Firewatch

A well-made game, a true thriller, excellent dialogue, a great atmosphere and beautifull artwork. Firewatch is a game I absolutely recommend to those who know what to expect.
A must-buy if you like stories, recommend

For the sake of Delilah's love for puns, I would say that Firewatch felt pedestrian. I really liked the promise of the game and the start of it ~1st hour, and I wanted to like the rest of it... Vibes, coziness, exploration, it all disappear for me the more I played.
I couldn't stop myself from thinking about what if Firewatch was a novel? It definitely felt like it would be a better novel than a game (especially in audiobook format). In the context of Firewatch, game medium offers developers 3 unique opportunities that they haven't used or didn't flesh out. Let's deal with everything in order.

Gameplay: Very streamlined. It felt like the game take your hand and pull you along all the time. I totally understand that this game is about story and not the gameplay per se, but hear me out. Each diversion to explore a location wouldn't benefit in anything. No Easter eggs, no interesting stuff lying around, waiting to be explored. Nothing. Just one raccoon. Each mechanic (or resources for that mechanic) introduced in the game at the very convenient time to get through the location that time gated by the plot. They could just add more stuff along the way when you're hiking, so it would not feel like get from point A to point B all the time, which started to feel like a chore pretty quickly.

Plot & choices: I felt robbed. Why make any choices in dialogues for the whole game if at the end the result is the same ? I—and maybe Henry too—felt another heartbreak. Maybe it's just me getting older and becoming a sucker for good endings, but developers teased relationships between Delilah and Henry. For me, it felt very natural that 2 broken souls that took that job would try to heal each other afterward. Is it so hard to introduce a "good" ending if you choose all positive dialogue options? Because dialogues itself were the most positive thing about the game. I really enjoyed them and I wanted more of them. I guess that introduces the idea of utter boringness in the wilderness very well—when the only person you can speak to is on a walkie-talkie with you. You develop a connection to that person.
With that chill introduction, for the 1st hour of the game, I expected a more relaxed game. Maybe it's more on me than on the game, but it made me wonder why each game tries to bring action and thriller motives when it doesn't need to? I would be totally happy to do mundane tasks as a forester/fire watcher, rather than feel ominous thrill for 3 hours. Who thrashed your room at the tower? Are girls got killed? By who? Who the hell smashed my head with a rock or something? Why and how someone listening and recording our talks with Delilah? The game always put questions into your head, like you're some sort of detective, which isn't the bad thing per se, but it didn't work for me in that story. The majority of the time I just concentrated on the anxious nature of the game rather than enjoying it.

Visuals & Audio: Could be better. It's not about chunky style. It just wasn't breathtaking enough, which I expected from that type of game. If not the gameplay should entertain you while you're hiking from point A to point B, then the visuals and audio (except the dialogue, which I discussed previously). Locations were fine, but that's it, not great. Music often turned on unexpectedly when you press a hidden trap panel, which sounded really weird, like you got to the boss room, but boss is nowhere near. And the general vibe of rather tense music to increase suspense of the plot didn't work for me as well.

To conclude my point, If Firewatch was a novel:
1. The dialogues would be fleshed out, and there will be more of them by the nature of the medium, and that's great.
2. Thriller idea feels like would suit much better for something like 50,000-60,000 words with good pacing.
3. Descriptions of surroundings could paint so much better picture than what I saw.
4. We wouldn't lose a lot of the gameplay, because it was almost point-and-click game, but in 3D.
5. Useless choices would be cut off, and we didn't lose a lot from it.

At the end of the day, it might be just not the game for me. But I reckon it's not the game for everyone, maybe not even for the most people. Still, I enjoyed some parts of Firewatch, but I can't recommend it for the majority of people.
I give Firewatch 5/10.

Overall, I enjoyed this game and would recommend it. Full price is a bit much for the playtime (under 5 hours for this moderately-skilled dad-gamer), but absolutely worth it on sale.

First things first: I love the atmosphere of the game. The beauty and loneliness of the mountains, the ever-increasing threat of fire, the overall mystery - *chef's kiss*. I'd consider this more an interactive story - although on the surface it looks wide-open the map is surprisingly linear, with plenty of invisible walls and few opportunities to explore hidden corners until the story has unlocked them. I would have loved a game that rewards the player for orienteering through wild country with no more than a compass and a map, but that would have been a different game (note to developers: please feel free to make this!). The plot development also could be a bit awkward at times - I get the feeling I missed some fairly major reveals in dialogue because I was too occupied with the puzzle in front of me to catch key dialogue on the radio.

That said, these are all minor quibbles. This game creates a world, a vibe, and a sense of mystery - regardless of how satisfying or unsatisfying the final reveal may be, the journey to get there is wonderful. Great writing, great voice acting, great atmosphere. great style/artwork. Wait until the kids are asleep, turn off the lights, put on your headphones, and get lost in the story.

Firewatch is good, but not great. I enjoyed the story, but I feel like I heard too much hype about the game that got my expectations too high. I would say it's worth it on sale though, it is a good game.
For some reason I didn't get the last two "compleate day x" achievements even though I did. And there were a couple bugs, nothing save and quitting to the menu didn't fix though.

More about the journey than the destination.
Scenery is beautiful, makes you feel you are in a real national park.
Very comfy, but also makes your body hair stand up in some tense moments.
Maybe the ending is not what most people were expecting, but if you understand it as a ¨Its time to let go¨ kind of story, i think it makes perfect sense. Its depiction of complicated love and feelings is surprisingly realistic and... relatable.
Gameplay could be better, have a few more interactions with the world and items. Voice actors are perhaps the best i have ever listened to.
Over all, i highly recomend this short but sweet experience of a game.

I would not recommend this game. I like mysteries and I like games that try new things or have atypical ways of playing. Unfortunately this game just wasn't that interesting and the story was ultimately dull. There's only a few characters and none of them really have any depth to them that matters. I paid $4 for this and I feel like I regret the time spent playing more than the money. I felt a little misled by the Steam reviews. I don't think your average Joe is going to really enjoy this. Oh well, they can't all be winners.

After getting through my first playthrough I can confidently recommend this to anyone looking for a casual story game to pass the time. I would wait when the game is on sale to buy it but it deserves its flowers for keeping you hooked by a girl you never meet. 9/10

8/10 incredible game
before I say anything, I 10/10 recommend you play it, and I won't give any spoilers.

the ending leaves something to be desired. And thats part of the point. The views are stunning, even as a 10 year old game, and the story is incredible, especially given how short it was. There are no plot holes. Upon looking at interviews, the developers intentionally left some things as an exercise for the reader, and I'm not 100% settled whether or not that is the most satisfying way of doing it. Unfortunately its replayability is a little low, but I think its something you can revisit in a couple of years. There is a free roam mode once you beat it, but without fast travel it can get slightly annoying to visit places you haven't been and recollect all of the things you collected in the main game but without a real incentive but exploration. I very much like that they included it however. I would add that I'd like to be able to hop around and replay certain days, and see how different dialogue options play out.
I know this game is a decade old. I know they won't add these things. I just want it to be said.
I loved this game, I had been using their wallpapers for years and always wanted to get around to it, and it certainly did not disappoint. It did a very good job of making the exploration rewarding in its own rite, and I think they even could have removed the sprinting mechanic to make you absorb and take in your environment. They did a good job at making the characters lovable and relatable.
Even though its a decade old and only has max 8 hours of gameplay, I fully recommend this game. It was deep, funny, relatable, sad, beautiful all in one.

some of the achievements are super buggy and very frustrating to deal with, don't recommend for anyone that wants to 100%

I really enjoyed this game, it has some bugs, particularly in the movement and interaction department. But none if it made the game unplayable, just took me out of the moment for a second. The story, writing and voice acting is phenominal, my only real issue is with the ending, which only really resolves one side of the story in a satisfying way. Although i only played through it once and if i chose different dialogue options i might have gotten a more comprehensive conclusion.

Overall i absolutely recommend the game, was a great time and it's totally completable in one sitting, and if you like character driven narratives you will most likely thoroughly enjoy Firewatch.

Besides having an open world, we have freedom of choice, where we can choose whatever we want to make the game progress in one or another way. And I definitely like games where you can do whatever you want. Despite what achievements need to be achieved here. Although they can be collected in one playthrough, where there is an achievement to survive as many days as possible.

SPOILERS!

The visual design of this game is appealing. The graphics are simple but the colors and lighting have a cinematic feel to them. The beginning of this game make it seem like there might be a poignant or emotional story to be had here. Nope. The dialogue is very limited, so your "choices" are not great. The only dialogue is delivered to you by some dumb lady on the radio. This drunk broad keeps trying to get you to cheat on your dying wife with her...yet she is supposed to be your love interest. Frig off. I curved her every with every single dialogue choice and gave her no satisfaction or pleasure in our conversations. I am loyle to my capo. I didn't really find it in good taste that there is an option to emotionally cheat with someone when you have a sick wife dying at home...like what the fuck is that lol?! Couldn't they have just had the main character be fresh off a divorce or something instead, like damn...


A random stranger keeps assaulting me in the woods, yet nobody thinks to get a weapon, hold up and defend yourself, or stop "investigating" the "mystery". What is the mystery anyway? Two hikers got lost in the woods? I assumed they died from the beginning from the way the lady was talking about their disappearance. Then I find out them being dead was supposed to be a big reveal. Then the game just ends. I never got to go back to my dying wife. I never got to tell the drunk lady to fuck off. If the point of the game was that you shouldn't flee from your problems when they get difficult, it didn't really give an opportunity for closure. If the point of the game was to cheat on your dying wife and abandon her(!!...bruh) then I don't think you can actually do that either.

I'm not surprised this game has mostly good reviews. The graphics look nice for sure. It's a little bit immersive but the map navigation is a bit annoying. It's over in a few hours, and feels rushed. Most of the game is backtracking past trails you've already seen before. A main gameplay feature is actually using a map to navigate in an old-school manner. It's pretty cool at first but I thought by the end it wasn't fun and was a pain in the ass. This game is pretty linear, and you don't really get to explore. They still make you backtrack a fuckload and stare at your map to get around.

Don't give me the illusion of depth, the pretense of meaningful dielogue, or the hints of a complex story. This game is like a teaser to what could actually be a really good game but is ultimately an unsatisfying experience. The beginning starts off solid. The middle gets a little bogged down. The ending is pretty lame and fizzles out. With a bit more meaningful choices and a stronger ending, or more endings, this would be great. It's just okay right now.

---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☑ Beautiful
☐ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS

---{ Gameplay }---
☐ Very good
☐ Good
☑ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't

---{ Audio }---
☐ Eargasm
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf

---{ Audience }---
☐ Kids
☑ Teens
☐ Adults
☐ Grandma

---{ PC Requirements }---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☐ Potato
☑ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer

---{ Game Size }---
☐ Floppy Disk
☐ Old Fashioned
☑ Workable
☐ Big
☐ Will eat 15% of your 1TB hard drive
☐ You will want an entire hard drive to hold it
☐ You will need to invest in a black hole to hold all the data

---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☑ Easy
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Significant brain usage
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls

---{ Story }---
☐ No Story
☐ Some lore
☐ Average
☐ Good
☑ Lovely
☐ It'll replace your life

---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☑ Short
☐ Average
☐ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond

---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☑ Worth the price
☐ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money

---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☐ 7
☑ 8
☐ 9
☐ 10

Firewatch is absolutely fantastic, but it’s also not a game I can say too much about, since this is one of those games that is carried by it’s story and world. You play as Henry and are tasked with patrolling a forested area for fires. You’re basically entirely alone other than a woman, Delilah, who you talk with via radio. The dialog is fantastic and both characters are well written. The world has some stunning scenery and thanks to the cartoony look, it should age very well. The game also has some fantastic music. Without spoiling much there is a somewhat mysterious plot that takes place over the course of the game, so the game is more than just wandering around a forest. While it’s not a very long game, taking me just over 5 hours to 100%, and it does have more bugs than I would expect from such a short and fairly simple game, and it does suffer from traversal stutters; it was an absolutely fantastic experience that I paid 2 or 3 dollars for. I highly recommend this game to anyone who enjoys slower paced story rich games and can enjoy a game that his little to no gameplay.

Firewatch is an unforgettable journey into the Wyoming wilderness that left me hooked from start to finish. As Henry, a fire lookout, I spent my days exploring the tranquil forest, but it was the conversations with Delilah, my supervisor, that really pulled me in. The way their relationship develops over the radio feels real and emotional, with every interaction adding layers to the story. The visuals are absolutely stunning, and the peaceful surroundings make you want to explore every corner of the forest. The gameplay is pretty simple—mostly wandering and talking—but it’s the emotional depth and the slow-burn mystery that made me keep playing. It’s a short experience, but one that’s both beautiful and thought-provoking. Definitely a game I won’t forget anytime soon.

This game brought an experience I never had before in gaming. A beautiful world design and storytelling that will crush your mind.

I don't know how else to describe it other than beautiful. To be in the shoes of someone who is trying to go through struggles and hide from his problems only to find himself into new ones, all while exploring the gorgeous flora getting the thrills for the surprises along the story.

This game is sentimental, heartbreaking, fabulous and refresher out of action games.

this is perhaps the worst game i have ever had the displeasure of playing. i spent 2 hours collecting rocks and pinecones only to have them deleted from my home. the most fun i had was banging on a fence and putting every interactable object in my cabin onto my bed. nothing mattered. nothing was interesting. everything about this game sucked.

Almost a decade old and still a beautiful experience, While very short it gives a good insight of how everyone tries their best to escape their current reality but have to come to terms with the fact there really is not a easy way of running from the responsibilities you have. No matter what youll have to return to the things you tried so hard to run from. If youre looking for a chill relaxing game that will make you slightly mentally distraught, play this!

A short but worthwhile mystery/exploration game with a poignant story, great adaptive soundtrack and relatable, human characters.

A must play if you liked The Long Dark story mode, particularly Episode 2. Also check it out if you enjoyed the nature vibes and soundtrack of Paperbark, the outdoorsy exploration and painting mechanics of Eastshade, or the mystery and interpersonal aspects of Subnautica Below Zero.

I finished the story in about 5 hours and spent a bit longer in the free exploration mode to finish off the achievements.

LOVE IT

I played Firewatch right after Stray ( Orange car simulator) , and this type of game truly makes you feel like you’re in the character’s shoes—choosing the right words, making decisions, and immersing yourself in the experience. The colors, the world—it was all so relaxing. I only wish there was more to discover: more mysteries to solve, puzzles, books, and journals from past firewatchers.

But I truly felt betrayed when I never got to meet Delilah. It was heartbreaking. I spent the entire game wondering what she would look like after learning that she was four years older than me, unmarried, and without children. I kept asking myself why she left the firewatch station as soon as I arrived. Was I the last person she would ever talk to in this job? She once mentioned that she never spoke to the previous firewatchers the way she spoke to me. That thought stuck with me.

What a unexpected experience. Was going through my library looking for something to fill the weekend, and here I am three days later still thinking about this game. Atmospheric and narrative masterpiece, I'm sure many people were touched by and felt connection with Henry and his story. I honestly don't remeber when was the last time any piece of media made me feel that way.

This has to be one of my favorite games that I've played. I picked up this game at full price because I saw some pictures of it on TikTok, and it looked beautiful. I also liked Road 96, which isn't made by the same people but have very similar gameplay and vibe (the art style is so similar that I actually did think they were made by the same people lol). I finished the game in 4.8 hours. This was by just following the story. I never went off the path of the story, but the game has lots of different exploring options and caches you can collect that have no effect on the story other than for lore, it seems like. The scenery in this game is very beautiful and very eery at the same time. During the game, I felt super lonely and uncomfortable. I really liked the conversations between Henry and D and really enjoyed their relationship. I would definitely recommend this game but maybe at a discounted price. $20 for less than 5 hours is kinda crazy, but I enjoyed it.



Spoiler Alert

This game was very scary for me when, in reality, it wasn't scary at all. This game plays entirely off your imagination. The only real horror is your mind. I had never seen a game completely play off that and it was super cool. However, I did not like the ending. It felt like it was missing a lot. We finally found out who has been following us for the past 2 months, and we kinda just moved past it. I also wish we could've at least seen D in person, but I guess it suits her character that we don't. Their relationship also kinda tanks at the end to me. I feel like the end was very boring and could've used maybe a little happy moment, or a moment where I didn't feel lonely.

Great game with a great little story
Lags like hell on mac but still enjoyable if you don't mind it being slow

I want to love this game. The dialog, the characters, and the world building makes me feel so immersed. Then its all taken away by the simplicity of ending. I don't care if there something big going on or something small. Its simply you don't see any result of it all. Its a grand burger with lots of condiments, but it has no meat inside the burger ;-;. I want to see the end credits. I want to see the result of this game, whether the main character gained something or not. Nothing happened and my left feeling like I spent so long doing nothing. I want to see my wife!!!!! (ingame)
Tried making this review spoiler free but brev I'm just sad by the story.

Well done game for one evening. It wasn't amazing experience for me, especially because of backtracking and disappointing ending, but overall it's just nice.

The walking mechanics are awful. Keeps me in one spot and glitches out when I try to move.
Not even in an area where you would expect a glitch (out in the middle of an open area as opposed to being by trees, for example).
So frustrating, didn't continue with the game. 3/10 - fix the bugs.
How do you expect people to play what is essentially a walking simulator when the walking element isn't functional? Lame.

Gah, I'm so torn on this game...

On the one hand, Firewatch has great graphics, fantastic 10/10 dialogue, immersive gameplay and a really intriguing first act.

...on the other hand, the ending feels rushed and deeply unsatisfying.

In the end, I'll recommend it due to the first half. Just don't expect it to hold up all the way through (such a shame...)

I'm normally not interested in walking simulator type games, but this one really got me. Couldn't stop playing until I found out what the story is about. Great atmosphere, great story and just the right (relatively short) length for such a game. Highly recommended if it's on sale.

You're stuck to a track the entire time. The game isn't tagged as open world, but the videos on the store page give the impression that you can at least explore the world. You can't. The written description says, "explore a wild and unknown environment." Again, that's not what this game is. This is literally "follow the only line, click on the only thing that's there, then walk on the track to the next thing we tell you to click on." The atmosphere is nice, it's well written, and the story is kind of interesting. Not interesting enough to finish, though. This isn't a game; this is an unskippable quicktime event that lasts for hours. There isn't a single decision to be made at any point in time.

I don't normally leave bad reviews but I feel like the game was severely misrepresented on the store page. Like, I don't go to fast food places because I know I don't like fast food. This game's store page is like seeing sleek, studio-made pictures of a Big Mac and thinking it looks delicious...then you get one and you realize that you just got a dried up McDonald's burger and it doesn't even have special sauce. The game falls very, very far short of what's shown in the videos and description.

Unfortunately, I bought the game over two weeks ago and I'm not eligible for a refund.

Idk if I got the bad ending or what, but that story basically went no where and then just ended. It kind of felt like the writer didn't really have a vision or there were two writers with two different plot ideas and they settled in the middle.

Very very short, but on sale, definitely worth it! Linear but intriguing story. Atmospheric with nice music and cute graphics. Just hope there was more.

Fun and engaging story. Beautiful music.

Best story i have ever played, felt as if i was Henry, and Delilah was talking/flirting with me. The ending couldve been better, however the mystery of what Delilah looks like is also amazing, keeping in mind that the game takes place in 1989, when people would talk with strangers and never see them again, in this case being talking with your boss for the entire summer, catching feelings, but realising that its best that you go back to your wife in Australia, rather than start dating based on your pain. 10/10

One of the best games I've ever played. The graphics are delightful, the story is captivating with perfect pacing and just the right combo of relaxing and adventurous. I don't understand how there's still no game out there that seems to recreate this feeling, but I'm glad to revisit Firewatch whenever I need that cozy-spooky kick!

incredible, yet way too short took me about 3 hours to complete. There is very little replayability but your first playthrough is absolutely magical making you feel emotions you've never felt before.

Absolute Cinema. Literally could not stop playing once I started. Everything about this game was incredible, from the visuals and story, to the voice acting and the relationship with Henry and Delilah. Highly recommend this to anyone interested. 100% worth it

Beautiful game that doesn't overstay it's welcome. The atmosphere and pacing felt refreshing compared to modern AAA games.

Wonderful game, I see it gets a lot of hate for not having a "complete story line", IMO it is fully complete once you actually take into considerations the main characters back story.

Replay ability is available due to different dialog options and there is also a dev talk walk through that I absolutely loved.

In the end if you take the time and appreciate the design aspect for the work put into it this is a well flushed out game and I 100% recommend it.

This game is short, but it is perfection. Art direction is unmatched, so simple, yet every 10 seconds you just have to stand there and take it all in. The story is amazing, and the ending is just heartbreaking.

Really great game, the only thing that i dislike is the price. Because 20 euros is too much for a game this short. Buy it if its on sale.

the achievement bug was a bit annoying but all in all is a great game, with an amazing inspiring art style!

It's a very nice short little game, definitely worth the sale price.

This game had its moments, but overall was very boring. Ending felt rushed and lackluster, and the big reveal was disappointing.

What a story, just 3 hours and it's like... really.. really warm and nice.. if I have to review it.

Such a great game with a really interesting story, an absolutely wonderful artstyle and a perfect length so you can finish it in just one afternoon.

An absolute masterpiece! Firewatch is an absolute gem in the world of narrative-driven games. I would love a sequel to it but it probably wont be released in my lifetime. I do however look forward to trying out the developer's next game though! 10/10 highly reccomend

While Firewatch is a pretty decent game, I just can't bring myself to recommend it.
The story is mysterious and engaging, and even emotional at some points, only to end with a very disappointing ending: all the mystery gets a really boring and mundane explaination, and the emotional bits of the storyline just don't have any meaningful conclusion.

At the same time, the game is short, cheap and has some positives, like the charming artstyle, so it might still be worth a try.

Game kinda sucked. Lots of running around to places you've already been with pretty clunky movement. Found a lot of the dialogue way too quirky millennial pilled, which is not good for a narrative/story focused game. And like others have said, the plot built up to an interesting and almost scary conspiracy, that fizzled into a very mundane twist. Okay experience for like 5 bucks, don't buy at full price for the love of god.

An amazing story on a beautiful canvas. I wasn't ready to get so enthralled into this.

Lo compre después de acordarme de su existencia por vídeos en Youtube y la verdad no me decepciono. Aunque es algo corto su historia es buena, pero sus paisajes son extraordinarios <3, me pase más tiempo buscando los lugares con el mejor paisaje que siguiendo la historia principal. En verdad vale la pena darle un intento a este juego.