Gamer'Z ChoicE: Firewatch PC

Hello there readers after a long while am doing another review and ironically it is my first review of 2016. 'Firewatch' is a first person Indie/Adventure game developed by 'Campo Santo' and this game is a pleasant surprise of this till now.

I picked up this game from steam just on a whim without any prior or proper knowledge about it, the only thing i knew about it was from a short trailer I saw on E3 2015 and it was to my great surprise after playing it I realized how absolutely pleasant it really is and how this Indie title separates itself from the masses.

Story/Plot

The game starts by gives you a narration of our protagonist's back story in a textual format but still it managed to attract a gamer's attention and felt attached to the character in a mature manner. The game presents us the story of 'Henry' who to escapes his sorrowful and despondent life to work as a Fire Lookout in Wyoming wilderness for the summer and the game follows how he spent his 79 Days of summer as Fire Lookout, apart from our protagonist the game features only one other character 'Delilah' a lookout from another region with whom 'Henry' only interacts using a radio day in and day out.

The main story arc of this game surrounds the strange and mysterious incidents occurring around the forest and these two lookouts trying sort them out. This game takes a very mature progression of the Story line where players gets attached to both 'Henry' and 'Delilah' and how these two support each other just via talking through a radio, you could actually experience a bond forming between these two strangers over a radio and in their common struggle to unravel the mystery.

The ending to the plot would not be as climactic as one might expect but still it manages to provide you with a complete satisfactory conclusion and if you could think about it by not giving a much climactic ending the game shows its maturity and I personally admires it, the only drawback was that the game was pretty short even with casual pace and exploration it would hardly take 4-5 hours of gameplay.

Gameplay

Speaking of Gameplay it is a simple first person Adventure game with a small hint of simulation, where developer opted for a no HUD gameplay which I prefer most of the time and tried keeping complexities to a minimum giving a player to completely cherish the the fire lookout experience the game has to offer, it is a great example on how simple gameplay can be engaging and effective. Climbing down or rappelling through ravines, going through wilderness and keeping check on campers and finding caches, finding amusing easter eggs, reporting incidents back to station, interactive talking with 'Delilah' or simply hiking through forest and exploring.

The Gameplay offers nice variant vistas of Wyoming Wilderness and provides a play through grounds which very neatly hides it's linearity and small area but even with its limited are the game still manages to keep the play through interesting and non repetitive.

Visual/Sound FX

Visual of this game is what is generally called a bold 2-D graphic style and with that sense of in game visuals you can't really go wrong, the graphics are soft with nice and pleasant light effects and evenly textured wilderness which could be found appealing.

The sound Score of this game along with voice acting is one of the biggest selling point about this game right along with its plot. With game only featuring two characters a whole lot depended on their act and they pulled it off splendidly without a doubt and its Music score offers mild singular tunes sounding pleasant to ear, the which you could literally listen on for hours at the end and typically transitioning swiftly based on ambiance.

Final Words

'Firewatch' is a great game and a total unexpected surprise that snuck up on me. This game is the very definition of pleasant, it shows off its attributes in its simplicity and maturity in manner of both its story arc and gameplay, with nothing to go wrong visuals and a truly amazingly peaceful soundtrack and splendid voice cast that makes you attached with just two characters in entire game. No matter which sort of gamer you are this game is one of the must have experience.

Pros - Compelling and Mature Story Arc, simple yet engaging Gameplay, Amazingly peaceful SoundScore accompanied by splendid Voice Performance.

Cons - Story was a bit short, Ending not as climactic as one might expect.

Rating - 9.4/10