The same type of immaculate detail extends to the games many items you’re able to pick up and examine. I have a problem with 2009’s Flower and 2013’s Proteus precisely because there isn’t anything to offset that serene beauty, their new-age hokum. It left me with a sense of realization, seeing the clues all around me in a different light, but also leaving me with a sadness that I didn’t expect I’d feel. It is a testament to both Moss and Firewatch’s level designers that, even despite the stylized look, the Two Forks Woods sticks in my mind like a real place: the narrow passage through Thunder Canyon, the serene calm of Jonesy Lake, the comically small size of Pork Pond, and the unexplained mystery of the Medicine Wheel.
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Before you know it, Firewatch has you invested in your responses to Delilah as much as you are about the situation at hand. It takes place in 1989 where our protagonist, Henry, has taken up secluded job in the Wyoming wilderness as a Firewatcher; though it’s the beginning of the story that surprised me the most.
Firewatch is a prestige game about wandering through a national park, making friends over your radio, and uncovering a mystery. There’s Delilah, your lookout colleague, but she’s stationed across the valley, communication maintained via your radios. It’s really worth the time to simply get her talking about the most mundane of things, like a tree that has scratch marks on it or a medicine wheel.
“If the game was literally just doing the job of a fire lookout it would be incredibly boring”. Have you ever been in love, convinced you were with the one, only for it to end with a patter? And why is that part of the forest fenced off?
Things inevitably take a turn for the odd – a campsite is destroyed, a mysterious man is seen prowling at night – but the tension is subtle and cleverly maintained.
All these mysteries can make Henry a little paranoid. And although they may not all resolve in a particularly satisfying way, they at least introduce some drama and suspense into a story that is otherwise focused nearly entirely on walkie talkie conversations between veritable strangers. It’s not a “game” in the sense of having combat or dice rolls or strategy, but instead is a “walking simulator” – a term initially used to deride games like Gone Home or Proteus, but which instead has become ironically endearing. Given their history with The Walking Dead, the use of multi-choice answers give the players more freedom to choose what kind of guy they want Henry to be. We learn some facts about her family, some about her, but despite how close she and Henry seem to be by the end of the game, she remains something of a phantom. Perhaps this is what it’s like to date via the internet? There didn’t seem to be a need to head back into the world to find multiple endings or to restructure your relationship with Delilah, but, this is something you could head back into a year or so later, just to revisit the breath-taking world. She isn’t just a thoughtful update on the standard “girl in ear” videogame jive, but just as important of a lead character as Henry. That said, the conversations with Delilah are witty and interesting. I cared about Henry from the offset, and throughout my five-hour journey, I only wanted to see him finally relieved of his troubles. The Shoshone National Forest has its own story to tell beyond the one between you and Delilah, but only those who read, investigate, and ask about everything will hear the full tale. It’s not useful to write about it as a game, though. Yes: it has graphics. You wander through the wilderness toward certain objectives, discussing notable landmarks or objects with Delilah along the way…or not. It’s what Henry reads throughout the few campsites and outposts he comes across. We did briefly listen to a few other auditions but really, upon hearing Cissy’s read for Delilah, we all kinda knew it couldn’t be anyone else.
Campo Santo and Panic’s Firewatch may be a digital-only release, but it has a very cool real-world feature. Our review is based on the Playstation 4 version.
Firewatch is on sale now for the PS4 with a 10% for PSN members up to the 16 Feb, it’s also available for the PC, Mac and Linux via Steam also with 10% discount up to the 12 February.
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Garrett Martin edits Paste’s comedy and games sections.
