After finally completing the main story of Fallout 4 I wanted a shorter more sedate experience, so I turned to Firewatch (PS4) which while a brief game (i completed it in two sittings) was not a serine exploration of the wilderness. From what I got out of it it's a game about how I deal with problems, right off the bat the story presented me with a major issue to deal with and the flexibility to decide how to deal with it. Initially the choices given didn't seem too varied which helped keep the narrative tight while also for me felt more human, whatever path I went down seemed like a shitty thing to do, but more believable than giving polar opposites. I'm being specifically vague as its a game driven by the the story it tells and so short I'd find it hard not to recommend playing while knowing nothing. The things I really liked and won't ruin any surprises are the design. At times it looks incredibly real, only being brought down to earth by a glance at the lead characters cartoony physique. There's a neat workaround for the conversation choices made too, all character interactions are though a walkie talkie and buttons mapped to the shoulders of the controller, it has a satisfying clunk on screen and helps to immerse in the world. I wasn't too keen on setting the game in the 80s, it seemed like a cheap way of justifying the lack of modern technology like GPS and not any other reason. The few bits that reminded me here and there that it was a period piece, Totos Africa or a Walkman felt too knowing. That's a minor gripe with the game though, especially as it justifies the use of a map and compass throughout. It doesn't take long in the game before it becomes an exercise in orienteering, and I thought it was really cool how by stripping back mechanics which are commonplace like arrow markers it made me think more about where I was going. It also made what was actually quite a small physical space feel much more expansive. As the story continued while I got frustrated that some areas where fiddly to get around (without a jump) I was also surprised to see it taking tropes from Metriod and Zelda in making new areas accessible when new things were found.
One thing I found early on in the disposable camera was ambiguous throughout, here and there I'd take snaps (aware of the limited film in the camera) sometimes of things I thought important but others of things that looked pretty, a butterfly on a log or ruined jet-ski. The payoff for this was a wonderful thing, and even more so that it wasn't constantly reminding me to take pictures. The payoff for the story itself I liked, it suited the tone of the game for me, if it had gone another way it could have been jarring. That's all I can really say about Firewatch without getting into what happens, I liked it a lot.
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