[Gonzo]

Gonzo's Game Reviews

Firewatch - PS4

Not long ago, point and click adventure games were few and far between. If I recall, the last somewhat popular one (before this recent burst) was a very confusing, yet entertaining title called Grim Fandango.
I played that again recently and man, talk about overrated.
I digress... In 2012, an episodic point and clicker called The Walking Dead was released by Telltale with praise and critical acclaim. It stands as probably the best story-driven adventure series ever created.

So, what did a couple key producers of TWD season 1 do after such success? They quit Telltale and formed their own company called Campo Santo. Their first submission to this genre of video games? Firewatch.

Storyline: You play as Henry... A middle aged moose of a man with mountain man looks. I.E. Beard, hiking boots, pickup truck, plaid shirts and an axe. He and his wife ran into some troubles (no spoilers here) and he decided to take a job in the Rockies circa 1985 as a firewatch guard.
Solitude, wildlife, fresh air and the only other person within miles is a woman in another tower named Delilah.
You and Delilah don't speak face to face, just over 2 way radios. She points out issues/tasks in the area and you start hiking. The nice thing here is that if you're not adequate with a compass and map, you very well may get lost. That part of the game is somewhat accurate. As you perform these tasks, different parts of the storyline begin to open up. People go missing, strange things begin to happen and your own imagination starts to kick into overdrive. Items are left in your tower and about the forest that have an effect on your gameplay.
This part of the story is absolutely wonderful and suspenseful.
The ending, however... This game loses 1.5 points from me due to the half-assed ending. My god, it was quite disappointing to me and that seems to be the status quo from other reviews I've read so it's not just me.

Graphics/Sound/Music

The Graphics here are strange and beautiful. The game has a cartoonish, yet realistic style that I've never seen before. Where The Walking Dead has a cartoonish/comic book style, this is noticeably fake but the colors and depth of the forest are awe inspiring. This is truest especially during sunsets. The only thing I didn't care for was the blur effect when you looked at landscapes at a considerable distance.
The PS4 version definitely had a bit of pop-in and some graphics lag at times. However, the style was still very beautiful.
Music was noticeably non-existent. The only time you really heard any was when you approached a significant part in the storyline. Otherwise, it was just the sounds of the wilderness.

Sound: This was quite good. Birds, elk, wind and water were all very well done. The sounds of a wildfire and the high speed winds that accompanied it were impressive as well.

All in all, I did get my 20 bucks worth here. It's a good game for the price. I just wish it was a little longer and had a better ending. The game was roughly 4 hours long and that was with me exploring quite a bit. Like I said, very disappointed in the ending but it was still a fun ride.

This one is worth picking up on sale or renting. You'll enjoy the experience if you like story driven games.

6.5 out of 10.
Above average. Could've been a solid 8.