“Firewatch,” released on Feb. 9 2016, still has beautiful graphics, mechanics, and dialogue choices, even a decade after launch. The developers have put together a game with superb mechanics, graphics, and puzzles to progress.
The game starts with Henry at a bar this is were the player also chooses the character’s lore without affecting the set ending, they do this by having multiple choice options in the beginning of the game.
The player sees Henry’s wife Julia, who Henry meets during the opening scene in a bar. Julia has been diagnosed with early dementia, leading her to become disabled and forcing her to move back with her parents. This leaves Henry alone, as he visits her less and less over time, which then leads Henry to a program called the USDA Fire Service at Shoshone National forest.
The program makes Henry a forest ranger for the summer, where the players have many tasks, such as getting teenagers to stop setting off fireworks at the lake and finding broken power lines to fix.
During his time as a fire ranger, Henry meets a woman named Delilah, who helps guide him through tasks. Even so, the player can choose how Henry approaches his relationship with her. This works by using the walkie talkie Henry is given, allowing the player to have plenty of multiple choice dialogue that reflects Henry’s personality, which is a very cool mechanic as it gives the player some freedom.
Another noticeable aspect of the game is the navigation system. Instead of having a mini map in the corner of the screen, the player has a map and a compass to pull up whenever they want to know where Henry is. The player can add more details to the map by finding cash boxes around the map and adding X’s to the map to show paths blocked off by nature or gates. At the same time, marks can be added to new paths that lead to an objective.
While adventuring, the player can see the beautiful graphics they use for this game, especially from high places like the tower Henry lives in, you can see an overview of the forest and how well they capture natures beauty, you can also see vibrant oranges, reds and yellows during forest fires later in the game.
During Henry’s time as a forest ranger, he incessantly converses with Delilah. Over time, he warms up to her substantially, sharing secrets and memories with each other, but this changes when Henry discovers he is being stalked, and has been for some time. The player tries to uncover who the mystery man is, giving “Firewatch” a powerful horror-like substance, deepening the atmosphere of a peaceful, beautiful forest, and transforming it into a dark and eerie atmosphere.
I’d suggest this game to anyone who has a soft spot for adventure games with a splash of mystery and a lot of game dialogue.
