Firewatch

 Switch
User Score
6.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 46 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 27 out of 46
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 46
  3. Negative: 9 out of 46

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  1. RedRice
    Apr 4, 2019
    9
    "9" because of some texture pops and slowdowns in some areas. Everything else was perfect, a laid back, story-driven game. It is not often that a game affects my outlook in life, loss and what love really is. I was able to immediately relate to Henry, the main character. The ending leaves you thinking and reminiscing.
  2. Shouka
    Jun 24, 2020
    10
    I absolutely loved this game from end to beginning, absolutely lovely visuals. And the story was awesome too. Overall a 10/10 for me
  3. Linzlue62
    Apr 25, 2021
    10
    FireWatch is one of my all time favorite games. It’s an emotional story that you feel a part of. Explores the concepts of human interaction and the need to be wanted and loved, our nature for companionship and our need to be in nature. This game has a way of sucking you into its world, and you feel yourself feeling the emotions with Henry as he experiences them. I’ve revisited this gameFireWatch is one of my all time favorite games. It’s an emotional story that you feel a part of. Explores the concepts of human interaction and the need to be wanted and loved, our nature for companionship and our need to be in nature. This game has a way of sucking you into its world, and you feel yourself feeling the emotions with Henry as he experiences them. I’ve revisited this game several times and I’m satisfied everytime. Drop your guard and you will be surprised what this game has to offer. Hope to see more games like this one day. Enjoyed every minute of it.… Expand
  4. nusco
    Jan 7, 2019
    7
    An intriguing short story that doubles as a hiking simulator. Great voice acting, but the immersion is slightly spoiled by a low frame rate on the Nintendo Switch.
  5. btmgov
    Dec 3, 2022
    7
    This game is highly overrated. It's not a bad game, but it is totally forgettable. I wouldn't go out of my way too far to give it try. After all the reviews I read before playing, I was disappointed.
  6. abhijeetgaiha
    Apr 24, 2019
    8
    The game play is simply a hiking simulator but the engrossing story and stunning visuals keep you hooked till the very end. The Switch version has frame rate issues that can be occasionally jarring and the length is short at less than 5 hours. Overall, still enjoyed the game a heck of a lot.
  7. katjaS
    Apr 14, 2020
    9
    Played this docked with headphones on a big screen, with compass and map only (i.e. no map location) and enjoyed every minute. What a beautiful, immersive, relaxing experience. I've spent another hour in the free hiking bonus game (with continuous time, i.e. the sun rises and sets) directly after finishing because I didn't want to leave the forest. Kind of matches the idea of the story,Played this docked with headphones on a big screen, with compass and map only (i.e. no map location) and enjoyed every minute. What a beautiful, immersive, relaxing experience. I've spent another hour in the free hiking bonus game (with continuous time, i.e. the sun rises and sets) directly after finishing because I didn't want to leave the forest. Kind of matches the idea of the story, which seems to explore human escapism.

    Compass orientation without map location should be the default as it adds to the immersion during the first few hours when you don't know the area well yet. Learning to use natural landmarks to determine where you are fits the setting well.

    Storytelling, dialogue, voice acting, variety and details in the surrounding nature are excellent. I would have wished to see a few more animals or animal traces at least, there are almost none (you can hear a few birds and insects). I will replay this game as the dialogue can take different directions depending on your choices and speed. You can even choose to not talk to Delilah at all. Firewatch also comes with audio commentary. I've found that the ending fits the idea of the story very well, but you may need certain life experiences to understand why Henry (and you?) wished it would have been different.

    People claiming that you can finish Firewatch in under 4 hours must have been rushing (running) from checkpoint to checkpoint, and must have missed a lot of exploration, looking closely at items (there are a few hidden story hints, e.g. in scribbles), side-tracking or just taking a look at the beautiful scenery and taking photos. I needed two long evenings (7h) and still felt that I've rushed through a few sections. Take your time and let the atmosphere sink in, it is worth it.

    All console versions of this game seem to have performance issues, but imho on my Switch play through they were minor. There were brief stutters from time to time, and about 5 times during the entire game it got stuck for a 1-3 seconds to reload. None of these issues harmed my flow or experience of the game. All the rest of the game was smooth. Check out Switch gameplay videos if you want to see for yourself (but be very careful not to pick up spoilers). The performance issues were more noticeable during the free hiking bonus game, hopefully this will get patched.

    This would be an amazing VR game too.    … Expand
  8. n3d
    Nov 24, 2019
    5
    I would recommend playing it on another console and this port doesn't do justice. Frame drops, excessive load times and overall choppy experience on otherwise an excellent game.
  9. Gerdo
    Jun 30, 2020
    8
    Yes, this is not a perfect game. It is a bit clunky and the visuals are not the best. However, the story and the narrative are at the top of their game. It manages to touch your feelings and that is what I appreciate the most in gaming. Highly recommended not as a game but as an experience.
  10. denden1088
    Feb 14, 2021
    4
    A great game marred by frame drops and low resolutions and blurry textures. While the Nintendo Switch is not the most powerful of consoles by a large margin, the game could be running much better instead of the mess it is now and as a tip for many people, don't try to run the game while on handheld mode unless you're ok with sub 29 FPS framerates for most of the game.
  11. BeeSting1
    Jan 1, 2021
    7
    Hiking. Discovering. And making a friend.

    The Good: - The scenery is beautiful. Lighting is done very well. It adjust accordingly if you're surrounded by a lot of rocks, making it more orange. And changes again if you're amidst a lot of trees. I felt very relaxed while journeying through the areas. - Having no HUD and a traditional map with a simple compass, made the navigation    Hiking. Discovering. And making a friend.

    The Good:

    - The scenery is beautiful. Lighting is done very well. It adjust accordingly if you're surrounded by a lot of rocks, making it more orange. And changes again if you're amidst a lot of trees. I felt very relaxed while journeying through the areas.

    - Having no HUD and a traditional map with a simple compass, made the navigation more realistic, and more adventurous. It made me feel I was in the wilderness with only my wits and very basic equipment.

    - There isn't much background music, but when there was, it matched what was happening in the game, like if you were about to discover something important, it'd ramp up. If you were just hiking leisurely, it'll be relaxing.

    - The conversations with Delilah was very natural. Both your dialogue choices and her responses felt like they were having a real conversation. By the end of the game, I really felt like I made a friend. The jokes and puns were plentiful, but when things were serious, it was made believable too.

    - The plot went in all sorts of directions. Started off slow and heavy, but went into mystery mode. But finished with a rather mellow ending.

    - As a person who has lived alone most of my life, and prefer it, I could relate to the life style Henry had during his time at the watch tower. The experience of living in a small area, and travelling alone spoke to me. Having a single reliable companion is also all I really want in life, which happened to be what Delilah was to Henry during his time there, which I could also deeply relate to.

    - I've also lost a past partner partly due to an incurable illness that she developed. So in a way, I could relate to how Henry felt during the time he struggled with Julia's dementia. Though dementia is probably worse, since she temporarily forgets Henry, only for it to get worse as time goes on.

    - The ending was rather disappointing, but it wasn't bad. Admittedly, it was more realistic than a government cover up. But what made me sad was how Delilah didn't give Henry a chance. I felt they bonded so much during that time, even if only through radio. I chose dialogue options that geared towards moving on, and starting a new life with Delilah. Although what Julia and Henry had were great, I just can't see how it could work out with her dementia. It's a very hard situation either way.

    - There were parts in the game where I felt a lot of suspense even walking through a cartoon looking forest, which no game has ever made me feel with that kind of art style. Spoiler ahead: This was during the time when Henry and Delilah were found out they were being tracked. After Henry got knocked out the first time, I thought someone might come out of nowhere and attack him. I even thought Delilah might have been plotting this. The game really through a lot of possible spins at you mid game.

    The Bad:

    - It's a very short journey.

    - The ending is very anti-climatic. Total buzz kill, albeit down to earth.

    Note:
    - This is a walk em' up, point and click, story-telling game. Meaning no action what so ever. Don't play Firewatch if this genre isn't your thing.    … Expand
  12. sjaygray
    Jul 28, 2021
    9
    This was a wonderful narrative-driven game that I will likely return to. I'll also be trying to get my non-gaming wife to give it a shot because I think this is the exact sort of game to draw more people in an d help them discover that there is a lot more to gaming than they may realize. The writing is beautiful, the voice acting top notch, and the overall story is touching and doused inThis was a wonderful narrative-driven game that I will likely return to. I'll also be trying to get my non-gaming wife to give it a shot because I think this is the exact sort of game to draw more people in an d help them discover that there is a lot more to gaming than they may realize. The writing is beautiful, the voice acting top notch, and the overall story is touching and doused in realism. The only things that kept this from a perfect score for me were minor graphical and sound issues here and there. The game froze on the opening scene, but fortunately that never happened again. There is some pop-in and minor stutters here and there. Some of the audio tracks were difficult to hear. All in all, I would recommend this to anyone. It's a bit on the short side, but well worth the experience.… Expand
  13. Awaiko
    Aug 8, 2021
    10
    Without hyperbole, this is one of my favourite games. The story is engaging, the number of paths you can generate with your choices is non-trivial, and the visual and sound design are simply excellent. The game design is a delight. When I finished the game, I found myself wishing that I could play it again for the first time all over.
  14. lowey
    Oct 12, 2021
    8
    The good: Engaging story, lovely graphics, great voice acting and character design.

    The bad: The game starts badly, in my opinion. The premise that catapaults the main character into this wilderness environment felt somewhat lazy and, honestly, added nothing to the story or the game. Take it out, let the player decide for themselves what the main character is running away from. On the    The good: Engaging story, lovely graphics, great voice acting and character design.

    The bad: The game starts badly, in my opinion. The premise that catapaults the main character into this wilderness environment felt somewhat lazy and, honestly, added nothing to the story or the game. Take it out, let the player decide for themselves what the main character is running away from. On the Nintendo Switch I found there were a number of places where the game would stutter and struggle for a second or two.

    All of that said none of those things turned me off this game. I felt like I was living in the park, and knew all the areas the main character explores like the back of my hand. I felt like I really knew both the main character and Delilah, the ever present voice on the radio. And I would happily replay this in a year or two to refresh my memory.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
87

Generally favorable reviews - based on 4 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. Nintendojo
    Apr 16, 2020
    83
    It sets out to tell a story and does it astoundingly well. I found myself melancholy when all was said and done, and although I’ll likely never get to hear more about the lives of Delilah and Henry, I’m grateful for the summer I got to spend with the two of them. Firewatch seems to want players to understand that sometimes, life is about the moments you’ll never get back, the decisions you can never unmake. I’m glad I chose to spend that night in the woods with Campo Santos’ inspired first effort.
    Read full review
  2. Nintendo Force Magazine
    Aug 28, 2019
    80
    Despite only being a few hours long, I found the entire experience satisfying. [Issue #39 – May/June 2019, p. 25]
  3. NintendoWorldReport
    Dec 20, 2018
    90
    What initially seems like more of a relaxing walking simulator becomes something more consequential and dire. Anyone interested in great stories—not just those told through video games—needs to pick up Firewatch. Like Celeste and GRIS, Firewatch is a triumph of artistic and thought-provoking game design, and it can remind you of summer as you bundle up for the cold winter ahead.
    Read full review
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