The roteness of the treks perhaps is purposeful. Occasionally you’ll need to search an area for clues, but it’s never tougher than a sporting round of Where’s Waldo. Aside from not getting lost, there isn’t challenge or variation (I have a very poor sense of direction, but only lost my way once during my playthrough). You hike around a yawning forested area, using a map and compass to find your way to and from key locations, backtracking over the same areas multiple times. Mechanically, Firewatch seems almost dull. Conversation is the thrust of Firewatch, and when you aren’t talking the air fills with that dreaded, discomforting silence. Not only is Delilah the voice in Henry’s ear, she’s the only human contact for a stretch that spans weeks. There’s a strange kind of intimacy that comes from knowing a person only by their words. In the beginning she mainly just tells him what to do, like investigate a downed power line or deal with troublesome drunk teens. At all times he carries a walkie-talkie that puts him in touch with his supervisor Delilah. Though Henry is physically isolated, he’s never really alone. Most time is spent hiking around the park, doing various chores. The game plays out like most first-person adventures (think Gone Home or Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture). It’s not the job itself he’s interested in it’s the solitude. She goes to live with her family in Australia and Henry decides to get away from everything and move to Wyoming to become a fire lookout. Eventually you learn that Julia is very sick, and that Henry maybe isn’t the right person to look after her. You even get to choose which dog they adopt. You’ll learn about their courtship, their life together, and at certain points you’ll be able to make choices, deciding what Henry does or says at key points.

Words flash by on screen, telling you how our lead met his wife Julia. It’s then that you realize that being out in the wilderness makes you vulnerable, and that the seemingly tranquil setting is actually perfect for terror.įirewatch stars a man named Henry, and the beginning of his story plays out a bit like a text adventure crossed with that depressing opening sequence from Pixar’s Up. But eventually things take a turn for the sinister. You’re able to enjoy nice talks with your supervisor over the radio, and everything feels serene. And it starts out that way, with solitary treks through the woods that feel almost meditative. I thought the peaceful surroundings, rendered with a dreamlike quality by artist Olly Moss, would be a soothing change of pace from the brown and grey found in most blockbuster games. Similarly, I originally imagined that playing Firewatch - a new adventure game about being a fire lookout in a national park in Wyoming - would be relaxing. The quiet isn’t something I’ve ever gotten used to. I’ve read enough detective novels to know what happens in the woods at night. Every sound - whether it’s the crackle of the fire or an animal off in the distance - becomes thundering. When you’re used to the steady murmur of traffic and people and all of the other noises that come from urban life, a quiet evening in the woods feels alien. It’s not the bears or the fires that scare me - it’s the silence. People usually go camping to relax and get away from the stress of city life, but I’ve always found it to be terrifying.

Firewatch ps4