Firewatch Reviews
Firewatch excels at storytelling first and foremost. Thematic maturity and likable characterization only serve to complement the tale. Featuring gorgeous visuals that look amazing even in the dark of night, a visit to the Shoshone National Forest has never been this enjoyable! Get out there!
Overall, Firewatch is a game you want to spend time in if you just want pure conversation and story. The narrative is what makes this game great even if it's a 5 to 7 hours of gameplay. And if you want to have pure adult-rated amusing conversations and jaw-dropping views of landscapes, then Firewatch is the game you definitely need to try out.
A slow-burner of a mystery.
Firewatch has a fun and exciting storyline, with very interesting characters and well-constructed dialogues with humor and mystery. It is a game that goes beyond the basic premise of Walking Simulators and tries to add layers and give more depth to the gameplay of this genre. It hits all the right spots with its realistic themes creating an intimate relationship between the player, the main characters and this world that Campo Santo created. The small drops of rhythm and the end that can be a bit divisive do not take much of this great remarkable adventure,
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Firewatch is a breath of fresh air in the adventure game genre. While the game is primarily dialogue based like other adventure games, gameplay is more FPS-like as you will climb cliffs, rock faces, rappel, and cross over make shift bridges as you work to solve the mystery of the Shoshone National Forest. While some navigation issues make getting around the environment difficult, the real salt in the wound is the abrupt, and illogical revelation that makes no sense in the context of the events leading up to the finale.
The vast majority of Firewatch is an utter delight. It presents a gorgeous world that you want to sink into like a hot bath, with characters you're desperate to get to know. Unfortunately, that's all sort of squandered by an ending that fizzles out into the realm of the incredibly forgettable.
And moments like these is what makes Firewatch stand out from anything I have ever played before. In the end, when everything is said and done, Firewatch is about the protagonist Henry. We got to live inside his head and tried to understand what he thinks and feels. But the truth is that Henry is who he is. A man looking to escape his past and somehow find redemption in the wilderness. We are just there to witness this and tag along for the ride. If you are looking for a game that is visually stunning and different from anything else you have ever played then I cannot recommend Firewatch enough, yes it is short between 6-8 hours. But I can guarantee you now, those will be some of the best 6-8 hours you will have ever spent in a video game.
It's odd to think that in game in which you never meet any real humans face to face that you never feel alone, and that's part of the magic of Firewatch. Firewatch is a must have for all PS4 owners.
I knew within five minutes that Firewatch was special. And, whilst the game itself isn't mechanically perfect, it didn't have to be. By the end of it, it had emotionally affected me in a way that perhaps no other game has.
Ich sehe es schon vor mir: am Ende wollen die Kids nicht mehr Feuerwehrmann werden, sondern sich – einen Sommer lang – in die stillen Weiten von Wyoming zurückziehen, um Waldbrände aufzuspüren. In dieser Hinsicht hat das Entwicklerstudio Campo Santo in jedem Fall geliefert. Ich habe es bislang auch noch nicht erlebt, dass mir im Supermarkt eine Radiowerbung vor die Füße fiel, in der für Firewatch (oder ein anderes Indie-Spiel) geworben wurde. Ich meine, wir reden hier nicht über Call of Duty oder World of Warcraft, sondern über einen Normalo, der sich in die Einöde von Wyoming zurückzieht, um Waldbrände aufzuspüren und zu sich selbst zu finden. Doch auch über das clevere Marketing hinaus ist Firewatch für alle, die etwas für story-lastige Spiele übrig haben, uneingeschränkt zu empfehlen. Eines ist mir beim Spielen auch noch in den Sinn gekommen: Ich habe in den vergangenen Monaten viele VR-Brillen getestet und mich immer gefragt, welche Inhalte sich eigentlich für diese neue Technologie anbieten. Für mich ist die Frage entschieden: Firewatch in einer VR-Version wäre der perfekte Content (genauso wie Gone Home, Journey und Abzû). Einfach nur in einer 360-Grad-Sicht eine für mich neue Umgebung genießen zu können, ohne dabei ein Action-Feuerwerk abfeuern zu müssen, würde mir einen Grad an Immersion und Atmosphäre geben, den die konventionellen Darstellungsformen bislang nicht zu liefern vermögen. Wenn man Firewatch denn als einen Vertreter der Gattung "Walking-Simulator" bezeichnen will, dann hat dieses Genre wieder eine glänzende Perle hervorgebracht. Unbedingt spielen!
Review in German | Read full review
For an independent game Firewatch is impressive. It's relatively small but it's weighty. The open world setting is beautiful and a joy to explore. Once the story shifts into the mystery and conspiracy the game's lethargic pace quickens and the intensity soars. Throughout it all Delilah is your anchor. Her voice is such a comfort even in the darkest of times. She tethers you to the world and it becomes disorienting when she too begins to panic in the final act
Firewatch is a perfectly written narrative adventure with an ideal rhythm. We will accompany Henry in his new work, which he use to escape from his real life, and establish an important and emotional connection with our boss Delilah, while we face a mystery and a fire, each more frightening. However, nothing is as it seems. Highly recommended.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
It’s a simple, elegant, effective, beautifully crafted, artistic piece, that I will personally cherish in my gaming collection, and would be happy to go back and experience again in the future. Just like any well written story. Well done Campo Santo, Well done.
I spent over 5 hours in Firewatch and loved every minute as I got more intrigued by the story as events unfolded. The ultimate outcome of the story is quite grim, so fair warning to anyone playing with kids watching towards the end. It’s a great game for those times where you want to play something but don’t want to worry too much about multiplayer or difficult gameplay mechanics. The story left me thinking long after playing and I highly recommend checking the game out on Xbox Game Pass.
Firewatch is in my opinion a great addition to Xbox Game Pass. The game is worthy of its highly regarded status and is one of the best older indie games out there. If you have never played it, you really should give it a look. Completion only takes around four and a half hours and having your emotional response manipulated so cleverly by a game of this type is truly worth experiencing.
Firewatch is a good debut that shines in some places and doesn’t in others. It definitely has a charm of its own, however it leaves the feeling that it’s not quite as refined as it could be. Going through it once will prove a pleasant trek through a beautiful patch of Wyoming wilderness with relatable characters who have great chemistry between them.
Unfortunately, Firewatch left me unfulfilled to say the least.
Firewatch has an affective and engaging story that draws you in, and I couldn't put the game down after the halfway point. What initially seems like more of a relaxing walking simulator becomes something more consequential and dire. Anyone interested in great stories—not just those told through video games—needs to pick up Firewatch. Like Celeste and GRIS, Firewatch is a triumph of artistic and thought-provoking game design, and it can remind you of summer as you bundle up for the cold winter ahead.
Do not let the ending put you off Firewatch, nor let the talk of 'Walking Simulator' give any sort of preconceived notion of this being boring. What has been delivered is one of the most engaging narrative experiences in recent times, draped beautifully over a thoroughly enjoyable adventure, with plenty of scope for going back to uncover more details, finding new conversation avenues, and stumbling upon all manner of intriguing information not seen the first time round.