Publisher: Campo Santo
Developer: Campo Santo
Year: 2016
Platform: Windows, Mac, Linux, PS4, XBox One, XBox Series, Switch

Rating: 5

A quite common theme with lower-budget indie developers when it comes to three-dimensional gaming is the general lack of NPC interaction. I get the reasons why but it often limits the scope of the narrative. Suspense is often a theme of these types of games as the player’s isolation is highlighted by finding cryptic notes and mysterious situations highlighted by spooky sounds and a haunting soundtrack. Gone Home subverted the player by pretending it was horror when it turned out to be anything but. Firewatch does deliver some earned suspense along the way, but similarly and disappointingly negates the player’s experience at the end.

Henry is a gentle giant who found the love of his life while at college as we learn through a peculiar text-based choice-narrative as the game opens. Sadly, his wife Julia is stricken with a horrible disease about ten years later and when her health and mind deteriorate to the point of needing 24 hour care, she is taken in by her parents while Henry escapes to Wyoming to get a job manning a firewatch tower in Shoshone National Forest.

You control Henry in first-person perspective (with keyboard or gamepad) and bizarrely begin your first day with no in-person orientation. Rather, your tutor is Delilah, who is stationed in a firewatch tower several miles north and communicates with Henry solely via radio. The next day, his first call is to investigate some fireworks that risk sending the forest up in smoke. You will learn most of the basics of moving, climbing, and inventory use on your way there. Eventually you find the fireworks (along with copious amounts of empty beer cans) and then the irresponsible hikers in a nearby lake who promptly tell Henry to shove it. Crisis averted, Henry returns to the tower but not before eyeing a figure in the distance who seems positively spooked by running into him. It is here the mystery begins.

Over the course of the next three months (of which the player will only experience a small fraction of), Henry and Delilah are regularly creeped out by unexplainable goings-on in the forest, including someone breaking into Henry’s watchtower while he’s away. Henry will explore more of the map as he finds additional hiking tools such as carabiner clips and climbing pitons, all the while confiding with Delilah as she tries to give him advice from afar. They also develop a friendship that occasionally becomes flirtatious and leaves Henry with considerable guilt.

Their relationship is the highlight of the game as they share about their lives and investigate the mysteries that keep arising. Rich Sommer and Cissy Jones have a natural chemistry with the support of dialogue that never feels overly scripted. While the mystery pulls you in, most of the enjoyment from this walking simulator just comes from taking it easy, ambling through a beautifully rendered forest while chatting with a buddy. Firewatch is easily one of the more relaxing games I’ve played of this nature.

Unfortunately, there are several nagging issues that keep it from being a great game. Rarely there are graphical glitches, one that got Henry stuck on a rock and requiring me to replay an entire day. It only set me back about 5-10 minutes, but it was still quite annoying. The game doesn’t always keep well track of what Henry has disturbed in the forest. For example, on the first day if you take the fireworks and the beer bottles lying around, they will appear in the same place later in the game as if you never touched them. Immersion is so important in a game like this and having it broken on multiple occasions was a definite bummer. I also could not get used to Henry’s avatar; while you only ever see his arms and his legs, his body immediately reminded me of Wreck-It Ralph, most notably some disproportionately stubby fingers. I might be the only who thinks that, but man whenever Henry breaks something I couldn’t help but mutter, “I wanna wreck it!”

More of a concern is the plot, which has definitely divided many players. The game masterfully builds suspense as each little mystery Henry investigates is only partially solved, leaving just as many questions as answers. I found myself writing down potential explanations for all the clues, excited to find out which version of the ending I was going to be closest to. Alas, the reveal is quite underwhelming. It’s plausible, I guess, and explains away all the red herrings and scary happenings. But it still feels out of left field, with all my personal detective work rendered moot. Some players found the ending satisfying, but it just left me feeling cold.

After winning the game, there is an option to free explore the map without any of the story. While the exploration part of the game is good, it’s a bit dull without the mystery and conversations with Delilah holding it together. And given how I felt about the ending, I don’t see myself playing this again. That said, Firewatch is definitely worthy of one playthrough if you enjoy narrative games without a lot of stress.