A spectacular wilderness environment by Olly Moss (Illustrator) and Jane Ng (The Cave, Brutal Legend).Living, breathing characters brought to life by Cissy Jones (The Walking Dead: Season 1) and Rich Sommer (Mad Men).Secrets and discoveries to be made over every hill.A tailor-made story: the choices you make shape the narrative and build relationships.A stunningly beautiful wilderness environment that expands as you explore.But when something strange draws you out of your lookout tower and into the forest, you’ll explore a wild and unknown environment, facing questions and making choices that can build or destroy the only meaningful relationship you have. Your supervisor Delilah is available to you at all times over a small, handheld radio-your only contact with the world you've left behind. An especially hot, dry summer has everyone on edge. Perched high atop a mountain, it’s your job to look for smoke and keep the wilderness safe. You are a man named Henry who has retreated from his messy life to work as a fire lookout in the Wyoming wilderness. Mac Pros, 5K iMacs, and 15" MacBook Pros 2014 or newer are recommended.) (GRAPHICS NOTE: dedicated graphics are required for a smooth experience. If you plan on playing with a younger gamer, that might be good to know going in.) (NOTE: Firewatch is a video game about adults having adult conversations about adult things. Through this it gets you invested in a way few games can, leaving your enjoyment dependent on your personal experiences and expectations.What does Firewatch do? Firewatch is a single-player first-person mystery set in the Wyoming wilderness. But these problems are my own and, oddly, knowing I find its resolution disappointing could help you better appreciate its fascinating tale.įirewatch's interactive narrative does everything right - building natural meaningful ties between the characters, story, and world in a way that is completely engrossing. It is a conclusion that leaves me deflated, which is strange after being so invested in Firewatch’s twists that drew me in with their immediacy. While I am completely absorbed for most of its tale, my own curiosity during the climactic moments breaks my suspension of disbelief and causes revelations to fall flat. Towards the end of Firewatch’s five or six hours this becomes especially incongruous with the urgency of the story being told. I pick up and inspect things - that neither Henry nor I have any interest in - through a completionist desire to experience "everything". However, outside of these fluid dialogues, I find myself playing Firewatch too much like a game. This results in my developing a strange urgency to get responses “right” and moments of genuine panic as I worry I may miss a hint or offend Delilah. Enthralling conversations color your perception of events as things become increasingly tense and uncertain. This is the narrative focus of Firewatch. Suspicion impacts their thinking, causing them to find links within Firewatch’s mysteries and the happenings surrounding them that they may not consider in usual circumstances. This time constraint - coupled with choices that actually correspond to how a real person would react - makes you care about each interaction.Įven with this outlet, the solitary nature of months in the wilderness starts to play on both characters’ sanity. There is no going back, and your responses can alter the tone of the relationship. When prompted, you have a limited time to respond or the conversation draws to an end. This can degenerate into almost mindless pestering with you wanting to hear her thoughts on every little thing - but, when true a choice appears, Firewatch forces a decision. You can direct Henry’s answers on every topic - from deciding what to reveal about his past, to reporting trash. It's a friendship that seems to grow organically, and proves the perfect distraction to Henry's worries. As you explore the open-world she goads you into tasks that you are not 100% comfortable with, but there is a lightheartedness to this that feels believable thanks to the fantastic script and voice acting. There is a flirtatious antagonism to this relationship from the outset. Your interactions come via a two-way radio, and add drama and direction to Firewatch. Henry’s only company is his boss Delilah. It is vast, yet its winding trails always get you to your destination before you start to tire of the breathtaking vistas. But it is Firewatch's use of scale that is truly impressive. It is a stunning environment, filled with vibrant colors that change with the sun. As Henry, your only job is to sit out the dry summer in a tiny watchtower and be vigilant to signs of fire.
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