Telltale’s “The Walking Dead” might be the game most credited with starting the recent Renaissance in story-driven video games. Since then, Gone Home, Life is Strange, Cibele, That Dragon, Cancer, and a slew of other games have continued to advance both the complexity of stories told in more mainstream video games and the emotions and topics a mainstream video game can be okay to invoke. It is unsurprising then that several of the folks behind The Walking Dead, now with their own game studio, bring us another mature story-driven adventure game that deals with a number of mature topics. Firewatch conveys a compelling, character-driven narrative that might not always deliver on the promise of its story beats, but ultimately delivers a memorable and emotional tale.
It was for the best I came into Firewatch with very little knowledge as to what the game entailed. For that reason, I offer this disclaimer: Firewatch is a difficult game to speak about entirely spoiler-free. While I will attempt to avoid anything that might ruin the experience, I suggest skipping ahead to the final four paragraphs of this review if you want to completely avoid spoilers.
The narrative takes a back seat throughout much of the game to the relationship between our two leads: Henry and Delilah. They are not your typical video game leads. Both are in their 40s. They are extremely broken people. Henry is a bit of a coward. Your introduction to Delilah shows her to be pushy and a bit presumptive. Henry is stocky. You’re not even sure what Delilah looks like at the start of the game.
Henry and Delilah’s relationship throughout the game is shaped by your dialogue choices. While your choices don’t per se result in branches to the narrative, they do help shape your version of Henry. While there are occasions where you’ll find yourself unsatisfied with the dialogue options presented, you do more often than not have a healthy breadth of choices available. Not only do you mold Henry’s character to your own interpretation, but your choices also determine the nature of your relationship with Delilah. There even seem to be some minor character tidbits you might not get exposed to if based upon these choices.
The performances by lead actors Rich Sommer and Cissy Jones are fantastic and vital to the realization of their respective characters. They are thankfully assisted from a script featuring some great, natural dialogue for the most part. There are times the writers force a line of dialogue or two, but other than that, I have few quibbles here. Jones runs the gambit of emotions in her performance thanks to the almost schizoid nature of Delilah’s character. Meanwhile, Sommer nails Henry’s awkwardness and general weariness with the world.
It will not surprise most readers to learn that a story about a man fleeing civilization for the great outdoors explores themes of escapism and what comes from it. But many of the other emotions the game invokes are atypical to the medium. Henry realizes early on just how vulnerable he is. It is readily apparent early on that Henry is barely capable of the physical activity necessary for his job. The player too soon feels vulnerable as a result. There is an oppressive air hanging over the player throughout much of the game. That tension grows at times to a point it’s almost palatable to the player.
Firewatch’s gameplay is intentionally mundane. There is no fast travel system. Though Henry’s running speed may seem unrealistic given his chunky physique, the game is paced to remind you very intentionally that your character sought out this banal isolation. That is not to say it is a boring game, but the pacing is quite deliberate. Areas of the map require certain tools you’ll discover throughout your adventure to reach, but they are for the purpose of gating areas rather than changing or advancing how you play the game.
Rather in contrast to what one might expect after the above description, the narrative at times suffers from rushing several elements near the end of the game. Given the patience the writers are willing to employ, some narrative threads feel like they were too quickly thrown aside in a rush to resume the rest of the narrative. I was ultimately quite satisfied though where things ended up despite these hiccups.
Moving away from spoiler-territory, the creators of Firewatch clearly learned a great deal from their efforts on “The Walking Dead” and know to weave game and story together. Firewatch is not a pure walking simulator per se, though it is hardly a complex game. Outside of dialogue choices, you walk around the world and examine objects. Many objects spark conversations with Delilah. While the game is fairly linear, the player is not required to explore every place or examine every object. In fact, some rather plot-important sections of the game can actually be skipped if the player so chooses. Some areas of the map are cordoned off Metroid-style until the player acquires particular gear, but that is the only real limitation.
Firewatch is a gorgeous looking game. While it is not graphically intense, the art direction allows for visuals that are distinct and striking. The use of colors, particularly along the red and orange spectrum, invokes intense feelings from the player. As the narrative progresses, shifts in color help to convey the narrative’s tonal shifts as much as anything else. Allowing the player to see Henry’s legs and arms, something a lot of first-person games do not do, allows for visual cues throughout the game that better place the player into the role.
At some point, you know if you like games in the “walking simulator” genre. The game should ultimately take between three and five hours to complete based upon how much the player explores the game’s world. If you don’t like games like Gone Home, Dear Esther and the like, Firewatch will not likely change your view on the genre.
In the end, Firewatch is unafraid to leave the player in a bit of an unexpected state. While that place may not be what some players expect it to be, it is hard to imagine many walking away without having been engrossed by its two leads and the majority of their narrative. If you enjoy narratives about genuinely broken people, Firewatch is a must play.