Firewatch (2016) - Game Review

Hello, it's Yanni again! I apologize for the lack of reviews and posts on this blog as I (and Chris as well) have been quite busy the past couple of months (and that not many films are coming out that interest us majorly). 
Thanks to Chris for making that lovely announcement recently, but even so, I decided to review this recent video game that has been causing some stir, and praise. I have seen other people play it and have also played it myself, and I've got to say, it surprised me! Even so, this is just a preparation review before the "Batman (1989)" review probably coming in the next couple of weeks (or presumingly if I'm productive enough). Also, if you're wondering where "The Usual Suspects" review is, it's still in the making but I didn't continue it yet - even though it's almost finished.

Anywho, here's my review for the newly released and critically acclaimed: "Firewatch".

(WARNING! MIGHT CONTAIN SPOILERS, BUT I GUARANTEE IT DOESN'T SPOIL THE ENDING OR THE MAJOR PLOT POINTS.)

The Plot Overview (According to the Official Site):
"Firewatch" is a mystery set in the Wyoming wilderness, where your only emotional lifeline is the person on the other end of a handheld radio. 
The year is 1989.

You are a man named Henry who has retreated from your messy life to work as a fire lookout in the Wyoming wilderness. Perched atop a mountain, it's your job to find smoke and keep the wilderness safe. An especially hot, dry summer has everyone on edge. Your supervisor, a woman named Delilah, is available to you at all times over a small, handheld radio - and is your only contact with the world you've left behind. 

But when something strange draws you out of your lookout tower and into the world below, you'll explore a wild and unknown environment, facing questions and making interpersonal choices that can build or destroy the only meaningful relationship you have.

The Story:

The story is very interesting with the opening sequence being gut-wrenchingly heartbreaking. We play as a character named Henry who decided to leave his past behind to work as a Fire Lookout, in which he's stationed at the Two Forks Lookout Area. The story is very dialogue driven and doesn't really include any action at all, and is more along the lines of the Telltale Games series: "The Wolf Among Us", "The Walking Dead" and "Tales from the Borderlands", which were written very realistically and well, just like this game.
Throughout the whole game we're strengthening our relationship with our boss / supervisor Delilah, but when Henry (the player) starts discovering interesting and unusual things happening around him, he and Delilah must act fast to get to the bottom of this mystery.
I very much enjoyed the beginning and middle of the game, although it takes around 4 hours to complete the entire game (which is pretty short). It is particularly fast paced - excluding the fairly slow first couple of days, as it starts to speed up after you completed the third day. Getting to the climax, everything was very tense, with much mystery and unknowingness to the entire world around you. It feels like you're being watched or that everything is somewhat a dream.

The Characters:

The two main characters, Henry and Delilah are written beautifully. They are realistic and the way the dialogue flows into one another makes it sound like a proper conversation and they both are definitely the main positives of this game. Henry is voiced by Mad Men star: Rich Sommer and Delilah is voiced by Cissy Jones. Both did an excellent job in capturing the essence of their respected characters and the game itself.
The humour as well is done exceptionally good and I have to give major praise to the writers and voice actors for doing such a great job in creating such a realistic conversation and story between two characters whom both are likable and aren't the standard characters we see in a lot of stories. Even though we don't see the character's faces, just by their voices, we can already imagine how they look like - their appearance doesn't even affect or matter to this story, all that matters is the character development which "Firewatch" does ever so greatly.

The Setting:

I can't begin to even talk about the setting and how beautiful each and every single frame of this game is. Everywhere you look, I guarantee that it's suitable for a desktop background. I love how the game developers decided to not go for a "realistic" type of art style but instead, a cartoonish style. There are particular parts where the scenery looks better than others - one such occasion is where our character, Henry is sitting down on the edge of some rocks, eating a sandwich while we're looking towards the sunset.
Nothing about this game can possibly top the surroundings of the forest and how beautifully it's made and done.
To be honest, if you just played the game and walked around the forest already makes "Firewatch" so calming and soothing because of the lovely art style and design which not so many video games can do so.

The Conclusion:

This game is definitely worth playing, and if you don't, it's okay to watch other people play it on YouTube. The lovely scenery, the wonderfully written characters and just the tension build up makes this game extremely hard to not play the whole way through. It is short, as it's only around 4 hours long, but even still, the game does pace quickly but reasonably. 

The only main problem I have with this game, which is a huge bummer, but everyone also agrees on, is that the ending is a little bland and doesn't seem as exciting or interesting as you might expect it to be. There is an alternative ending however if you want to figure that out, but either way, the ending somehow seemed rushed and the mystery just felt wasted after all the tension caused since the beginning.

Overall, I'd give this game a 9/10, and I definitely recommend you to give this little game a try! 

- Yanni :)

** The "Batman" (1989) review is coming next Thursday whereas the "The Usual Suspects" (1995) review (sorry it took so long!) is coming on Sunday or Monday depending if I finish it in time.