Firewatch

[Ross Scott]

Genre: Adventure

Year released: 2016

Ross's notes: Way too melodramatic from the start

Ross's rating: Pass

Link to game:

https://af.gog.com/game/firewatch

Free to play: No

GaaS: No

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[MDMaster]

I was not on board with the game or its characters, also I got stuck twice on the terrain and had to start again whole sequences with a whole bunch of dialogue and got fed up with the whole thing.

[Nidhoggr]

It's like LOST but the game.

[Tanaj]

I kinda liked Firewatch, even if the ending was a bit of a wet blanket (pun intended). Although I admit, I'm a sucker for interactive storytelling, so your mileage may vary.

[F19AGhostrider]

I enjoyed Firewatch myself, played through the story in one afternoon, as it kept me engaged. While I thought the ultimate result of the mystery was somewhat of a letdown, I think it was a good story.

 

The atmosphere is excellent, and I do enjoy exploring the area every now and then.

 

But I can see why Ross didn't enjoy it, I respect that.

[Tobin]

Ouch. I can see a lot of people did not care for this one, including Ross. That's understandable as it's a "game" that doesn't really give you a great deal of choices (and all of which have minor effects), doesn't test your skill a whole lot, and tells a story with an ending that can feel like an anticlimactic cheat.

All that said, I enjoyed it immensely. It has a "flavour" that I like: Very limited cast of characters, slow-burn story, and gorgeous visuals. The ending satisfied me by being a subversion of what was expected, not by pulling a crazy swerve at the last moment, but by dialling back the craziness and making you realize how high you were building up the plot in your own mind — the lesson I took is that life is strange, people are morally gray, but Occam's Razor still applies.

Edited August 6, 2019 by Tobin (see edit history)

[AdventureKyles]

One of the single greatest one-time play games I have ever experienced.

The banter is fun, fresh, witty and believable- the story is entertaining and downright clever.

But, it is playable essentially only once. It's more of an experience than a game, but I knew that going in.

Would Rate: Fantastic

[Rezalon]

Watched a let's play of this. Was expecting a far better twist, something similar to Twin Peaks or The X-Files, instead it was rather mundane and ended in a whimper. Glad I didn't waste my time nor money picking this one up.

Edited April 7, 2021 by Rezalon (see edit history)

[TheMG42]

After doing some initial research on the game... Wow, I didn't realize just how divisive this game was amongst fans and critics alike. Ultimately, I can respect a game that garners pretty passionate opinions about it, positively or negatively.

 

My experience with the game was rather positive:

 

I love the colourful, heavily stylized art direction of the game; it really helps make the environments look beautiful and vibrant.

 

I enjoyed the conversations between the two main characters; it's funny, clever and believable. It helped get me more immersed into the game world since it makes their behaviour seem believable.

 

One detail that I did appreciate within the game, without wishing to spoil much of anything: as the story devolves and becomes more cloudy and hazy, with the main characters becoming more unsure of what's happening to them, the environment around them also becomes more cloudy and hazy as well. The environment become less clear and colourful, instead becoming more muddy and disorienting. Maybe that's a bit too simplistic for some players, but I thought it was a bit clever.

 

The melodramatic stuff I can take or leave. It doesn't really help the story, but I don't feel that it harms it either. It was just sort of "there" for me.

 

Without going into spoiler territory again, about two thirds of the way in, I found myself rather enraptured by the direction of the story. I was all Gung-ho for the story to take a rather darker and more "sinister" (for lack of a better word) turn, but the game throws a bucket of cold water on that potential plot thread and it left me feeling a little bit empty by the end of the game. Perhaps it's a subversion of expectations, but it didn't really jive with me.

 

My main gripe with this game is that for an interactive storytelling experience, the choice and consequences within the game don't seem to amount to much of anything. Since there really isn't much in terms of traditional gameplay, this seems like an area that could have been far more developed and could have bolstered the overall story. In the end, it comes up quite short.

 

This is a game that you can really only experience once, since a lot of the intrigue of the game is lost on a second play through. I think that's fine, it's still one of the better games I've come across this year and I'm glad it popped up on Ross's list, since I'm not sure I would've played this game otherwise.

 

Overall, I'd give this game a rating of Good/Great.

Edited September 14, 2019 by TheMG42 (see edit history)

[Eshanas]

The epitome of Environmental Narrative games of the mid-10s. Good soundtrack. BEAUTIFUL VISUALS. Good for one playthrough. Rent it. Watch someone you like play it. Don't buy. Not worth it really. Then again, is any non-replayable game?

Edited September 15, 2019 by Eshanas (see edit history)

[Mira]

Really unsure how to feel about this one. The graphics are gorgeous and I didn't mind the characters or the dialogue, but I do take issue with the story. As many others have pointed out already, it sets up a really good Twilight Zone-esque atmosphere and makes you feel like you're constantly about to uncover some unspeakable horror, but then it ends on such an anticlimactic note that it really made me wonder what the point of anything was. I'm glad other people were apparently able to look past the flaws.

[ScumCoder]

Quote

Way too melodramatic from the start

Ross, you have no idea what degree of soap-opera-ness this game reaches by the end.

I really like games about interesting characters with rich psyches, except this is not what Firewatch is.

[Samurai Snake]

Disappointing boring whatever game that hooks you with its visuals and loses you really fast with its writing. It's fine at first, and it gets intriguing somewhat, but then it abruptly ends with big fucking non-ending. The story is just bad, even though themes and ideas are kinda there. 

[Miltyman]

Something about how the world presents itself, made this game really engaging for me. It felt alive and a bit like 'what am I going to find  around this corner' (good or bad). Not sure how I feel about the ending, but the journey was definitely worthwhile.

[Arseniy Yavorśkyi]

played it way back when it was just released, and had a positive experience overall. "too melodramatic"? well, if you go in expecting a plot about the conspiracy of Fire Ant People, then you'll be disappointed. I wish there were more games like this one, games that explore human beings while not pushing misguided agendas. which is an ironic thing to say, seeing as the people who made this game engage in some very questionable politics, but at least none of it infected their product.

[JohnRDVSMarston]

I really liked the calm nature of it and the solemnity. I can understand how it may not be anyone's cup of tea