
The writing is not just believable, it is likeable and funny. Which is to say that we care, and that Henry feels like us. Meanwhile, the park itself envelopes him physically, this stocky, everyday nobody tumbling through the oblivious vastness of this wild place.Īnd it works. With his life paused and broken, his increasing dependence on Delilah begins to feel like an emotional precipice, the skewed power dynamic and his fragility a tinderbox mix. Everything that happens to Henry in the park is designed to highlight his vulnerabilities. The journey, though, is more important than the destination. This mystery motivates all of Henry’s tasks and movements: he’ll talk to Delilah, she’ll send him somewhere, he’ll explore the park, complications typically ensue. The other thing that happens is that Henry and Delilah become entangled in a slowly unfolding mystery, which grows from a simple infraction of park rules – kids letting off fireworks – to a paranoid, all-consuming plot. She works in a distant cabin on one of those tantalising far-off peaks, a warm voice floating into Henry’s ear through his lookout walkie-talkie, an absence in the physical space around him underlining his solitude.įirewatch’s visual grasp of the American outdoors is defined by the bright, airbrushed work of British artist Olly Moss. And what happens, really, is two things: he meets – or rather doesn’t meet – Delilah, a perky, forthright and funny lookout supervisor who is both exactly what Henry needs to trigger his emotional recuperation, and also his boss. It’s a world that delivers both variety – of colour, landscape, time of day – and sophistication within a dense, well-plotted space, its modest map efficiently filled with items, pathways and objectives.įirewatch is about what happens to Henry in the park, after the emotional foundation laid by the prologue. The park is an open world, with tantalising views of distant peaks and valleys stretching much further than the game’s explorable area. Made by a new studio of about a dozen people, Firewatch is stylised and almost cartoonish, its visual grasp of the American outdoors defined by the bright, airbrushed work of British artist Olly Moss. Henry decides to escape, to a job as a fire lookout at Shoshone National Forest.įirewatch is a relatively small game that projects itself big. There are moments of extraordinary joy, giving way to an overall theme of devastation. Players who want to try out more games like Firewatch should check out the following titles to scratch that itch.This is how it all starts, in the second person like a choose your own adventure book, although the opening prologue is more like a multiple choice quiz sketching the history of Henry’s heartbreaking early adulthood.

It's impossible to wonder just how a fire lookout could have an interesting story, but Firewatch manages to blow everyone's expectations out of the water with a truly amazing story that will keep fans hooked all the way up to a pretty divisive ending. Updated on September 3, 2021, by Ritwik Mitra: When someone talks about one of the greatest story-driven experiences of all time, Firewatch is definitely a title that is brought up by most fans. This kind of walking simulation gameplay and story can be phenomenal, and there are similar games out there that fans should check out.

The story contains a bit of a mystery, with an unknown someone trashing the forest who is possibly even dangerous. The protagonist, Henry, has a bit of a tragic backstory that is easy to sympathize with. The game was also loved for its story and main character. Related: Puzzle Games That Are Good For Your Brain The dialogue is also pretty witty with good voice acting. The game is incredibly explorative, allowing players to enjoy the wonders of nature and test their skills in map reading. In terms of characters, there are only a few of them, and none of them are really seen - only spoken to via walkie-talkie.

Released in 2016, Firewatch is a game that follows the unique story of a fire lookout in a national forest.
