This!

It's nice to be able to progress in a game without having to kill your way to the end.

Firewatch isn't the first game where you don't have to kill something/someone or avoid being killed, but those games are in a minority. It wouldn't hurt if more game devs tried this approach a bit more often. Having a story where you have to kill to get to the end is getting a bit cliché.

Firewatch is also a game you play for the story. Now, here's the kicker, not all stories are for everyone. In the same way that not everyone likes Game of Thrones. That doesn't make GoT a bad series, in the same way that Firewatch isn't a bad game because someone didn't like the story.

You know, each to their own.

So this thread has been long dead. But I just feel like I have to add to it. (No spoilers)

This game is fun because an good (Not great but good) story is being told by exceptional voice actors. The gameplay and world are just a backdrops to this voice acting story. But the backdrops are in itself also very well done, the art style and pacing are excellent, and the subtle clue's it provides helps to build the tension.

Secondly, I enjoy hiking in real life, and this is a nice break from all the shooters and RPG's ive been playing. It felt like a free vacation with a great story to boot.

I copuldn't agree more LeviathanX2.
Good explanation.

Yeah I suspect the OP was trolling here. I've gotta jump in as well.. this game is just.. unique. I finished it a year ago and I swear, out of my 200+ games on GOG and Steam I find myself every once in a while just thinking about THIS game. There was something about the story. I felt like I was really there and a part of it. I MISS being a part of it. I know it's not really re-playable much, but a year after beating it I find myself on the forums writing this and reinstalling and thrilled to reload it and see if the magic is still there.

Give this game a go if you're on the fence. It's truly one of a kind and it's a real treasure. Best played alone in the dark without distractions. Let yourself sink right in.

Gonna have to chime in as well, despite the age of this thread...

LeviathanX2 and Madrigal74 give great explanations of why this game is worth a try from a story, atmosphere, and (to a lesser extend) gameplay perspective but, for me, like Madrigal74 also hints at, it goes a bit deeper than that.

For me it was escapism in the truest sense of the word -- a few years ago, while road-tripping in the US, I visited Yellowstone National Park and that experience had a huge impact on me. It's possibly my favorite place in the world and, in another life, I might have ended up there in a situation very similar to Henry's. This game let me have a taste of what that might be like -- the solitude, which is very appealing to me, being surrounded by this beautiful, natural landscape, taking care of it, the simplicity of that kind of life... It's a romanticisation of an idea that's very close to me.

[Old thread I know, but need to debrief with some thoughts] Yeah.. the story and the interaction design choices (i.e. too limited) kinda let it down for me. They created an amazing, lush, beautiful 3D world and then plonked a linear adventure game on the top. o.0 I'm not sure how I feel about being given dialogue choices that make no difference to the story, but it would have been nice to know that going in. And I found the [spoiler]conspiracy paranoia[/spoiler] really jarred with the setting and detracted from the other deeper themes/issues/events going on, which would have been more satisfying to explore. ..I'd be keen if they make another, different game set in the same location ;D

Another year, another post in this thread ;-)
This is the "story of a summer" type of game and I guess that's why people remember it. In the end, it becomes a fond memory, provided you got into it. Speaking of which, there is a VR mod out there, that makes it a beautiful experience if you have the right gear for it.

You got me... I was fooled by all the vacuous praise this game gets. Instead, it's right up there with "Paint Drying Simulator".

It's pretty ugly and amateurish looking comic book style graphics and while I can overlook that for good gameplay, I really don't see what "great story" people are talking about. There is nothing that compels me to continue.

The dispatcher on the radio is highly annoying. I want to just tell her to STFU and leave me alone.

Poor navigation direction. Half the time I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing, either.

Easy to get stuck on the path in various places and much of the time I don't have full range of motion.

Ridiculous premise, that I'm hired to do this job without even the basic necessities. Supply caches with "old toilet paper" and books I can "examine" by zooming in on the cover a little. Bollocks.

This is all coming from someone that generally LIKES "walking simulators", but this is a non-interesting disconnect.

Hello everyone!

My take on liking or not liking such story-focussed games as "Firewatch" is that it depends a lot on whether you can somewhat relate to the characters or not.

When I first played "Firewatch" years ago I could relate to the main character's pull back towards nature, his hiking and climbing experience and thought that the non-climactic ending was kind of refreshing.

Nowadays, I relate much more to Henry's emotional dilemma. With my own experiences during and after the pandemic, I can comprehend the protagonist's motivation much more on a personal level. (I guess, the developers or relatives of one of them must have been through something alike in real life. Hence, they could depict it so delicately, yet impactful.)

And a very small detail during the gameplay catches me each time with a surprise: it is up to the player to realize that Henry takes off his wedding ring, leaves it on the table, and it is totally up to you [the player] to leave it there or pick it up and put it on again--a simply touching scene with suitable commentary from the protagonist if you choose to do it.
Each time it would really disturb me to not put the ring back on, no matter what has happened recently...

With respect to the other qualities of "Firewatch", I think the amazing voice over performances are still outstanding!
Both characters' voice actors know exactly when to hit a serious, melancholic, emotional or humorous tone, and their interaction feels very grounded. And as far as "walking sims" go, "Firewatch" has a surprising amount of actual gameplay and meaningful interactions besides those for merely scene dressing.
And finally regarding the graphics, they are somewhat lower poly and lower fidelity almost comic-style, but very moody and at least for me in a sense more timeless.

Kind regards,
foxgog