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A Game That Anybody Can, and Everybody Should Play

A Review of Campo Santo's Firewatch

By Markus McWinstonPublished 6 years ago 7 min read
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***THIS REVIEW IS SPOILER FREE***

Finding new games to play is always a struggle. I was never a lineup-at-the-theater to watch a movie type of guy (unless maybe Star Wars); I was more of a wait until it comes out on DVD for rent kind of guy. In that sense, with Steam prices for "new" games like CoD:WWII and Monster Hunter going into the high 50s and 60s, I like to take a look back at what games that I've missed that I can grab at feasible prices. Released for PC in February 2016, Firewatch pulls a decent price of 19.99 USD on Steam (in Canada it costs 21.99 CAD, which means given the current currency exchange rate, it's about $3.2 USD cheaper to buy it in Canada).

Inspired by my recent playthrough of What Remains of Edith Finch (review coming soon), I decided to give Firewatch a go. What Remains of Edith Finch is lauded as a brilliant emotional game that is the top of what is called the "walking simulator" genre, and Firewatch falls into the same category.

Aside:I am not a game historian, but I believe the relatively recent rise in number and popularity of walking simulator games is only possible because of our current condition. With more and more game developers flooding the market with more action, more innovation, better graphics, and thus, higher prices, smaller and indie studios can produce cheaper games with less complex actions that lean on the allure and ability to present the market with beautiful design and complex narrative. Firewatch, as with most walking simulator games, tends to fit into these niches that the large game developers do not cover.(tl;dr - good graphics, cheaper, not in direct competition with large game companies)

There are two primary things that Firewatch excels at.

1. Creating an Environment

Inspired by the artwork of the poster advertisements by the National Park Service during the New Deal era, Firewatch's environment is beautiful. It doesn't try to mimic or catch up to the hyperrealistic graphics of the big-name companies, but rather by basing off the New Deal era posters, creates a unique art style that is both timeless and breathtaking. With the warm day color palette of deep reds to bright oranges and the cooler night colors of green and blue, playing as Henry, a summer fire lookout at Shoshone National Forest, you get an immersive experience of actually being in the forest. The simplistic beauty of the gameplay allows you to pay more attention to the detail of the nature around you. According to Wikipedia (our trustworthy fountain of information), Jane Ng, the lead environmental artist at Campo Santo, hand-modeled the 23 kinds of trees that are placed in the game 4,600 times.

While the game's plot remains relatively linear, which will later be discussed, the Shoshone National Forest is full of little Easter Eggs irrelevant to the main storyline that creates an interesting and entertaining environment. For instance, there are little supply caches spread all around the map that contain various objects. With random objects being left behind such as a sweater from the University of Eastern Colorado (only exists in Naughty Dog's 2013 hit game The Last of Us) and a lending library with an assortment of books, the far, far wilderness of the Shoshone National Forest feels very realistic and... lived-in.

Beyond the visual aspects of the environment, what really makes the environment compelling is the aural aspect. The sound design was good, and it definitely helped place the gamer in nature, but it wasn't anything special. However, the scoring was very well done. While I may have some complaints about music triggers, I found that the minimalist orchestration of the scoring really helped support the peaceful setting of the forest without distracting from the beautiful view or storyline. Even when the game got into more fast-paced, intense scenes, the music didn't overhype the gameplay as some franchises do with drums and large choral arrangements.

2. Understanding Humans

Wow. Beyond the visual aspect of the game, Firewatch created complex human characters. Without leaning to soap-operatic cop-outs by making stories complex by intertwining more and more characters, Firewatch took two primary characters and created an amazing relationship between them without them even meeting.

The game begins with simple text choices that allow you to navigate the life story of Henry, your game character. As your wife, Julia, develops early onset dementia at 43 (if I remember correctly), Henry decides to take a summer away from everything (Julia left with family) and work as a summer fire lookout at the Shoshone National Forest.

Out in the forest, from his lookout tower, he communicates via handheld walkie-talkie/radio to his new boss, Delilah, who is located in the next lookout tower. Work starts off as usual, reporting forest fire smoke and chasing off troublemaker teens. Delilah and Henry develop a close friendship in the lonely Shoshone forest over walkie-talkie. This banter between Delilah and Henry is the most entertaining part of this game, as the gamers watch their friendship slowly blossom.

No spoilers, but work starts to slip away from the norm. Caught up in a strange mystery, Delilah and Henry are forced to work together and trust each other in a deep web of conspiracies and lies. Both characters struggle with their own inner demons, Henry with his upcoming decision of going back to his wife who no longer recognizes him and Delilah with... well, her own problems (spoilers).

With the Bioshock-esque walkie-talkie dialogue between Henry and the never-seen Delilah, the Mass Effect style dialogue choices that influence your relationship with her, and the fantastic voice acting done by Rich Sommer (Henry) and Cissy Jones (Delilah), Firewatch creates compelling characters with their own complex backstories that results in a beautiful, perhaps even bittersweet, relationship.

Cons

If I had to name anything that I disliked about this game, it would be pacing. Unlike games like Edith Finch, which is contained in a small location, Firewatch is an open-world game with a relatively large map (I mean, it's no GTA V or Skyrim). This allows for gamers to explore the map to find all those fun Easter eggs mentioned above and enjoy the view of Shoshone National Forest. But it also means that sometimes you will have to run all the way across the map to achieve a plot point, just to run all the way back across.

Firewatch is an easy game, and its gameplay is very linear. One can get from point A to point B and further the plot, rinse, repeat, and the game will end. However, with it being such a linear game, if you choose to take a more completionist path and explore the entire map and trails that are not required to finish the storyline of the game, things start to fall apart. This is most apparent in music triggers. Music could be triggered in a certain area, and once it ends while you're exploring, you're left floundering in the almost dead silence of the forest (which is good in its own way, but you also feel suddenly stark naked from the loss of OST).

While Firewatch is a brilliant game for its environment and characters, its long stretches of hiking lead to slower pacing (albeit more chances for dialogue) and unless you're a completionist, slightly lower replay value. Because of the various dialogue choices that affect your relationship, theoretically, each playthrough could be different.

Universal Enjoyment (tl;dr)

Firewatch is a happy medium between many things. On the first playthrough, the cons really don't matter because you're paying attention to the rich visual and narrative detail. It is a game that can be universally enjoyed because:1. More experienced gamers try to wring out the details of the game through a completionist path.2. Less experienced gamers have simplistic game mechanics that don't distract from the main story.3. It's only $19.99 and is a good entry-level video game.4. Full playthrough is four to five hours, perhaps eight hours if completionist.5. Beautiful art, soundtrack, and characters.

Rating8.5/10

As someone who was raised on first-person shooters (Halo franchise) and survival horror games (Resident Evil, Evil Within), I found myself surprisingly enjoying such a "walking" heavy game. It's compelling narrative and character relationships kept the game appealing throughout the entire playthrough. Various links down below.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXWlgP5hZzcSteam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/383870/Firewatch/Official Website: http://www.firewatchgame.com/

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About the Creator

Markus McWinston

Writer, gamer, enthusiast

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