![]() ![]() It’s not even quite in the vein of UP, where you watch a man’s life and marriage zip by in fast-forward to an unfortunate, if inevitable, conclusion. Those first five minutes are harrowing not in a genre sense - it’s not like, OH, DANG, MY GIRLFRIEND WAS TAKEN AND KILLED BY NINJAS, NOOOOO, I WILL AVENGE YOU, BETTY-SUE. It’s also frequently beautiful in ways both visually and emotionally. ![]() It’s almost like being a house so empty it invites a haunting - and boy howdy, this game is haunting. You are an empty person waiting to be filled up. You as the player have been hollowed out much as your on-screen avatar, Henry, is hollowed out. This is an important moment, narratively. At their end, you are left gutted of your stuffing - and then, only then, does the game begin. Instead, though, we get a tonal dissonance that feels aggravating in both directions-and disappointing in the face of the many things Firewatch does well.The first five minutes of Firewatch are sweet until they are harrowing. Maybe four hours of schlocky thriller wouldn't have allowed for the same poignant character detail. Maybe four hours of interpersonal drama wouldn't have been interesting enough. It doesn't feel like a believable reaction, on an rational or emotional level. The existing resolution doesn't work from either side of the genre divide, because the central motivation-Ned's desire to keep Henry away from Brian's body-doesn't lend itself to faking a creepy monitoring station. That sounds like a fun, intriguing story in its own right. ![]() I understand the disappointment that there wasn't a crazy research experiment to uncover. It's tempting-in all forms of media-to see drama as more worthy, but I've never been convinced by that view. They wanted the thriller to continue-to itself pay off in a more satisfying way. "Oh, it's not this, it's this."įrom the reaction I've seen to Firewatch, some players equally felt that the return from thriller to drama was itself a disappointment. I should have been reacting to the plot, but I was reacting to the shift in genre. I didn't feel the tragedy in front of me, because the reveal took me out of the story. ![]() I was too busy readjusting my expectations. The discovery of Brian's body should be the gut punch that sets up Delilah's decision to leave, and Henry's muted semi-resolution that life is sad, hard, complex and ultimately inescapable. I actually like Firewatch's ending, but I think it would work better attached to a more subdued game-one that allowed the drama to come through realism. It's the setup for an ending that doesn't exist. The paranoia feels like a strange tangent-some second act padding to stoke intrigue on the way to the finale. The transition to normality feels smoother and more deliberate. It's not a ghost story, but, absent of other characters, it feels haunted by past events. Within that setting, the personal dramas unfold-the potential for horror hovering at the edges. Of course an old, empty house feels scary-any old, empty house does. It looks like a horror game, because horror is a genre that revels in taking nice, safe environments and subverting them. Just look at Gone Home, which, in my view, blurs its tone more deftly. This could have been an effective and memorable trick. Aha! Thought this was a mystery, did you? It was heartfelt drama all along! When it's finally revealed that, yes, it was ridiculous-that the reality was far more grounded and tragic-there's a sense that the player has been played. But, viewed through the filter of the real world, it's clear they're being ridiculous. Henry and Delilah's growing fear and panic resonate, because they are isolated, lonely and, above all, well written characters. The paranoia only works because the plot and tone mimic the style of a thriller, creating a tension that doesn't actually exist. Is it believable that an unknown research company would move to the wilderness to start monitoring conversations? It's certainly not outside the realm of possibility because, until the rules of the world are established-the extent to which it operates in parallel with our world- nothing is outside the realm of possibility. Players are left unsure if this is the sort of thing that could happen in this world. At its peak, the pair think they're part of some strange monitoring experiment-a Lost-esque zoo in which they're the primary attraction. As Henry and Delilah's paranoia builds, it tips the scale of realism. Firewatch is drama in a thriller's clothing. ![]()
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