Firewatch
Released in February of 2016, Firewatch is an unnerving psychological thriller. It was published by Panic and developed by Campo Santo, which this is their first game release.
Firewatch is a first-person exploration and thriller mystery game. It takes place in Shoshone National forest in Wyoming. You play has Henry: a Boulder, Colorado resident who needs a summer escape from his life. Taking place in the summer of 1989 you take this part time job as a fire watch look out under the supervision of a woman named Delilah. Things go smoothly for Henry until camper disappearances and other mysteries present themselves. Do you have the fortitude and wit to unravel the Shoshone conspiracy?
My initial impression of this game is that it’s very boring and slow paced. It is the complete opposite of most games today. If not for needing a break from fast pace AAA titles I probably wouldn’t have played this. However about an hour or two in things pick up and it’s a roller coaster until the end.
This game was developed using the Unity engine. To give you an idea, Pokemon Go, Super Mario Run, Angry Birds 2, and Fallout Shelter all use this engine. Its adaptability and diversity that spans approximately 25 gaming platforms makes it a popular choice, especially among indy companies. Unfortunately as simple as this game is it does seem to suffer from frame rate drops albeit briefly. The sound quality is very well done. Though the sound fx is limited and simple.
Like most games, the options menu sucked. The only saving grace is sound slider which still isn’t standard. So at least I can modify the volume of speech, ambience & fx, and music. Luckily the control scheme was simple enough that the counter intuitive control setting was bearable.
The graphics are…artistic; which is a polite way to say they suck. Yes the design actually is very artistic and looks almost hand drawn. Unfortunately it’s just too 2D and rough for this day and age. At least the color pallet is wide and appealing, unlike some games. Yeah I’m looking at you Skyrim, looking all grey and dreary.
What makes this game amazing is the attention to detail. I don’t just mean the 80’s pop culture references. Nor do I mean the pinecones in every supply box. The story is very engrossing and a lot of details have been added to make a great depth and enthralling experience. As I mentioned this game is a psychological thriller. I went to bed about 2/3 of the way through the game and I got terrible sleep because even after my conscious mind finally forgot the game and fell asleep my sub- conscious was still working on it. After about 4 hours I awoke and absolutely had to get to the bottom of these nail biting mysteries. Life consuming agony. But in a good way.
In hindsight the overarching answer was obvious, however the creators perfectly played on my psyche’s weaknesses. This is fantastic and rare. Too often do stories rely on plot holes and other B.S. methods to try to trick the audience. No here, no they did it properly. I can’t recall the last time I’ve been so engrossed in the story of a game. Actually I can: Banner Saga and before that the Mass Effect trilogy.
I’ll tell ya what. If you don’t even slightly fall for Delilah then there is something wrong with you. She is a humorous and fun spirited person. She keeps you entertained and looks out for her people. But most of all, she’s the only company you have for 3 months.
I can’t tell you much about the main antagonist unfortunately; however they are cunning and intelligent. As a former professional analysis and self-proclaimed stratego, I never thought I’d be so soundly defeated.
I really only have one gripe about this game. When communicating with Delilah there is a timer and it is obnoxiously short. The player is giving no time to read the dialogue options and choose which they feel is their preferred option. I have a small theory that this rush is part of their master plan. For the game to truly work, the player has to be emotionally and mentally impaired. This is done through several means: the major change of pace 1-2 hours in, the fast pace dialog timer, the sense of loss of power, the sense of urgency coupled with the inability to act quickly because of game mechanics, and finally the little details they have in the story to mind **** you.
Over all this is one of the best games I’ve ever played. I think it may lack replay value however like a book or movie. You may put more hours in a shooter or MMO but you’ll always return to your favorite story.
I rate Firewatch a ‘Game of the Year Candidate’. Yeah it’s that good.