![]() If the gameplay elements were removed and Firewatch was turned into a motion picture, I believe it would make a below-average movie. I think there’s something to be said about how it being a game makes it more than the sum of its parts. And if somebody wanted to argue the opposite side I wouldn’t disagree with them. ![]() ![]() Gameplay issues aside, do I consider Firewatch to be a game?īarely. Having to stop moving every 10 seconds or so to re-check my map got old really fast.īut I digress. After turning around and backtracking, more often than not I would end up overshooting the turn yet again. More times than I can count, I would be walking for a minute or two in one direction before checking my map to find that I had a missed my turn. I suppose it’s somewhat realistic and helps keep players in the world, but I found it incredibly annoying. Using them involves an awkward combination of button presses and is virtually impossible to do while still moving. Firewatch eschews the normal useful mini-map that many games use and instead forces the player to use a less functional combination of an actual in-game map and compass (see image to the left). Additionally, what tiny amount of gameplay Firewatch has is incredibly clunky and overly frustrating. I wasted far too much time searching for supply caches, hoarding pine cones and cleaning up empty beer cans in the vain hope any of it would matter. Player control is basically reduced to the fast forward and mute buttons on a DVD remote 1 Am I dating myself too much with that reference?.īecause I like a good story in my video games, I largely didn’t have a problem with this, although I do wish the developers embraced this fully and hadn’t included so many mundanely traditional game elements. At a high level, all the player can really control is how fast to experience the story and how much chatter is involved during the course of it. In many ways, it is virtually indistinguishable from watching a movie. On the Xbox, the majority of achievements are earned simply from playing through the game. And while the game will occasionally present choices to the player, none of them appear to have any lasting impact at all beyond a changed line of dialogue or two. There’s no score, no way to do better or worse. In Firewatch, the player controls the main character, Henry, as he roams around performing mundane tasks that are often accomplished simply by pushing a single button. Players walk around the world while experiencing things. In a nut-shell, walking simulations are games that are lacking in any traditional aspects of actual gameplay. It turns out that Firewatch is in the genre of games that are sometimes called “Walking Simulations” (a term sometimes used with disdain and sometimes not). While the game will occasionally present choices to the player, none of them appear to have any lasting impact at all.But before I can talk about how the game made me feel, I want to talk about whether or not it’s a game at all. I only bring it up in case anybody looks into the metacritic user reviews (or something similar) and wonders what is going on. As far as I’m concerned, this is all about a game and how it made me feel and nothing to do with any cultural or political statements. I had no idea any of the controversy surrounding the developer before I purchased the game or while I was playing it, and I frankly have little interest in diving into it or discussing any of it in this post. ![]() Before I start, though, it’s worth addressing the controversy around Firewatch (and its developer, Campo Santo). This post isn’t intended to be a review of the game, but considering what I said above, I feel some explanation is warranted. In fact, I’m not even sure it’s fair to call it a game. The reviews were largely glowing (including some who considered it one of the best games of the year), and so, completely on a whim, I decided to give it a try.Įven though I found the ending completely disappointing.Įven though I’m not quite sure I had fun playing the game. I’m not sure what drew me to it, but I did a little research on the game. Recently, while browsing video games, I noticed a game called Firewatch was on sale. SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers for Firewatch follows.
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