The only outcome is that I experience the relevant plot variant. It can be a struggle to behave well in real life, so being able to pick obviously good choices in games is cathartic. Hell, I've literally sacrificed my digital life for the greater good in other games. My characters are saccharine moral arbiters saintly and self-sacrificing. I'm the kind of player who plays as a good person. There was no option to behave selflessly, to move with her, and this bothered me. I could either dissuade my wife from taking her dream job or I could insist that she commutes. About half-way through the prologue, you're asked how you respond to Henry's wife Jules being offered a job in a place to which you would not like to move.īoth options are inherently selfish. Some were innocuous, such as choosing to own a big dog or a small dog. I'm so accustomed to games either offering myriad choice or no choice at all that it was momentarily jarring to be asked to dictate events within the limited degrees of Henry. Every choice ends up with Henry in the woods, running from his problems. My stamp on the character's backstory was inconsequential. You're given stark either/or options and they're restrictive my agency was minimal. You're asked to make some choices here, and my first reaction was disappointment. You're presented with narrative vignettes interspersed between snippets of you-as-Henry trekking along a gorgeous mountain trail. You can read Polygon's review as well.įirewatch's opening resembles a Twine game or a Choose Your Own Adventure book. It may also explore more of someone’s personality - good and bad.Warning: The following will contain Firewatch spoilers, right up to the game's ending, so it's probably better if you go and play the game before reading this. The conversations Henry and Delilah have during those moments can create distinct inside jokes during your play through that I may never experience. Vanaman wants each player’s experience to feel completely natural, with the potential to turn out different from each other. “The game is listening for quiet time, so if nothing is said for 20 seconds or so, Delilah will call you with a character moment.” You can engage or ignore however you deem appropriate. “The goal is to just make that relationship feel as natural as possible,” Campo Santo Co-Founder Sean Vanaman told IGN. I buy into Henry as a person, even though he can be crass, or a curmudgeon, and that empathy makes me want to see which dark, strange places his summer goes. When Henry discovers someone in the woodland shadows looking at him, or finds his watchtower trashed by a mysterious vandal, it’s difficult to believe everything Delilah says. With confidence, Campo Santo has created grounded, regular, imperfect people, and they are an incredibly strong emotional anchor for Firewatch’s intriguing mystery story. However each engagement ended, I always believed in the moments that led Henry there. Reject it, and Henry may feel like a bitter, joyless man. Indulge Delilah’s insufferable puns and you’ll see Henry’s sardonic, self-aware side come out. Your approach to those scenarios creates the building blocks of their relationship all while exploring their personalities. These people barely know each other on Henry’s first day as a lookout, and they navigate each others’ emotions as high-strung, worn-out, middle-aged adults would. Firewatch is mature, in the grown-up sense. These dialogue choices don’t dictate the outcome of Henry’s story so much as cement a tone in his relationship with Delilah. An on-point joke could alleviate earlier stress. Tense, terse interactions obliterate the levity of previous scenes in a convincing, sobering way. Both characters have run afoul with alcohol, and are prone to believable shifts in attitude, up and down, based on how they speak with each other. Delilah makes questionable relationship decisions. Henry is isolated in the wilderness while his marriage withers. Play Firewatch focuses on flawed individuals: A fire lookout rookie named Henry, and his boss, Delilah.
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