These include an audio walkthrough of the game and free-roam capabilities in the not-as-open-as-you-think-it-is world in which it takes place, both of which you can’t use until you’ve finished it once. And of course, the Xbox One version of this game does offer a few neat extras. Were Firewatch less expensive than its $20 asking price, I think I could make a rational excuse for taking the plunge. And … I am so sorry to have to tell you that. So like the game Inside for Xbox One, which likewise started off with a bang and then completely lost its mind and became stunningly unplayable and non-enjoyable, Firewatch ultimately disappoints. And while French-style meandering stories with no beginning and no end may have their place in some art school setting, this kind of thing is ultimately unsatisfying, especially when you’ve bought into your character. I can’t disagree strongly enough: This is a game, and not real life. Perhaps because the introduction is so solid, the end just falls flat.Ĭritics on Twitter tried to tell me that I was the problem, that this is what life is like, it just drifts off sometimes and doesn’t conclude in some satisfactory, Hollywood movie-like manner. And the game, take in whole-and, it’s only about three hours of game play, I bet-just doesn’t deliver on the promise of the beginning. But like so much fiction, one gets the idea that its authors expended all their good ideas on the beginning. On the surface, Firewatch is sound: It’s beautiful, moving even, and has a neat plot. In the end, you find yourself racing to a conclusion that you hope will pay off in some huge and meaningful way … but it doesn’t.Īnd that puts me in an uncomfortable spot. And some are outright red herrings, like the missing teens who aren’t really missing, or a side-story about previous rangers that goes absolutely nowhere. Those mysteries aren’t as mysterious as you thought. The sounds effects and sparsely-used music soundtrack are likewise top-notch and just add to the immersion.īut as Day 2 runs into Day 78 or whatever, the game drifts off. Instead, it’s like a lushly-realize oil painting, one that is a joy to explore, and at times, just gawk at. Firewatch is not photo realistic, but calling the graphics cartoonish is unfair. Story aside, a big part of the appeal of this game is the presentation. This beginning is a textbook example of setting the scene and really pulling in the reader, er, gamer. And as Day 1 turns into Day 2, and the game progresses, you really get invested in your character, in the people he interacts with-always virtually, never face to face-and the growing mystery. As you go, you learn the back story of the place, of the rangers and fire watchers who came before you, and of Delilah, who becomes a friend-and perhaps more than a friend-over time. Your outpost is ransacked, and other strange events start happening. Someone, or some group of someones, perhaps, is watching you, and is monitoring your communications with Delilah. And as you interact with Delilah over the radio, and start wandering around the woods, getting used to your new job, a mystery arrives. The choices you make during the flashbacks and in dealing with Delilah impact how the game goes in interesting ways, though the broad strokes will always be identical. And the conversation starts and guides the story.
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