Firewatch | Spoiler Discussion

Well I completed this late last night and posted my thoughts randomly but now after sleeping on it I have to say, I hate the ending even more than I initially realised.

It's underwhelming in every sense of the word. The game teases you with a sinister plot device but fails to deliver upon it. That's not the key issue but it's definitely a massive one. Ned's story as many have pointed out, makes little practical sense and there are other plot holes that I never even considered.

The most damning thing for me though, is that the game fails to say anything meaningful. Sure, there are parallels between Ned and Henry's life in regards to running away from a problem but that by itself is not an interesting narrative unless it's explored and developed in any meaningful way. You see it coming a mile away, it's not subtle and it's not handled well at all. Sure, it's an "interesting" parallel but they managed to make it incredibly meaningless. "Oh, so they're both running away form their issues...so what?"

Part of the issue in this regard is the fact that none of the characters have any sort of arc. We learn nothing about anyone besides what is dumped on us at the start in regards to Henry's wife. They hint at potential development with the sleep walking but then it's never mentioned again. Delilah is a blank slate from the start of the game right up to the very end. Sure, she has a strong and likeable personality but her and Henry end up as nothing but tropes by the end of it all.

I loved the game up until the final hour or so and it's a real shame because that final hour is probably what's going to stick in my mind when I think back to this and that's why I think this game failed in what it set out to do. The gameplay is fine, the first half is great and the mystery and sense of paranoia is developed really well but at the end of the day, the game does nothing with any of it. It fails to tell a compelling mystery, it fails at telling at being a character piece because we learn nothing about anyone and it fails to tell a human story for the exact same reason. Probably the biggest disappointment i've had with a game in a long long time.

It's sad because I genuinely thought this was going to rank as one of my all-time favourite story driven games.
 
Finished the game last night, didn't suffer any huge technical issues, apart from the framerate dropping on auto-saves now and then.

Beautiful game, very promising start, story disappointed somewhat in the end but that doesn't take away from the experience in the first half for me... getting to know Delilah etc...

Overall it was what I was looking for - a nice distraction from other games. Short and excellent value for money for under £15
 
Finished the game the other night and I'll kinda echo the sentiments of every poster here in that the ending was slightly anti-climactic.

I could kinda live with the way it ended if it had been handled a little differently. After Henry reached Delilah's tower I was convinced she'd be waiting there for him. I would have been a lot happier with a fade to black after he spots her in the tower leaving it open for the players interpretation as to what happens next.

All in all though I loved my brief time with the game. The graphical style was amazing and I'll definitely give it another play through just to hear the different dialogue choices (and to get my goddam turtle this time).

Just out of curiosity did we every find out who Delilah was talking to on the radio when she left the mic on? After hearing it again it sounds awfully suspicious and was never really explained.
 
I think the anti-climax of the ending is clearly and obviously intentional. This is the story of two people who, when their life turns out to not be going the way they had planned, run from their problems and escape into the woods. The "conspiracy" is a way for the two of them to find meaning and purpose in their life, but at the end of the day, it's all a fantasy. They both have to go home, pick up the pieces of their life, and move on.
 
gschmidl said:
It was just about the break-in.



It wasn't the kids who broke into your tower, or cut that phone line.
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That doesn't eliminate the rest of my problems with the story.

To be honest. I didn't even think about Ned at all which showed how weird of a antagonist he was. He didn't make any impressions on me. He clearly loved his son as shown by the pictures. I don't know what his motivation for staying in the ravine is and torturing Henry and Delilah. Does he blame her like she blames herself? I doubt it. I just don't get it.
 
swearing-circle said:
Well I completed this late last night and posted my thoughts randomly but now after sleeping on it I have to say, I hate the ending even more than I initially realised.

It's underwhelming in every sense of the word. The game teases you with a sinister plot device but fails to deliver upon it. That's not the key issue but it's definitely a massive one. Ned's story as many have pointed out, makes little practical sense and there are other plot holes that I never even considered.

The most damning thing for me though, is that the game fails to say anything meaningful. Sure, there are parallels between Ned and Henry's life in regards to running away from a problem but that by itself is not an interesting narrative unless it's explored and developed in any meaningful way. You see it coming a mile away, it's not subtle and it's not handled well at all. Sure, it's an "interesting" parallel but they managed to make it incredibly meaningless. "Oh, so they're both running away form their issues...so what?"

Part of the issue in this regard is the fact that none of the characters have any sort of arc. We learn nothing about anyone besides what is dumped on us at the start in regards to Henry's wife. They hint at potential development with the sleep walking but then it's never mentioned again. Delilah is a blank slate from the start of the game right up to the very end. Sure, she has a strong and likeable personality but her and Henry end up as nothing but tropes by the end of it all.

I loved the game up until the final hour or so and it's a real shame because that final hour is probably what's going to stick in my mind when I think back to this and that's why I think this game failed in what it set out to do. The gameplay is fine, the first half is great and the mystery and sense of paranoia is developed really well but at the end of the day, the game does nothing with any of it. It fails to tell a compelling mystery, it fails at telling at being a character piece because we learn nothing about anyone and it fails to tell a human story for the exact same reason. Probably the biggest disappointment i've had with a game in a long long time.

It's sad because I genuinely thought this was going to rank as one of my all-time favourite story driven games.
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I agree. I kinda feel like the conspiracy/paranoia part of the story was thrown in there because they were afraid players would get bored with the game. The irony, at least for me, was that was when I started to check out, because that was the point when it tonally shifted and subsequently pulled me out of the experience a bit.

I'll admit, the tension to figure out wtf was going on drove me to complete the game in one sitting, but after it was all said and done it felt like a hollow experience. I was really into Henry and Delilah's evolving relationship and basically all progression with that stopped the moment things got weird. Plus any character arc that Henry was going through kind of flat-lined after that, too.

I would have much preferred a quieter game that kept the focus on the park ranger job for the entire time, like the early part of the game did. You could've kept the Ned thing, but just not made it so.... ridiculous. It could've kept things tense from time to time and served its purpose as a possibly more effective parallel to what Henry is going through. Throw in a bear encounter to shake things up and provide some "what am I doing here" stuff for Henry and bada-bing bada-boom, I think you have a much more satisfying story. Oh, and actually meet Delilah. I'm not saying you have them get together or anything, but that was some grade A bullshit to have their relationship end on such a weak ass note.
 
I would probably have liked a game that didn't have the "conspiracy" and creepy part like people are saying they would have preferred, but at the same time I loved that part. No other game has nailed me to my chair that way. At some point I was whimpering to my SO that I didn't want to go on and still I did because I needed to see where it would lead. I really felt like I had a huge weight on my shoulders and I was sooo paranoid! It was just such a great experience. When it didn't lead to anything I felt confused, empty and after a while oh so relieved. I felt so good after that. Without it I would probably have lliked my time with the game but it would just be another VN like thing. Yawn.

Cryptozoologist said:
That doesn't eliminate the rest of my problems with the story.

To be honest. I didn't even think about Ned at all which showed how weird of a antagonist he was. He didn't make any impressions on me. He clearly loved his son as shown by the pictures. I don't know what his motivation for staying in the ravine is and torturing Henry and Delilah. Does he blame her like she blames herself? I doubt it. I just don't get it.
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His motivation for staying is that he feels he can't go back to society after all that has happened (first PTSD, then on top of that he caused the death of his son, how will people treat him?). He never wanted to torture Henry and Delilah. He tried to scare Henry away (like he did with the girls) by breaking in and trashing the place, and then cut the phone line to make sure D didn't get that info about hikers and stuff. He made it look like the girls did things to Henry and made the girsl think Henry was the bad guy. When H and D seemingly forgot the man Henry had seen, Ned went back to just listening to the radio stuff like he had done for about three years. That was his way to spend time. Then he dropped the notepad at the lake and Henry found it, starting everything back up again. He had to make sure they didn't send rangers in to investigate the area (since he didn't want to be found) so he stole the "evidence" back and tried to scare them away again. When that didn't help he started blackmailing them to silence.
 
Spyware said:
His motivation for staying is that he feels he can't go back to society after all that has happened (first PTSD, then on top of that he caused the death of his son, how will people treat him?). He never wanted to torture Henry and Delilah. He tried to scare Henry away (like he did with the girls) by breaking in and trashing the place, and then cut the phone line to make sure D didn't get that info about hikers and stuff. He made it look like the girls did things to Henry and made the girsl think Henry was the bad guy. When H and D seemingly forgot the man Henry had seen, Ned went back to just listening to the radio stuff like he had done for about three years. That was his way to spend time. Then he dropped the notepad at the lake and Henry found it, starting everything back up again. He had to make sure they didn't send rangers in to investigate the area (since he didn't want to be found) so he stole the "evidence" back and tried to scare them away again. When that didn't help he started blackmailing them to silence.
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And then he fucking led Henry to the cave where his son died
That's the bit that's still stuck in my craw after everything.
He spent years keeping this secret and being afraid and ashamed of what happens and then just leads Henry right to it.
It felt melodramatic in a weird way like he was saying "SEE NOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND MY PAIN AND STRIFE"
It was a huge source of confusion.

I guess you could interpret it as him trying to trap Henry in the cave so he'd be stuck and couldn't tell anyone, but Ned has lived here for years. He should know this cave leads directly to his sons fortress shouldn't he? Where there just happens to be hooks so Henry can rappel down and find his son.

It falls apart during the entire sequence going from the backpack with the key until the end. It's a shame because if handled with a little more care one can invision incredibly interesting ways it could have gone instead.
 
WITHE1982 said:
Just out of curiosity did we every find out who Delilah was talking to on the radio when she left the mic on? After hearing it again it sounds awfully suspicious and was never really explained.
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I might be wrong on this, but after finding out about her having multiple partners while also having a boyfriend (I think that's what the document was saying? Sorry if I'm also wrong about this), I thought she was just talking to one of the people she hooked up with, about her boyfriend not knowing about it. Explains the dialogue and also explains why she wouldn't want to just tell you what it's about and move on.
 
Gbraga said:
I might be wrong on this, but after finding out about her having multiple partners while also having a boyfriend (I think that's what the documents was saying? Sorry if I'm also wrong about this), I thought she was just talking to one of the people she hooked up with, about her boyfriend not knowing about it. Explains the dialogue and also explains why she wouldn't want to just tell you what it's about and move on.
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Those documents were written by Ned with the knowledge that Henry would find them so more likely than not they're full of shit. We don't know.
 
sonto340 said:
And then he fucking led Henry to the cave where his son died
That's the bit that's still stuck in my craw after everything.
He spent years keeping this secret and being afraid and ashamed of what happens and then just leads Henry right to it.
It felt melodramatic in a weird way like he was saying "SEE NOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND MY PAIN AND STRIFE"
It was a huge source of confusion.

I guess you could interpret it as him trying to trap Henry in the cave so he'd be stuck and couldn't tell anyone, but Ned has lived here for years. He should know this cave leads directly to his sons fortress shouldn't he? Where there just happens to be hooks so Henry can rappel down and find his son.

It falls apart during the entire sequence going from the backpack with the key until the end. It's a shame because if handled with a little more care one can invision incredibly interesting ways it could have gone instead.
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Maybe he couldn't live with the guilt any longer? I will admit it was a very convoluted way of leading Henry to the cave. However I would assume he didn't want to face anyone or potentially be arrested.
 
Noray said:
Those documents were written by Ned with the knowledge that Henry would find them so more likely than not they're full of shit. We don't know.
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But Henry mentions her boyfriend by name, and Delilah doesn't deny it, on the contrary, she's surprised someone knew this. Likewise, Henry's document had stuff he didn't tell Delilah, according to himself.
 
Spent some time trying to find a let's play where someone shows the last note Ned wrote. Finally got it.
Last entry is:
7/17/89
- 2F FOUND SUPPLIES
- KEYS GONE (HOW?)
- CANT LET 2F FIND B
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He probably didn't know about the signal tracker until the very end where he used it to lead H to the hideout. The alarm was just to know if someone came up on the supplies. He had no way of knowing that the alarm thingy would lead Henry to his pack. Maybe he didn't remember he had the keys on the pack, and that's why he wonders how they can be gone. Maybe he usually carries them around in a pocket or whatevs.

A lot of maybes but... that's the quote at least. So according to that he didn't lead Henry to B on purpose.
 
Gbraga said:
But Henry mentions her boyfriend by name, and Delilah doesn't deny it, on the contrary, she's surprised someone knew this. Likewise, Henry's document had stuff he didn't tell Delilah, according to himself.
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Not sure if this is something that changes but in my game Delilah did deny it- she expressly said that it wasn't true.

About the stuff that Ned know that wasn't over the radio- didn't Henry keep some kind of journal (isn't that where the nude Henry picture at the beginning came from?). I had assumed Ned read at least part of it when he broke into the tower.
 
sonto340 said:
It falls apart during the entire sequence going from the backpack with the key until the end. It's a shame because if handled with a little more care one can invision incredibly interesting ways it could have gone instead.
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Spyware said:
He probably didn't know about the signal tracker until the very end where he used it to lead H to the hideout. The alarm was just to know if someone came up on the supplies. He had no way of knowing that the alarm thingy would lead Henry to his pack. Maybe he didn't remember he had the keys on the pack, and that's why he wonders how they can be gone. Maybe he usually carries them around in a pocket or whatevs.

A lot of maybes but... that's the quote at least. So according to that he didn't lead Henry to B on purpose.
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from now on, whenever, while walking through the woods, henry comes upon yet another backback-with-keys attached to an alarm, he'll think of his time with delilah :) ...
 
D denied everything from the reports in my game too.
CrichtonKicks said:
About the stuff that Ned know that wasn't over the radio- didn't Henry keep some kind of journal (isn't that where the nude Henry picture at the beginning came from?). I had assumed Ned read at least part of it when he broke into the tower.
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Yeah it's Julia's journal. He writes about it if you check the pages beside the typewriter. I also assumed Ned got info from there.
 
Unless there's more variation to the dialogue then I'm giving the game credit for, it's more likely that I'm just wrong. I'll check it out again just in case, making the same choices, but yeah, I'm probably wrong.
 
zer0blivion said:
It's a regular seasonal government/university environmental research station. They were tracking elk. Ned broke in and planted the files about Delilah and Henry to make them think they were the subjects of the research.
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Which still makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. It's just downright idiotic. That specific reason is there just to fill the holes in the story.
 
Just finished the game.

Overall i think the game has very natural writing. The VA in the game is just super well done. When they were not talking i was looking forward to what they were gonna discuss next, and made sure that i looked over everything to make sure i was not missing any dialogue. That is what kept me going through the whole game.

The game is super pretty in how simple and colorful it is. But it lacks personality. It is missing something important to give it an identity. I felt both Henry and Delilah were super well established characters... but the forest itself had non whatsoever, and the game is about the forest as much as it is about the characters. So that was a let down.

Alright.. into the meat of the game. For such well established characters and well written conversations its a shame that they don't really arc or develop. I like the feeling of you getting involved with D as Henry.. and that things move forward. But that ends up as nothing. The sleepwalking of Henry talking to Julia was really interesting. But its never developed further. The thrilling aspect mixed with the paranoia was really interesting but again.. it leads no where. I am not saying that they didn't tie the game together, because they did. But the overall payoff and how is presented doesn't really work for me. Hey... its all about this guy that is living in the woods and is living in solitude after something happened to his son. It felt... kinda force fed at the end.

Honestly. I felt like the part of the game of being a forest caretaker was fun. Go do jobs... get to know the forest... and learn more about it and its mysteries rather than make a dramatic who is the black figure and why are they listening. As you take care of the forest you are reminded of who you are, what issues are you running away from and how can you confront them. Literally or through symbolism. I thought D and Henry talking and getting involved was a way to move them forward. But in the end it really doesn't. There is not even a capitalizing moment where there is a realization that maybe to move forward they both need to face the issues they are carrying.

Anyways... the game is afraid to make you confront the characters real issues. The whole premise is masked on something that turns out is nothing. Even if the whole deception is a good idea.... i feel like the presentation of it was poor. There is no clean tie in with the rest of the decisions, nor an interesting closure to that arc. it just happens... it was really nothing... oh wait.. it was about a kid and a hobo now. I am sure they intended this to be an emotional impact on the player. But at least for me... the game didn't do that.

I loved the intro to the game. mix of nature vs Henrys character building up. As you climb up you see him develop into who he is at that point in time. It was very effective. The flirting night that leads to them discussing getting involved was also a very interesting parallel. But then you have Neds story and the 2 girls.. that is just a mess. Hey.. 2 girls are gone, they might be dead, who knows... its clear that they didn't cut the cables or mess with Henrys tower so what happened? oh nvm... they stole a tractor and ended up in jail. hehe.

Oh well.. long wall of text. I apologize.

I enjoyed the first few hrs of the game.

TL;DR. The game had potential to be awesome. With smart writing and genuine interesting dialogue. too bad it was nothing in the end. As a fancy cat said so in a very smart way to me. The ending is worse than a 5 day flat soda. Unless, you know, you are into that.

EDIT: i am pretty sure the Juno fire was supposed to symbolize something. But now that i think about it it totally went over my head. No idea what it was supposed to represent in the end haha. Also.. i didn't find the turtle. :(
 
Theres a few people ive been seeing saying people who dont like the ending just dont "get" it.

I get it fine. I just dont like it. I thought it was lazy. When i first found brian's backpack, and D said how she didnt really like Ned, i remember having the thought "all of this weirdness is no way just ned because thatd be dumb"

Well. here we are.

Even if you like the ending a lot, which I can still see why someone would, the way they dole the reveal out to you is just so lazy and inconsequential.

You have this awesome scenario where its your last day, the fire is burning really bad, the tracker lights up. Because, for some reason, Ned decided to tell you the whole plot in one tape. Because reasons. Then the game makes you backtrack alllllll the way to the literal otherside of the map in nearly complete silence just to say SEE YA
 
brau said:
EDIT: i am pretty sure the Juno fire was supposed to symbolize something. But now that i think about it it totally went over my head. No idea what it was supposed to represent in the end haha. Also.. i didn't find the turtle. :(
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i figured the fire was basically just reality coming back after them when being out there was such an escape from it
 
brau said:
EDIT: i am pretty sure the Juno fire was supposed to symbolize something. But now that i think about it it totally went over my head. No idea what it was supposed to represent in the end haha. Also.. i didn't find the turtle.
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Well the fire could mean a couple things. It starts off as a symbo of Delilah and Henry's sort of passionate relationship at that part of the game, as it crops up when they have a very intimate conversation. However the fired spreads and grows throughout the rest of the game, and I believe becomes a visual metaphor for the turbulence and issues that D and H must confront in their lives. Ultimately it ends up destroying the place they ran away to escape their problems, so the "spark" that started D and H's relationship with one another ended up helping them help each other get back to their lives.
 
The Jackdog said:
i figured the fire was basically just reality coming back after them when being out there was such an escape from it
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Yea... i guess its controlled "Decisions" from D that in the end spiral out of control. Like her not wanting to call in the girls missing... or Brian. Its a nice touch. But it totally went over my head haha.

Them naming it Juno at that point in time was very well done. I love that part.

Fancy Clown said:
Well the fire could mean a couple things. It starts off as a symbo of Delilah and Henry's sort of passionate relationship at that part of the game, as it crops up when they have a very intimate conversation. However the fired spreads and grows throughout the rest of the game, and I believe becomes a visual metaphor for the turbulence and issues that D and H must confront in their lives. Ultimately it ends up destroying the place they ran away to escape their problems, so the "spark" that started D and H's relationship with one another ended up helping them help each other get back to their lives.
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I can see this now. Not sure why or how i missed this... i think the whole new fire started in the research area maybe threw me off.

I like this tho.
 
The Jackdog said:
You have this awesome scenario where its your last day, the fire is burning really bad, the tracker lights up. Because, for some reason, Ned decided to tell you the whole plot in one tape. Because reasons. Then the game makes you backtrack alllllll the way to the literal otherside of the map in nearly complete silence just to say SEE YA
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Some of the Ned stuff was certainly pretty contrived, but the dude was clearly nuts so I can give him a pass for how he chose to express himself.

I actually really liked the last stretch of gameplay. Part of the reason the setting of the game works I think, is because video games are escapist entertainment, so the place isn't just Henry's escape from the problems of real life, it's ours as well. So seeing it all burn while you have one last hike through it set to some nice music was an appropriate way to say "goodbye" to the game and world.
 
Turning off the where you are map indicator was a good choice.

It provided a nice moment of "oh crap" the first time I ran out into the woods following the wave detector. I just blindly followed that thing and only upon reaching my objective did I realize I had no idea where the heck I was. Really made me feel the remoteness and isolation of being out in the woods and also enhanced the general panic that portion of the game wrought on me.
 
I want to go back to 2 Forks and do some tasks :(

I was weirdly excited when we were given a fishing pole, to just fish and maybe get a call that such and such was happening, check it out. I suppose there's only so much you can do before it gets repetitive but the world felt so real I wouldn't have cared.
 
Some people have mentioned it already, but I appreciate how grounded in reality this game really is. You are led into thinking there is this huge conspiracy going on, and I would think like anyone else we would be excited in all sorts of ways about it. Delilah and Henry got themselves wrapped up in it because they needed to escape their own realities. The ending just brings the players back to earth. Have you ever had and experience where you felt you were a part of something bigger and then whatever it was, just sort of ended? Yeah, there are some unanswered questions and you could attribute it to lazy writing, but some things you just never get answers to. If this were a game where you were playing from multiple perspectives, I would hate the feeling of plot holes, but since you aren't I don't necessarily mind as much. This is probably one of the most grounded games I've ever played.
 
Alcotholic said:
Some people have mentioned it already, but I appreciate how grounded in reality this game really is. You are led into thinking there is this huge conspiracy going on, and I would think like anyone else we would be excited in all sorts of ways about it. Delilah and Henry got themselves wrapped up in it because they needed to escape their own realities. The ending just brings the players back to earth. Have you ever had and experience where you felt you were a part of something bigger and then whatever it was, just sort of ended? Yeah, there are some unanswered questions and you could attribute it to lazy writing, but some things you just never get answers to. If this were a game where you were playing from multiple perspectives, I would hate the feeling of plot holes, but since you aren't I don't necessarily mind as much. This is probably one of the most grounded games I've ever played.
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I agree. it reminds me of the shit you used to get into when camping. Noises in the woods always seem more sinister then what it really ever is. I have been on hikes with friends where your mind really can cause all kinds of scenarios to run wild. Spending weeks in the wilderness would really make you go bananas.

The problem with Firewatch (I love the game btw) is that the game goes out of its way to ruin that by making it literally a boogie man that is trying to scare you instead of H and D just going off the rails.
 
The fucking tape attached to the rope just ruined the game for me and this was a high tech operation for a dude camping in the woods no matter how tech minded he was. Shit just utterly fell apart near the end.

Where was he printing the sheets? Because those looked like they were printed off.

I didn't expect government conspiracy or whatever to be the actual reason but "asshole dad is a crazy person" isn't much better. And again fuck that lazy story wrap up tape. They could've left what exactly was going on a mystery and that could've been fine.
 
I actually very much liked the ending and actually shows that the writer had an understanding of isolation.

Ever spend a lot of time alone hiking? Your mind constantly wanders, you see something out of place...weird...something you can't explain...you play with the idea and develop stories. Its very human.

That is exactly what Henry did in 3 months of isolation. It makes absolute perfect sense that all of it amounted to basically nothing or easily explainable events. What's more likely? A government conspiracy or a guy alone for 3 months making up stories?

Sure, there are few places where we have to make a leap in logic so as for the story to remain focused on broader themes, but I can easily forgive those.

I would have liked to have had at least one minute to meet Delilah (almost an ending to like Transister)...She standing in the tower, me walking up the stairs....Nothing necessarily romantic...just "Hey"...and end. But thats whatever.

Loved the game.
JetBlackPanda said:
The problem with Firewatch (I love the game btw) is that the game goes out of its way to ruin that by making it literally a boogie man that is trying to scare you instead of H and D just going off the rails.
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I kind of agree. Didn't like the Ned part, but they had to have SOME reason why conversations were being recorded. (I think they could have made it easily done by saying the Rangers were messing with them...and all radios had recording equipment in them...take out the boogie man...and make it a simple explanation).
 
Who was Delilah talking too when you listen into the conversation near the start of the game? You get a choice to ask her about it but I just pretended I didn't hear it thinking that maybe later on it would get explained or she might forget to turn off the radio again and you'd get to listen in on more.
 
Finished it last night. I liked exploring around the place, but it could've done with more things to do. Performance wasn't great (especially for not a very graphic intensive looking game), but was playable enough.

The story was quite good for the most part, but didn't like that it was just Ned in the end. They made a big thing about the fenced off area, but it just seemed to come to naught. It seemed unlikely that this grief stricken guy, would go to the trouble of bringing all this equipment and put up fencing just to monitor people and stop them discovering his dead boy. Plus I don't know how'd he would do it, surely someone would've questioned what the hell was he doing.

The relationship between Henry and Delilah was good, with very good voice acting and some great dialogue. I would've liked them to together in the end.
 
Finished it. Overall, rather unhappy with it. Well, unhappy with it from finding the camp onwards. The conversations were well done, but I'm disappointed by the lack of climax at the conclusion.

I guess the entire game didn't connect with me at an emotional level like it did for some. I saw people describing how the opening text crawl made them feel feels, but it had no impact on me, and nearly no impact on the core narrative either. I'm unhappy how the story developed, with this false conspiracy, and Ned being a bland, guilty hermit for an antagonist.

The two most interesting moments, I felt, was finding Brian's body (pleasantly macarbre), and the photos from the camera displaying on the credits scene including images you made as well as images Brian made. That finished the game with a better tone than simply flying away on a chopper -- destination: vague uncertainty.

I definitely wouldn't rate it as high as many of the reviewers did. Probably between 7.5 and 8 for me. In memory of GT, I'll score it a 7.8.
 
Plasma said:
Who was Delilah talking too when you listen into the conversation near the start of the game? You get a choice to ask her about it but I just pretended I didn't hear it thinking that maybe later on it would get explained or she might forget to turn off the radio again and you'd get to listen in on more.
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I always thought it was just one of the other towers.
 
Super Bunnyhop's new video is a review of this game. He touches on a lot of things I think many people feel as well. He liked it overall but was critical of its ending.
 
I'm in the group that adored this game. Just finished it right now and I thought the ending was perfect.

Halfway through I was expecting some grand conspiracy or research facility and I thought, "Here comes video games to turn a simple story into some grand don't trust the government plot twist" and was so relieved to have it do the exact opposite. Maybe that's all our fault. Or the fault of video games for always making us think that way. Glad this was able to subvert my expectation.

I thought the performance of Henry was incredible. Right behind Steven Merchant as Wheatley. Very naturalistic and never forced. Couldn't help always think of Harry Crane though. And I really enjoyed the way he and Delilah played off each other.

I got goosebumps when I found Brian. It was very Stand By Me. All this work and paranoia for the character and for yourself leads to this young boy alone in the bottom of the cave, with many not knowing where he is. Kinda puts in perspective the frailty of human life and maybe the idea that Henry's problem isn't as bad as it may seem. That's what I took away from it anyway.

I saw people mentioning in here the Ron and Dave story. Can they elaborate on that a bit? I never got more out of that then the letters left in the boxes.

Also did anyone else see this at the end? It's just before you get to Delilah's tower. It was just frozen in the air behind smoke clouds. Maybe just a glitch on my end?

http://imgur.com/KojR7bW
 
Plasma said:
Who was Delilah talking too when you listen into the conversation near the start of the game? You get a choice to ask her about it but I just pretended I didn't hear it thinking that maybe later on it would get explained or she might forget to turn off the radio again and you'd get to listen in on more.
Click to expand...

brau said:
I always thought it was just one of the other towers.
Click to expand...

She was reporting the Two Forks breakin.
 
I think the ending wasn't satisfying.

I'm not someone who is always wanting happy endings, but they tease you about meeting Delilah for the whole game and you don't even get to see her.

I don't know if there's an alternate ending where all your dialogue makes her fall in love with you, but even as friends, you're going to be rescued and lifted to where she is most likely anyway. All they needed was that to make it feel satisfying.

As for the game itself, the experience was pretty drab and linear. I think it felt more linear than linear games like Journey because it looks open, but it's all a trick. You're literally just going in a straight line, and day end just sends you back to the start point of the next level.

For the plottwist, I already figured it out once you found the backpack. It was pretty obvious what was happening. There are so few characters hinted that this conclusion is so easy to make.

Pretty disappointing experience, but I did feel afraid at some points of the game which I think is the experience they wanted to deliever.
 
Fancy Clown said:
Super Bunnyhop's new video is a review of this game. He touches on a lot of things I think many people feel as well. He liked it overall but was critical of its ending.
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I just watched his video and he really hits the right points.

The game felt rushed in the last hour or so of the game. How he talked about the "hook" and "moral" plots lacking a satisfactory conclusion that stories generally need reflects how I feel about Firewatch. The game had me interested with a lot its potential but things took a downturn and, eventually, a cliff dive where I had no satisfaction with how the two main lines of plot concluded. It really did feel like there was a lot missing from what should have actually been in the game.

People talk about how the ending is "human" or "real." I feel that's a lame argument. Whether the ending felt realistic to some point, I'm unsatisfied and feel their take on "leaving things open," was too much for such a quick wrap-up to the overall game. I feel the ending between Delilah and Henry entirely depends on how much the player connects to those two characters. The mystery plot simply sucked in its conclusion since it had built up an idea that there was something bigger, but "there really wasn't and whatever; kid had an accident and daddy went nuts." I feel it needed a good two or three more hours to get me invested in what is happening and sell me on how these plots ended. It felt like the last episode of How I Met Your Mother.

And the map location indicator, I agree with him greatly on that. Should be off by default. And worse: you can't turn off the circular crosshair. Why?
 
joms5 said:
I saw people mentioning in here the Ron and Dave story. Can they elaborate on that a bit? I never got more out of that then the letters left in the boxes.
Click to expand...

The best explanation I've seen of it was from a poster on the Idle Thumbs board. Essentially it was a parallel to the H&D relationship. Ron and Dave seemed to have a really good relationship but when the chips came down and one of them (can't remember which) really needed them to be there for them emotionally the other bailed.
 
Just finished the game. Went from LOST-esque conspiracy drama to limp ending pretty quickly. The two girls resolution was also kind of dismal. Overall... It's kind of "Eh". Playing through on "No fucks given, drink whiskey, throw wedding ring in river and flirt with Delilah" mode. Doubtful it'll change that flaccid conclusion.
 
I enjoyed the game a fair deal, but I think there wasn't nearly enough game to satisfyingly incorporate and resolve a panicked, distraught dad dropping red herrings to lead two firewatchers astray. Had it been a smaller story about a man's failing marriage and the job he took to get away, it would have been perfectly married to the game's space it has to tell its story beats. The story of father and kid was wrapped up way too neatly and suddenly and it didn't land for me. I loved everything else about the game though.
 
Finished this tonight and really enjoyed it. There was a good chunk there in the middle that actually spooked me out, and I never get affected when watching horror films or playing scary games. So top marks from me for that. Yeah, it goes down hill after that, but it was excellent while it lasted. A bad ending doesn't diminish that for me.
 
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