Firewatch Reviews
A gorgeous, spellbinding game that plays with your thoughts and delivers a narrative throughline that you never see coming. An absolute must for fans of storytelling in games.
It really doesn't matter that Firewatch came out over two and a half years ago, because it's just as engrossing and enchanting as it was the first time around. From the warm glow of its forests in the morning summer light to the subtle tension of exploring a rocky gorge in the isolating silence of night, Shoshone National Forest is a character in its own right. With a story that's both funny and heartbreaking – and enhanced by some brilliant performances by its two central actors – this is an essential purchase, irrespective of whether you're playing it for the first time on Switch or simply using it as an excuse to revisit an old favourite.
Firewatch feels like a natural and smart evolution of the adventure game, offering choices without as many constraints, but at the same time expertly funneling players down a path.
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 goes for a walk in the woods and gets lost along the way.
If you note the two main characters' penchant for irony and have been paying attention to the clues in the game, such as the cheap mass market paperbacks scattered about the area, you'll sense that the mystery isn't on the level of some global alien conspiracy, but rather, like "Firewatch" itself, it's something mundane and graspable. In the context of a medium that's normally obsessed with feeding on the outlandish, I mean that as a compliment.
Through the combination of a simplistic but phenomenally effective art style and some incredibly fluid dialogue sequences, Firewatch proves itself time and time again as one of the most memorable games we are likely to play in a long while. It's poignant and very special, albeit disappointingly choppy at times. It may feel a touch short, but its story will feel firmly finished upon reflection, remaining naturally entombed in the Wyoming woods. This is a rare game that tackles strong morals and emotions under the guise of a beautiful walk through the wilderness that always manages to keep you on your toes, a walk you'll be hard pressed to ever forget.
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.
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.