9/10
A walking simulator - or more accurately a hiking simulator - in which players take on the role of Henry, a grieving chap who runs away from a turbulent family situation to take up a season as a firewatchman atop a tower in a national park in rural Wyoming. As you'd expect from the genre the big draw here is in the writing, which oscillates between heartbreaking tragedy and gut-wrenching melodrama before seguing into some surprisingly tense moments as the game reaches its climax.
In a lovely touch, players can opt for a less "gamey" experience by turning off standard open world fixtures like map markers and button prompts, relying instead on reading the landscape and their own map-and-compass skills to navigate the gorgeous wilderness of Shoshone. It's a brilliantly immersive way to play this particular type of game.
As far as walking sims go, Firewatch is one of the finer examples of just how far a smart developer can push an otherwise oft-maligned genre.
Check out my full review! The Almighty Backlog, review #17
https://thealmightybacklog.wordpress.com/2018/05/10/firewatch/
