Posted on: December 10, 2016
TheAvatar.783
Владелец игрыИгр: 1287 Отзывов: 4
A narrative game that lives up to its promise
The problem with most narrative games is that they are extremely lacking in either narrative or game; they fail at storytelling and action. With the former, they typically have the player follow a per-determined story-line in which they have no stake and thus no involvement. These games fail in the latter by offering absolutely no challenge; even taken as glorified "walking simulators" they more often than lead the player (ever so slowly, to make up for the lack of anything else) through vacant set-pieces that ultimately all look the same. And, in all fairness, this description would probably describe Firewatch as well. In truth, its story is as shallow as most other games and - like other "walking sims", there are no real puzzles and no real danger. Similarly, while there is some variety of biomes, in the end the entirety of the game has you hiking through a forest and there's only so much you can do to disguise that fact. The big difference between Firewatch and most of its competitors is that it is so well written as to disguise the failings of its genre. Unfortunately, to go into detail about its story would unfairly ruin the experience for anyone who hasn't played it. Let it suffice to say, however, that it is one of the better paced stories of any game - narrative and otherwise - and features both excellent dialogue writing and voice-acting. While ultimately the game still lacks in actual threat or challenge, nonetheless the story is presented so well that I was well engaged by the sense of threat and mystery as the tale played out. The writing leads the player to invest themselves in the character, which only makes the unfolding mystery all the more captivating. While some found the denouement disappointing, I thought it an interesting capstone to an allegory about how we handle our responsibility to tragedy. Having said this, Firewatch does suffer from one major problem that is also common to its genre: it lacks in re-playability. While it has a strong story, it does not lend itself to repetition; doing so - and knowing how the story will end - you'll find the game has lost its allure, its mystery, its magic and you are left again with a rather lusterless game where you blindly follow the breadcrumbs until you reach the end of the game. Given that you can get through the game in a two or three hours, a just argument could be made that one does not get fair value for their dollar. The developers have tried to balance this out by offering both a "play with commentary mode" and a "free roam mode" that unlock after you complete the story the first time, but those who paid full price for the game may still walk away disappointed. Myself, though, I was quite pleased with my purchase. I got an interesting yarn well-told through some excellent voice-acting and placed in a graphically - if not too differentiated - environment. I can't imagine I'll be returning to the game anytime soon - not, at least, until I've forgotten some of the specific details and can revisit the setting afresh - but I feel my time and money were well spent. Firewatch is an excellent example of the genre that other narrative games consistently fail to achieve.
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