Firewatch Reviews
Firewatch is special and rare.
Campo Santo's first game is a narrative-driven adventure about a man trying to escape his troubled life in the wilderness of Wyoming
Firewatch is a rare and beautiful creation, that expands the possibilities for how a narrative game can be presented, without bombast or gimmick. It's delicate, lovely, melancholy and wistful. And very, very funny. A masterful and entrancing experience.
Firewatch is not what many people may have wanted, but that doesn't mean it's bad. Fans of interactive drama will absolutely want to give this a try, as it shows how you can craft a "walking simulator" while keeping players involved and intrigued as opposed to ignored and bored.
Firewatch is a beautiful story of escapism and loss, set against the beautiful Wyoming wilderness. The physicality of your interactions, the excellent radio conversations, and poignant writing and imagery are hindered only by slight issues in presentation and technical hitching. It's grounded, human, and one that you'll be eager to talk about for days after the credits roll.
Firewatch puts story first and delivers a compelling mystery that sends players into the Wyoming wilderness with nothing but a map, a walkie-talkie, and a lot of questions.
In a stark textual introduction, this is the first thing you see in Firewatch. It is unusual to see the video game condition laid out so plainly at the start of an adventure. You are Henry. You are someone else. Get ready to play your role. It is an effective gambit, with deft writing settling you into the mind of this character. It is notable because many video games rely on you being yourself, or make an effort to cast you as a controlling observer. A puppeteer. But Firewatch says this with such conviction: you are Henry. But are you really? This is a character that exists, that has already been created. The choices you have in this introduction are slight variations. Firewatch is a video game that extols both the virtues and drawbacks of being someone else , conjuring an illusion of choice within a pre-set story and bumping against the limitations that ensue.
Set amid the wilderness of Yellowstone National Park, this enigmatic adventure offers a compelling meditation on love, loss and loneliness
Firewatch left me both disappointed but also pleased. The system performance on PS4 is a bummer and I can overlook it, as this is a game about its story and choices in dialog, so performance never affected my input to the gameplay. It just simply feels rough around the edges and it shows. Meanwhile, as hyped as I was for this and I can't really explain this as doing so would spoil elements of the story, but things were not as I expected, and while it's refreshing, sometimes elements feel like a cop out or as I said earlier, a red herring and that doesn't always rub me personally the right way. I enjoyed my time with Firewatch and I really cared about both of these people… or characters I should say.
Firewatch really gets you thinking, plays on your emotions, and delivers a unique experience that stays with you long after the final credits roll.
Firewatch is a perfect example of a game that has something to say. You may not like the story it tells, and you may not feel totally satisfied with the outcome; but when the story is told in such a well crafted manner it doesn't really matter. Anyone who appreciates a good mystery will definitely get something out of Firewatch; just don't let your mind race to much, as you may end up feeling a little let down.
Go on; spend an afternoon with Firewatch. It has a few unsightly spots, but it's still a tremendous and thought provoking experience for anyone who loves a good adventure.
Even better than presenting its dangers, Firewatch presents the threat of danger. This is no feel-good summer beach read; this is a brutally beautiful and fragile story of people running from their problems—and problems running away from any tidy conclusions. This is the video game equivalent of a page turner, and adventure games have rarely been in finer form.
In fact, so impressive is the way everything looks and sounds that you'll kind of wish you could join Harry and leave civilisation behind. Just leave the matches at home, yeah.
Firewatch is an excellent, tense story, uncanny in spite its numerous beauties, and unmissable despite weaker mechanics.
Firewatch is a short, succinct, game that tells the story it wants to tell. It offers a real look at developing relationships, choice and consequence, all with the beautifully rendered backdrop of the Shoshone national forest. It's a game that will stick with you beyond the finish and one that you'll want to go back to.
Firewatch has the embers of a great narrative-driven game, but it fails to ever ignite into a furnace. Unforgivable performance issues detract from the otherwise outstanding art direction, but it's the abrupt story and unconvincing characters that really douse the hype here. Campo Santo's inaugural outing starts incredibly strongly, but your alarm bells will be ringing long before it burns out without ever really sparking into life.
Firewatch is a beautiful game with a unique narrative hook. It's been hanging around in my head for days since I finished it.
That being said, Firewatch is not a difficult game. So long as you keep an eye on where you're going and don't walk in random directions, you should be fine.