Firewatch

So there was a massive gap in completions lately owing to taking part in the Ultimate Head to Head contest and I sort of got side-tracked with other things while gaming took a back seat for a while. But it soon became time to tidy up the mess I’d made and the first game in line for finishing was Firewatch.

In Firewatch, we play as Henry who leaves his home town and ill wife to go and live in a forest watching out for and calling in forest fires… hence the term Firewatch. You play out a weird little scenario that addresses certain aspects of being alone, namely paranoia. While there is a decent narrative story here as the relationship between Henry and Delilah unfolds, the game element is very tedious and annoying at times.

So where to start? Firstly, the narrative choices. A game with narrative choices like this implies that there are different courses to follow. Upon completing I did a quick Google fact check to see if there was any replay value and there wasn’t.  A bit disappointing considering the game wants you to make choices.

The only other gameplay aspect is the exploring factor. It’s hard to know where you are going but it’s okay because they give you a map… that you have to look at as if you were actually exploring a real forest by holding it up in front of you as you are walking around. It’s annoying having to constantly check the map and orienteer. Not exactly my idea of escapism.

Lastly are my issues with Henry as a character. He sucks. He’s not playable in a way that I like, you can’t be overly evil or good; you can only pick different shades of whiny in terms of dialogue responses. There isn’t humour or a satisfying end result either. The journey is still good though.

Achievements – 1,000 Points – 10 Achievements

It’s a 4 to 5-hour completion and another minimal list of achievements, none of which are missable, however most of which aren’t story related either. It’s possible to wander about in woods just following objectives and you will net 5 out of 10.

The other 5 are all mini-collectibles for wandering off the beaten track and encountering chance events, such as finding a turtle and getting attacked by a racoon. These are all easy to find… but only if you know where to look. The map is quite vast and sometimes tricky to navigate but there are no real problems with completing the game.

Downloadable Content – N/A

Firewatch, while not a great gaming experience, is a solid narrative one with a brave subject matter. However, the big issue with this one is the price. It’s retailing on the Xbox store for £15.99 which isn’t worth it for what it offers.