Firewatch

meh

With the worst of the walking sims, it commits the mortal sin of choosing the wrong medium to tell its story. Were this a podcast, I'd be completely enamored. Unfortunately, it's a videogame that isn't a videogame. You click buttons and press W to walk forward, but everything else is scripted save for the moments of dialogue, which work at the same level as a Goosebumps choose-your-own-adventure novel. It's a shame too, because the world design is almost amazing.

I found that I didn't hate the orienteering gameplay. The story, however, was wanting.

Great visuals, simple but very effective storytelling. The unknown premise that fulfills during the gameplay. I loved it back then and still waiting for the sequel. The only drawbacks are the limited interaction with more NPC and very short gameplay duration.

Great story, extremely short game.

When I started playing computer games again, I wanted to find out how developers had used that medium to create something new and original. Firewatch is what I was looking for, it's unique, tasteful and engaging.

Firewatch is grossly engaging. It’s the same praise you’ve read a hundred times over. Its biggest hiccup is that the main twist in the story is one based on backstory that has no bearing on your character’s involvement with the story. As well, I’m not sure how much the opening choices affect the plot, because they seem pretty unrelated, but it did function as a nice way to emotionally anchor the player into something serious.

Excellent, heart-wrenching story and gorgeous visuals. Not the best walking sim, but a strong addition to the genre.

Depending on what you want the ending will either appeal to you or not; it left me feeling a little cold but I really liked everything leading up to that point.