I picked the game up because of graphic designer Olly Moss, whom I knew for his awesome movie posters (seriously, check them out).
The premise: in 1989, Henry (Rich Sommer), a man escaping from serious family problems, accepts a job as a fire lookout in the Shoshone National Park, which means he will be alone for months doing menial tasks in the beautiful wilderness; his only contact is Delilah (Cissy Jones), his quirky supervisor, who lives in a relatively nearby tower and communicates with Henry via walkie-talkie. However, strange events begin to occur, park visitors disappear, someone stalks Henry and spies on him and Delilah.
This first-person adventure/mystery is the kind of game some players praise as an incredible experience while others contemptuously peg as a boring "walking simulator". Let's find some middle ground. Firewatch has several strong points. Visuals are luscious, no surprise here given Moss' talent. Acting and dialogue are top-notch: the interactions between Henry and Delilah, ranging from amusing to touching, are the core of the game. The story is compelling, sometimes emotional, often quite unnerving, with an atmosphere of rising paranoia as your main character explores the area, often at night, while he and Delilah realize mysterious enemies conspire against them.
Gameplay is scant. The player basically: 1) hikes through the wilderness checking map and compass to reach various destinations; 2) chooses dialogue options when discussing with Delilah; 3) interacts with items in a way that never goes beyond "pick up, open or activate". There really are no *puzzles* as in "use the thing with the thing to unlock the other thing" like in LucasArts, Sierra or even Wadjet Eye adventure games.
While the narrative kept my interest until the end, the last act feels anticlimactic, with some setups never paid off and some developments weakly set up.
Still, this can be a short but engrossing experience. For the record, I completed the game in seven and a half hours and I often got lost in the woods; I can't see anyone taking much longer unless his sense of direction is truly abysmal!
7/10
