For my wallet though, 20 eüros are a bit steep (although, come to think of it, there is a free roam mode in the extras, also a commentary mode. So if you like the experience as much as I did, with those extras, sure. It could worth 20 eurös).

In spite of not liking games of that genre (where you walk and explore while listening to a narration) and usually getting bored in the mid of a classical adventure games, I've been captured by that one and played through it in on shot. Firewatch is plausible. Consistently. And that is exactly what I miss and hunt for in videogames and other media. I loved the pace at which the plot unravels. I didn't feel I am following a linear story (while of course realizing it is so). And the ending is also nice. Not being an epic or overly dramatic, Firewatch leaves some unique emotinal impact, some illusion of a life experience. It is short, but that's the price for a good story without artificial twists. Will probably look for more games like that.