Firewatch Turns 9: A Look Back at a Timeless Masterpiece

Isolation, Wilderness, and  Tragedy– three words that all apply to one phenomenal game,  Firewatch. 

Nine years ago, Firewatch was released on February 9, 2016.  Since then, it has shattered hearts and sent chills down spines. 

Firewatch is a single-player first-person mystery developed by Campo Santo and is available to play on Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. With a short game play of four to five hours, it is able to be completed in one sitting. In that timeframe, anyone playing can see why this game won multiple awards. 

I have now played the game twice. My first play through was five years ago and my second was only around a month ago. 

As far as first impressions go, Firewatch immediately seared itself into my brain and has stayed one of my favorite games because of its simplicity and storyline.

The graphics were oddly detailed for the time it was created in. Even though the game is now nine years old, it doesn’t seem that way. The visuals continue to hold up to today’s standards. This style kept the visuals of the game bright and alluring, and the score added to that. 

The score was masterfully crafted and helped set the mood when the graphics or story couldn’t. In my second playthrough, I found the score heavily impacted the tone and how I felt while playing. In moments of hope, it would be loud and vibrant, which would make me feel the same. In tear jerking moments, it would be soft and sad, which also made me feel the same. 

My favorite instance of the soundtrack came in a moment of gut wrenching revelation. The score starts off soft as the player comes to learn the major twist of the story, but then it cuts completely. This leaves the player in silence, the only noise being the steps the player takes. I find that the silence leaves the player to think and let what they’ve just discovered sit in fully before the story continues.

The dialogue between the characters that follows is just as agonizing. As a whole, the interactions between the characters are what makes the story. The most shocking part is that there are only two main characters throughout the game and the player only ever sees one.

My first time playing, I was skeptical that I wouldn’t like the game because of the small cast, especially after learning the player never interacts face-to-face with the second character. However, I found myself falling in love with both characters, despite never getting to put a face to the one. 

In the game, you play as the character named Henry. The opening immediately sets his character up as a man running from his messy life. He takes a job in the secluded wilderness of Wyoming. His job is to watch for fires and report them. With the way the game opens, the player immediately connects with him.

The player also meets the second character, Delilah, through a radio Henry uses. The player only ever communicates with her through the radio. Even though the two characters never actually meet in person, the chemistry between them makes the game that much more enjoyable. 

Delilah is an easily loveable character. Just like Henry, she is in the wilderness to run from her problems. With the building tension and the creeping feeling of being alone in the woods, I was convinced she was untrustworthy in my first playthrough. I will not say if I was correct or not in my suspicions; learning the truth on your own is a vital experience in the game and is important for each new player to discover.

Not trusting Delilah is a common thing many players experience, something I believe is done on purpose by the developers. The location of the game takes place in the wilderness of a state park, days away from civilization. The only connection to the outside world is Delilah, which creates a building dread in the pit of the players stomach throughout the game, as well as the constant nagging question of, “Who can I trust?”

The navigation system also adds to this confusion. I found it hard to navigate the map and it frustrated me in my first playthrough. In my second playthrough, I found it just as confusing to navigate and I now believe this was done intentionally by the developer. The fact that the player can easily get lost and has to rely on a rudimentary map and compass is a constant reminder that the character is isolated and outside of his element. This feeling of being completely out of your depth lingers all the way to the ending. 

Throughout the game, the player has the choice to collect and read pieces of paper around the map. To read all these papers extends the game play by around an hour. These papers have details that connect all the dots in the plot. Even if the player doesn’t collect or read all these papers the story still finishes in a way that leaves the player with few questions.

In my first play through, I pushed through quickly and didn’t pay attention to many of the papers; nor did I scour the map for hidden ones. I still had enough details from what Delilah tells the player to comprehend the ending. I did miss a few connecting dots that caused a handful of small questions to be raised, but nothing that made the game unenjoyable. 

My second time playing, I took my time and really admired the finer details put into the game. I fully paid attention to the score and visuals, but also took my time to absorb everything in the depth of the plot. I read the papers that could be found around the map and I actually listened to dialogue. This second time, those few small questions I had the first time I played were answered. 

Either way the player decides to play, the story wraps itself up nicely and leaves no big questions left unanswered. I highly recommend taking your time when playing and really taking in everything the game has to offer. You might just find yourself returning years later and being even more impressed in your second playthrough.