7) Firewatch (2016)

This is yet another game that I had actually played before, but given its low stakes gameplay and shorter run time, I decided it'd make for a nice palette cleanser. The fact that it was available on Game Pass was an added bonus, as I'd previously played it on PC, and experiencing it on console, while nice, would have been hard to justify spending money on. It represents a somewhat newer genre, the walking sim, that can be a bit of a hard to pitch to those unfamiliar with it. Firewatch makes a pretty good case for the genre and what it can add to the medium.

The game starts with simple text on the screen describing how a young couple meet in college. The player is given various options about how their version of the protagonist, Henry, interacts with his future spouse, Julia. While the player is presented with options which do affect the narrative, the major plot points still occur, which, without spoiling the opening, leads Henry to take a job as a fire lookout in Wyoming in order to deal with things happening in his life. The opening is reminiscent of Pixar's Up, guiding the player on an almost saccharine journey through the young blossoming of a relationship, before hitting you with the tragic realities of life. That is to say, it's fairly effective at putting you in the proper mindset of our lead character.

Once we arrive at our post, we're introduced to the other major character we'll be interacting with over the next few hours, a senior lookout at another tower named Delilah who communicates with Henry via walkie-talkie. She guides us through the basics of the job while also adding her own charm and wit. The interactions with Julia represent the meat of your choices in the narrative, as you can choose how much you want to open up to her, and whether you want to flirt or try to keep things professional. During my second playthrough, I was pleasantly surprised to see how choosing different ways of interacting with her changed things up while the overall plot remained the same.

Things start fairly tame, with the first major incident being a couple of teenage girls setting off fireworks and skinny dipping. You have a few different ways of dealing with the young girls, but it is clear that they view you as the villain of their story, as teenagers generally do when it comes to adults. Not long after, you see a mysterious person walking around at night with a flashlight who runs away when you approach. Later, when the girls are reported missing, the real meat of the story unfolds.

The bulk of the narrative revolves around uncovering a mystery that, as you come to find out, goes back several years. To do so, you must explore the park, all the while the isolation and having only Delilah to talk to starts to make it feel as though your every move is being watched. Exploration is fun, and there's a good number of things to find, though the majority of them are completely optional. That is, if you think finding and naming a turtle to be optional, which obviously it is not.

How can you say no to this face?

Firewatch is a short but enjoyable experience. You can knock it out in a leisurely afternoon. While I enjoyed playing it a second time, there isn't really that much replay value, though it was fun to revisit after a few years. As a game where most of what you do is walk and choose dialogue options with no real threats or lose states, it'd be easy to write it off entirely. However, what it lacks in traditional gameplay, it makes up for in spades through its narrative and voice acting. It tackles very real issues that you rarely see in the medium, and treats them with the reverence they deserve. While the mystery you set out to uncover doesn't conclude in quite the way you might expect, it does come off as grounded and deeply human.

If you're looking for a game that will test your reflexes, puzzle solving, or scratch a competitive itch, this is absolutely not the game for you. If you're looking for a good narrative to spend a lazy afternoon with, where you can walk around exploring a simulated slice of a National Park while also exploring the human condition, then I can recommend this game wholeheartedly. The writing is thoughtful and fun, while also deep and moving at times, aided by the stellar performances of Rich Sommer and Cissy Jones. If you've yet to experience the genre, Firewatch is marvelous introduction that will stick with you well after the credits have rolled.