This game immediately took me in with its gorgeous watercolor scenery, great voice acting, realistic dialogue, and the intriguing mystery that beings to unfold. First 3/4 of the game was great; I enjoyed getting lost in the wilderness and bantering back and forth with Delilah. The last 1/4, especially the ending, are what ruined this game for me. The "big reveal," the answer to the mystery, was very disappointing for me. The game began the setup for an interesting conspiracy that had me at the edge of my seat wanting to know what was going on. What happened to the people that had gone missing? What were they hiding in the national park? The answer to the first question is explained in an offanded remark frrom Delilah. That should've been my first sign that the ending would be a total letdown. The answer to the second came out of nowhere to me and was not explained or justified well enough for my tastes. Another major qualm I have is that your choices DO NOT MATTER. The game makes you think that your choice of dialogue will have an impact on the ending, but I'm sorry to tell you that's simply not the case. The ending happens the way it happens every time you play, no matter what choices you make. Very disappointing, and thus the game has little to no replay value. I know it's a walking simulator, which are quite linear by nature, but there are some great walking sims I've played that have involved a good deal of player choice in the ending. I wanted to like this game, I really did. I hate that I didn't enjoy it. It started out super enjoyable and promising to me. Sadly, I doubt I'll ever play it again because of its weak ending and frustrating lack of choice impacting anything. Walking sims have to have strong stories in order to keep my attention due to the lack of any variety in gameplay. Firewatch gets a pass from me.
