Review of the game "Firewatch"

Article by Tyler 'Brent' Shadow

The best game where you never see anyone else.

This game was delightful, if short. The runtime is about 5 hours if you're prone to exploring every bit of the map, but it is a fantastic 5 hours. The voice acting is extremely well done, and the art style is perfect for the setting, a Wyoming forest in the summer. Without giving away any plot, this is a narrative RPG. You (Henry) take a job as a firewatch ranger in the forest for a summer, where your only other contact is your boss, Delilah, with whom you only communicate via radio. The game tackles some realistic situations, not just with being alone in the forest, but life situations in general, with very well-written dialog to accompany it. This is definitely best played in as few sittings as possible, with no distractions, preferably with some good headphones, to get yourself completely immersed in the experience. I've only played it once, but I will definitely give it another go-round once I'm finished with Mass Effect: Andromeda (review for this coming soon!). If you're at all interested in the narrative RPG genre, or are just looking for a good story, I would highly recommend Firewatch. It's $19.99 on Steam, or $24.99 with the game soundtrack, which is also wonderful. This game is beautiful and very well made. Don't miss it.