- Publisher: Panic Inc.
- Release Date: Feb 9, 2016
- Also On: PlayStation 4, Switch, Xbox One
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
- Unscored
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PC PowerPlayApr 7, 2016A bold experiment in semi-interactive narrative that doesn't quite succeed. [Issue#249, p.58]
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Feb 24, 2016No one can deny that Firewatch is full of promise. The problem is that it rarely fulfills it.
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Feb 22, 2016It’s an interesting take on the usual “walking simulator” and a dividing experience that many will appreciate. The art direction is great, as are most of the dialogues between the characters, and yet the closure of the story isn’t fully satisfying. It could have been... more.
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Feb 16, 2016A trip to the wonderfully stylized nature of wild Wyoming fully wakes your imagination. Unfortunately, a well-developed story doesn´t reach to a satisfactory ending. Thanks to excellent dialogues, fabulous views and immersive atmosphere Firewatch certainly deserves your attention.
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Feb 16, 2016It’s a beautiful, beguiling place to spend some time, absolutely worth it while you’re there, but sooner rather than later you’ll yearn to shed its shackles, to get off the beaten path.
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Feb 15, 2016With both the beauty of Firewatch and its varied tones and exploration, this is one game that will resonate with players just as variously.
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Feb 11, 2016Firewatch uses extremely atmospheric woods to tell a nice story in four hours time. That same forest is keeping you from feeling free though, and the story misses depth. Was this game a bit too ambitious? It certainly seems so.
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Feb 11, 2016In essence, Firewatch is a scavenger hunt for adults who know something of life’s disappointments.
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Feb 8, 2016Firewatch is full of excellent dialogue, breathtaking moments, and stunning vistas, but ultimately amounts to nothing much at all.
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Feb 8, 2016It's the equivalent of a quality short novel: brief but intense, it will leave something behind. It's also a very passive experience, so don't dive in if you're looking for adventures: you won't find anything of sorts. But it's nonetheless a unique experience in a way, something you've never experienced before.
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Feb 8, 2016It turned out that the plot was one giant misdirect whose resolution felt disappointing. Firewatch's ending also failed to lend any emotional weight to Henry and Delilah’s relationship. That made me question whether Henry had forged a relationship with her at all—which made me wonder why it was worth talking to her for six hours.
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Feb 8, 2016I wasn’t very fulfilled by Firewatch. It’s not that I’m not susceptible to a story told in this format – on the contrary, what kept my interest for the duration was how the story was delivered. But its shadow boxing with video gamey elements didn’t amount to anything substantial, and when everything else ends up hinging on the story on offer, the resulting experience sadly feels less than essential.
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Feb 8, 2016It's a shame Firewatch fails as a mystery because it succeeds in so many other ways. Its world is captivating, its design is clever, and its characters are among the most well-written in gaming. Though it might sound counterintuitive, the plot is in many ways secondary to the relationship you build between Henry and Delilah, and that portion of the game is truly inspired.
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Feb 8, 2016Firewatch doesn’t live up to the high expectations as it’s too unpolished and too plotty to leave any sort of lasting impression. Its best moments are gripping and worth checking out but the overall package is a tad underwhelming.
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| This publication has not posted a final review score yet. | |
| These unscored reviews do not factor into the Metascore calculation. | |
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Apr 2, 2016Firewatch does some clever things with the central mystery to toy with the expectations of people accustomed to playing video games, but it never delivers strongly enough on that idea — or any other. As strong as the two characters at the heart of the game are, this is a story that struggles to find its voice.
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Feb 8, 2016Firewatch is a rare and beautiful creation, that expands the possibilities for how a narrative game can be presented, without bombast or gimmick. It’s delicate, lovely, melancholy and wistful. And very, very funny. A masterful and entrancing experience.
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Feb 8, 2016There is no fast-paced action or head-scratching puzzles, so the dialogue needs to carry a lot of Firewatch’s weight. Thankfully, the nuanced and intimate performances led by Mad Men’s Rich Sommer and Cissy Jones, of Telltale’s The Walking Dead, are more than up to the task.
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Feb 8, 2016Firewatch may leave you before you’re ready to be done with it; like Gone Home, Oxenfree et cetera it’s a six-hour experience that you can easily start after lunch and finish before bed. But it’s an emotional gut-punch all the way through, for many reasons, and largely a pleasure to explore and find yourself lost in—mentally, if not geographically. This is your next must-play story, another voyage to a place games don’t often take us.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 922 out of 1504
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Mixed: 361 out of 1504
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Negative: 221 out of 1504
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Feb 9, 2016
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Feb 9, 2016
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Feb 10, 2016