Support NeoGAF

[RageWaffles]

so, who was Delilah talking to when she wanted to put Henry "on hold" towards the beginning of the game, shortly after the phone line was cut? She said something like "I don't think he knows"... It had to be Ned, right?

Edit: Nevermind. Just realized she was probably talking to another lookout, and saying that she didn't think Henry knew anything about the wire... Duh.

 

[Wok]

The idea that she was so paranoid she dropped off a new walkie talkie with code instead of, you know, just going to Henry's and giving it to him/talking in person was one of those places where the "we don't want to fully animate people" killed my suspension of disbelief.

The worst is that D is in a lookout north, right? So she has to pass near H's lookout to go south to put the talkie in the cache.

So she prefers to go the long way rather than the short way when there is a serial-killer hiding in the woods and spying on her when she undresses?

 

[Phinor]

Highly enjoyed this game from start to finish. I wish it was maybe 1-2 hours longer but that's about it. Reading this topic I see plenty of negatives people point out that I agree with but none of that ruined the story or the game for me. I pretty much managed to be completely immersed from start to finish. The one thing I'm wondering about is the conversation Delilah had with someone else the player maybe wasn't supposed to hear. What didn't Henry know? Anyway, I hope to see more of these one-off games like this and Gone Home. I'm shallow enough to need some production value so I'm not going to play all the RPG maker games that are supposedly doing similar things.

That being said, if people ask recommendations, for most people I'm going to say wait until it's half off. Glad to see it's selling really well though. The content is great but I don't see how anyone could spend 6 hours with this game. Heck, your camera runs out of film way before that!

 

[80s Bad Guy]

The worst is that D is in a lookout north, right? So she has to pass near H's lookout to go south to put the talkie in the cache.

So she prefers to go the long way rather than the short way when there is a serial-killer hiding in the woods and spying on her when she undresses?

I think breaking Firewatch down like this is making me appreciate the game less. I mean, this stuff is typical in games, I just expected them to have thought through the basic plot more than other developers would have. Especially the backpack that isn't there/supposed to be there the whole time. Unless Delilah has a legit reason for avoiding Henry more than just "That's what real people would do, man" Because real people wouldn't do half of the nonsense that these characters do.

 

[semiconscious]

I think breaking Firewatch down like this is making me appreciate the game less. I mean, this stuff is typical in games, I just expected them to have thought through the basic plot more than other developers would have. Especially the backpack that isn't there/supposed to be there the whole time. Unless Delilah has a legit reason for avoiding Henry more than just "That's what real people would do, man" Because real people wouldn't do half of the nonsense that these characters do.

the 'adult' relationship/conversation between the 2 main characters is supposed to be the heart of the experience. but it's impossible to take all that seriously when their actual behaviors aren't equally 'adult'. it's for this reason that, yeah, i think the writers end up failing in doing what they're attempting to do. because, fundamentally, the characters can only be as genuine as everything else is...

 

[tallbroski]

That was disappointing after a great build up the ending and the whole reveal was anticlimax. The gameplay was good though but the experience was way too long considering that reveal, ending. It was like Gone Home but way longer, on the the positive note it was cheaper.

Also did anyone watch the IGN gameplay of this before the game came out? The developer hinted that they would be bigger mystey i that video and they purposely played that segment where D is talking to someone on the phone and Henry can listen. Come on that made me believe that there was a big mystery and D could possibly be corrupt. Well I was disappointed, its like that guy sold me a lie lol or it was just my crazy expectations.

 

[Fuchsdh]

the 'adult' relationship/conversation between the 2 main characters is supposed to be the heart of the experience. but it's impossible to take all that seriously when their actual behaviors aren't equally 'adult'. it's for this reason that, yeah, i think the writers end up failing in doing what they're attempting to do. because, fundamentally, the characters can only be as genuine as everything else is...

I think this game brushes up against the tension between what we expect from media, and reality, and where the line blurs. Characters have to act in ways that are true to life, but at the same time there's not a movie I've ever seen where characters are stuck for ten minutes trying to find parking. Our stories are exaggerated from the real on purpose, even those that focus on the tedious or the more stultifying realities of modern life. Firewatch focuses on the characters, but it requires you to buy into a certain amount of characters acting like idiots, or being hemmed in by contrivances, to get to the end. For some people it'll work fine, others it won't. Everyone has different tolerances or bugbears, but for me Ned's repeatedly boneheaded actions that were required for the story to proceed bothered me.

 

[Auctopus]

Credits rolling, enjoying the disposable photos (saw that coming).

Really undecided on the game. Ignoring how shit it ran throughout the game, it was pretty good.

So, is there multiple endings? I ended up going back to my wife and telling Delilah to move to Santa Fe.

 

[bigdog]

I think it was a great concept...but I hated the ending. I really wish we could have seen her, and we could have even gone to see Julia. It just seems like such a bleh ending...like everything just washes away. Idk I was expecting something else I guess

 

[Caipirinha]

Whoa whoa whoa wait wait wait... I just finished the game and are we seriously supposed to believe that some previous look out erected a large metal fence, installed telecommunications towers and created a dummy monitoring station filled with high tech equipment?!?!?!

And can someone clarify what exactly the rationale behind doing all that, rather than just locking the gate to the mine and doing a runner like he has had to anyway?

I enjoyed the game but that was one of the most disappointing and poorly thought out endings I have ever seen. All the way through I was thinking, what could Delilah's anterior motives be, who could be watching me.. the government, aliens?! But no, it's the most boring answer you can think of and it doesn't even make practical sense.

....

I feel like this could have been a legendary adventure game but instead it's just a disappointment. I'm glad I bought it and hope the team go on to make more games like it but I really hope they learn from the mistakes of the narrative here.

 

[Ferrio]

Whoa whoa whoa wait wait wait... I just finished the game and are we seriously supposed to believe that some previous look out erected a large metal fence, installed telecommunications towers and created a dummy monitoring station filled with high tech equipment?!?!?!

No. That is a real research site that Ned broke into and tossed fake papers and stuff around to make it look like it was something else.

 

[zer0blivion]

Whoa whoa whoa wait wait wait... I just finished the game and are we seriously supposed to believe that some previous look out erected a large metal fence, installed telecommunications towers and created a dummy monitoring station filled with high tech equipment?!?!?!

And can someone clarify what exactly the rationale behind doing all that, rather than just locking the gate to the mine and doing a runner like he has had to anyway?

I enjoyed the game but that was one of the most disappointing and poorly thought out endings I have ever seen. All the way through I was thinking, what could Delilah's anterior motives be, who could be watching me.. the government, aliens?! But no, it's the most boring answer you can think of and it doesn't even make practical sense.

....

I feel like this could have been a legendary adventure game but instead it's just a disappointment. I'm glad I bought it and hope the team go on to make more games like it but I really hope they learn from the mistakes of the narrative here.

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.

 

[TheRealJakoozie]

I just don't understand why one man would do so many odd things cutting power cables knocking Henry out recording audio making it sound like they did bad things and then ultimately leading Henry to the key to the cave to discover the dead body it just doesn't add up to me and the more I think about the game the more I just feel the story falls apart in the end

I agree. I thought the game had a fantastic atmosphere and I really enjoyed the journey. But the story as a whole just doesn't make any sense.

And yes, you can make the argument that it's not really about the mystery, but about the characters and their personal problems. And for the first hour that's what I was expecting. But then they focused so much on the mystery and thriller elements that I expected a proper resolution. When I didn't get that it kind of spoiled the experience somewhat.

With that said I think the dialogue and acting in this game is fantastic, and its probably the best walking simulator by a mile. (The name is sticking, don't mope about it)
But it could have been so much more.

 

[Wok]

I think breaking Firewatch down like this is making me appreciate the game less. I mean, this stuff is typical in games, I just expected them to have thought through the basic plot more than other developers would have. Especially the backpack that isn't there/supposed to be there the whole time. Unless Delilah has a legit reason for avoiding Henry more than just "That's what real people would do, man" Because real people wouldn't do half of the nonsense that these characters do.

I can think of a reason for the behavior that I described. Somehow, D has never met H, she only has a broad description of him thanks to that time when she asked lots of questions in order to draw him. So she might no be confortable with meeting him at all: how can she communicate a place to meet without fearing that Ned would go there first, and that she would mistake Ned for H. So she decides to put the talkie-walkie in the cache without telling anyone and then to go back to her lookout to hide.

 

[Auctopus]

Whoa whoa whoa wait wait wait... I just finished the game and are we seriously supposed to believe that some previous look out erected a large metal fence, installed telecommunications towers and created a dummy monitoring station filled with high tech equipment?!?!?!

And can someone clarify what exactly the rationale behind doing all that, rather than just locking the gate to the mine and doing a runner like he has had to anyway?

I enjoyed the game but that was one of the most disappointing and poorly thought out endings I have ever seen. All the way through I was thinking, what could Delilah's anterior motives be, who could be watching me.. the government, aliens?! But no, it's the most boring answer you can think of and it doesn't even make practical sense.

....

I feel like this could have been a legendary adventure game but instead it's just a disappointment. I'm glad I bought it and hope the team go on to make more games like it but I really hope they learn from the mistakes of the narrative here.

No. That is a real research site that Ned broke into and tossed fake papers and stuff around to make it look like it was something else.

What really was silly was that Delilah had a clear view of that site from her lookout. You could've waved to her from outside the tent.

 

[nOoblet16]

I can think of a reason for the behavior that I described. Somehow, D has never met H, she only has a broad description of him thanks to that time when she asked lots of questions in order to draw him. So she might no be confortable with meeting him at all: how can she communicate a place to meet without fearing that Ned would go there first, and that she would mistake Ned for H. So she decides to put the talkie-walkie in the cache without telling anyone and then to go back to her lookout to hide.

Hasn't she met Ned and Brian?

 

[Wok]

Hasn't she met Ned and Brian?

Okay... at this point of the story, she does not know that Ned is the stalker, so the argument should still hold. Similarly, she might be afraid that H mistakes her for an enemy and assaults her. It might be part of the paranoia.

 

[semiconscious]

I can think of a reason for the behavior that I described. Somehow, D has never met H, she only has a broad description of him thanks to that time when she asked lots of questions in order to draw him. So she might no be confortable with meeting him at all: how can she communicate a place to meet without fearing that Ned would go there first, and that she would mistake Ned for H. So she decides to put the talkie-walkie in the cache without telling anyone and then to go back to her lookout to hide.

what?! he's sleeping in his tower! &, meanwhile, she knows ned's out there, possibly even right outside her tower, just waiting for her to wander off into the night! ...

sorry, but if she's gonna have the guts to go all the way to the damn supply cache by herself, at night, there's no real reason not to simply stop at henry's tower (which's right on the way) & just hand it to him. i mean, she's either afraid, or she isn't...

 

[Spyware]

D is clearly asocial. I'm an adult and I would do pretty much what she did in such a situation. I'd rather go hide something for someone to find than meet up with the person. If there's any way to avoid meeting people, I choose that way. It's not hard to understand at all. :S

 

[TheRealJakoozie]

Another thing I thought was silly was the justification for why Delilah (?) didn't want to call the cops after Henry being knocked cold. Of course they would have believed him! Why wouldn't they. And all the talk about how she might lose her job ... It was just so painfully obvious that the only real reason they didn't call the cops is for the story to actually work.

Also, when stuff got really serious. Why wouldn't just Henry leave? There was no reason for him to stay there, its just a summer job he could have quit easily. They should have come up with a narrative reason for him to have to stay. The cut phone lines was a good start, but didn't that get fixed quite quickly?

 

[nOoblet16]

D is clearly asocial. I'm an adult and I would do pretty much what she did in such a situation. I'd rather go hide something for someone to find than meet up with the person. If there's any way to avoid meeting people, I choose that way. It's not hard to understand at all. :S

Well I donno, if I am worried about a stalker/hostile person I'd rather just meet the person rather than go alone even further and for an even longer time just so I could have a way to make second hand contact.

 

[CrichtonKicks]

While I agree that it was silly that Delilah came all that way and didn't just talk to Henry in his tower I believe she stated that she got the rangers to take her to the supply drop. If that's the case:

1) it was likely via road and not straight by the tower
2) they provided some level of personal protection for Delilah

Also, when stuff got really serious. Why wouldn't just Henry leave? There was no reason for him to stay there, its just a summer job he could have quit easily. They should have come up with a narrative reason for him to have to stay. The cut phone lines was a good start, but didn't that get fixed quite quickly?

That's why they used the red herring about the missing girls. Both H&D are worried that the recorded conversations will be used to link them to the missing girls and put them in hot water. The game is very specific about withholding that the girls were never missing until after that piece of plot leverage is no longer important.

 

[80s Bad Guy]

D is clearly asocial. I'm an adult and I would do pretty much what she did in such a situation. I'd rather go hide something for someone to find than meet up with the person. If there's any way to avoid meeting people, I choose that way. It's not hard to understand at all. :S

I get that too, but she says she got the new walkie talkie from one of the other Rangers, who hadn't seen anything strange. So either she's only anxious to meet Henry, or she lied about where she got it. And what, did she walk to Cottonwood Creek alone in the dark? That makes even less sense than going directly to Henry too. Edit: oh I see above maybe she had an escort.

If there had been roads out to that supply cache maybe she could have dropped it off. And now I'm asking for roads in this fictional game to make the plot more believeable, hah. But when you make this kind of game that's going to happen.

 

[Garrett Hawke]

I get that too, but she says she got the new walkie talkie from one of the other Rangers, who hadn't seen anything strange. So either she's only anxious to meet Henry, or she lied about where she got it. And what, did she walk to Cottonwood Creek alone in the dark? That makes even less sense than going directly to Henry too. Edit: oh I see above maybe she had an escort.

She might already have known the other rangers, as she was a regular, which might explain why she had no trouble talking to them irl. Also about the walkie talkie, I assumed she had someone take it over.

 

[CrichtonKicks]

She might already have known the other rangers, as she was a regular, which might explain why she had no trouble talking to them irl. Also about the walkie talkie, I assumed she had someone take it over.

There was a quote in the game about how it got there. Does anyone have it handy? Suppose I could watch a Let's Play to find it.

 

[Spyware]

Also, when stuff got really serious. Why wouldn't just Henry leave? There was no reason for him to stay there, its just a summer job he could have quit easily. They should have come up with a narrative reason for him to have to stay. The cut phone lines was a good start, but didn't that get fixed quite quickly?

He tried to but the fire cut off the two day hiking trail out of there to his car and D refused to call the expensive helicopter for him. He was stuck due to D and the fire.

Well I donno, if I am worried about a stalker/hostile person I'd rather just meet the person rather than go alone even further and for an even longer time just so I could have a way to make second hand contact.

I don't think D was that worried for herself. Nothing really strange had happened to her (at most an open door). I think she felt pretty safe. also she might have had a ranger with her apparently.

I get that too, but she says she got the new walkie talkie from one of the other Rangers, who hadn't seen anything strange. So either she's only anxious to meet Henry, or she lied about where she got it. And what, did she walk to Cottonwood Creek alone in the dark? That makes even less sense than going directly to Henry too. Edit: oh I see above maybe she had an escort.

If there had been roads out to that supply cache maybe she could have dropped it off. And now I'm asking for roads in this fictional game to make the plot more believeable, hah. But when you make this kind of game that's going to happen.

I felt she had been in touch with the various rangers for a long time. Maybe meeting them was even required when she started the job or whatevs. Also, meeting someone you dont' really have any kind of relationship with (it's just someone who works in the same area) for a specific and easy purpose (like getting some normal equipment) would for me be way easier than meeting someone I drunkenly flirted with and stuff. Part of the asocial thing. Henry wouldn't just say "oh, a new radio, thanks bye!" and let her walk away.

 

[80s Bad Guy]

Fair enough. I've had times where I'm supposed to meet someone and I sit around all day thinking about it so much the stress of the impending social situation builds up and I end up turning off my phone and hiding in my apartment. It's been awhile, but I can relate.

 

[Trail Guide]

I know it's probably down to my own dialogue choices but I felt my Henry had no character development at all. Basically the conclusion was "bad shit happens".

And I didn't enjoy the game enough to play it again to explore different dialogue options.

Just finished the game myself and this is how I feel. The game started out strong but ended up being a huge letdown. For my play through Henry had no arc as a character. He came out to the woods to run away from his problems and maybe goes back to resolve them? Then again maybe not as he didn't really have anything to go back too. The whole game I never really had a connection to Ned, Ron, Dave, and Brain because I never interacted with them just found out things about them along the way and at the end the Ned/Brian thing gets resolved but nothing gets resolved for Henry. He didn't grow or change as a character at all.

Like the show Lost the game starts out strong with mysteries and exploration and then goes bust with a lame resolution that renders everything pointless.

Random thoughts:

How come I can't take the Pork Pond sign? There is a whole conversation about people stealing the sign including Delilah but I can't take it at the end? Bummer.

How the hell to two teens go missing and Henry never has to go look for them? I found this to be so bizarre that they go missing and Henry doesn't really react. He doesn't even attempt to look for them after the report of their disappearance.

All that rope climbing and Henry never wore gloves. I kept thinking about poor Henry getting some serious rope burn.

 

[leng jai]

As much as I enjoyed the atmosphere and orienteering aspect of Firewatch, the more I think about the plot the more I am hating it. It's not even about Delilah not waiting for 10 minutes to see Henry. I get that some people are afraid of meeting up with someone they've only ever talked to on the phone. They should have gone all the way with the grounded vibe they had going in the beginning, instead of creating a huge build up that was completely at odds with the actual resolution. It's a massive bait and switch and even the execution was poor because the story really didn't make a lick of sense in a lot of ways.

Ironically I'm kind of glad we never actually saw any "people" properly in the game. From what we saw of Henry's body the player modes would have looked awful, especially compared to the rest of the game.

 

[Noctix]

Quick question: I didn't understand that part where he gets a call from D in the middle of the night and she pretends it's julia and then few days later she tells him that he called her thinking she was julia. Or did I not get that part right?

 

[Ferrio]

Quick question: I didn't understand that part where he gets a call from D in the middle of the night and she pretends it's julia and then few days later she tells him that he called her thinking she was julia. Or did I not get that part right?

He was sleep walking, the conversation was all in his head. Another concept that was brought up and instantly dropped.

 

[CheesecakeRecipe]

Quick question: I didn't understand that part where he gets a call from D in the middle of the night and she pretends it's julia and then few days later she tells him that he called her thinking she was julia. Or did I not get that part right?

It's a bit of unreliable narration. To Henry, he thinks he hears Julia over the radio and responds to her. He was just dreaming and using the radio in his sleep, which caused D to wake up and hear him mumbling about 'Jules'. Since we're playing as Henry, we see what he feels really happened. It isn't until D says something a few days later that we're given context for the sequence.

 

[leng jai]

Yeah, a lot of the plot points weren't really fleshed out. The time passing was too abrupt and long at times as well. This game could have easily been twice as long with a better plot and a slightly bigger map.

 

[colinp]

I told Delilah to go on and leave ahead of me and so when I got to her lookout I was confused 1) why I would expect to find her there and 2) why I would go inside. I'm not mr creepy man, why do I need to invade her space? And put on her headset...? Just one of MANY examples of the story not making sense or being at odds with what had been built up. So disappointing.

Slightly similarly, how come I can't turn off the stereo the girls are playing? The only way to stop it is to throw it in the lake, which I did because I couldn't just turn it off. Oh, for obtuse story reasons... Well.

 

[CrichtonKicks]

Slightly similarly, how come I can't turn off the stereo the girls are playing? The only way to stop it is to throw it in the lake, which I did because I couldn't just turn it off. Oh, for obtuse story reasons... Well.

You aren't required to throw it in the lake.

 

[colinp]

You aren't required to throw it in the lake.

I know, but I wanted to stop the music.

 

[Ferrio]

Slightly similarly, how come I can't turn off the stereo the girls are playing? The only way to stop it is to throw it in the lake, which I did because I couldn't just turn it off. Oh, for obtuse story reasons... Well.

Why would you wanna stop it? JUST PUSH PLAY TURN IT UP TURN IT UP TURN IT UP JU-UST PU-USH PLAY

 

[TraBuch]

I carried the boombox back to the tower with me and I was slightly annoyed it wasn't there the next day.

 

[colinp]

I carried the boombox back to the tower with me and I was slightly annoyed it wasn't there the next day.

Ned stole it!!

 

[Auctopus]

Just wanna double-check, the sweater in the supply cache by the lake was a TLOU reference yeah?

 

[Gbraga]

Ha, loved the Gone Home easter egg, very clever.

About the game itself... yeeeaaah...

Kinda wish my game glitched after day 2 and I had to stop playing there.

Twist: Ned is D. The photo of a man in D's lookout is a selfie.

 

[KyanMehwulfe]

One thing I have to give the game credit for is how oddly bothered I am by the ending the next day. I finished it very late last night in one 4-hr playthrough, and despite loving the tension during the story, felt rather unsatisfied in the end... both from the mystery and the social part. I think I'm more let down by D than the mystery, even. They bonded quite a lot, hell they even had radio sex or whatever is implied when she is about to tell him the things they could do together and then it cuts to another day.

They build up this bond and the ending almost feels like rejection

haha I don't know if a game has ever captured 'getting stood up by a friend' as well as this game.


Even the next day, I'm still surprisingly bothered by that ;p so much that I'm almost inclined to try play the game differently to try get a nicer ending but from reading this thread, it seems like nothing really can change.

 

[swearing-circle]

Man, just finished the game and I've got to say that the narrative was a complete let down in the end.

I absolutely loved the build up. The game managed to create a sense of uneasiness better than many horror games I've played and the actual game play was incredibly immersive regardless of how simplistic it was. The writing was fantastic and the voice acting was incredible. The game was paced well but in the end, it's all so meaningless.

We don't learn anything interesting about the characters and the mystery itself just wasn't all that big of a revelation.

It's a real shame because the game gets so much right but at the end of the day it just isn't going to stay with me.

 

[Fuchsdh]

Ha, loved the Gone Home easter egg, very clever.

About the game itself... yeeeaaah...

Kinda wish my game glitched after day 2 and I had to stop playing there.

Iunderstoodthatreference.gif

Speaking of games with twists out of nowhere...

 

[Jest Chillin]

Ned has to be the one who lead you to the cave. The place where you find the backpack with the keys can be accessed before that moment, and nothing is there. Afterwards, the wavefinder leads you to it, so Ned had to have placed a tracker in the backpack (or in the alarm behind the backpack) to lead you to it. He didn't have access to a tracker before Brian's death, and neither did Brian.

I never went to the specific area where the backpack is located before that point in the story. So you're saying that the specific alcove that you have to push through two sections of bushes to reach, is accessible earlier and there's no backpack there? But the deer camera is there as well?

And that's a shame because 'what it is' is not as good as either of those two options had they chose to focus on one or the other.

Disagree entirely. Horror/Supernatural is already well tread ground for a game of this type and it's not as interesting and relationship simulators are boring whether the dialogue is good or not.

 

[80s Bad Guy]

Disagree entirely. Horror/Supernatural is already well tread ground for a game of this type and it's not as interesting and relationship simulators are boring whether the dialogue is good or not.

Maybe. It's probably unfair, but I just wish they had committed a little more in one direction or the other.

 

[Admiral Woofington]

All I know is that Henry wanted D all night long

 

[Gbraga]

All I know is that Henry wanted D all night long

KappaPride?

 

[semiconscious]

I never went to the specific area where the backpack is located before that point in the story. So you're saying that the specific alcove that you have to push through two sections of bushes to reach, is accessible earlier and there's no backpack there? But the deer camera is there as well?

even were the backpack there, it still wouldn't explain this:

Ned has to be the one who lead you to the cave. The place where you find the backpack with the keys can be accessed before that moment, and nothing is there. Afterwards, the wavefinder leads you to it, so Ned had to have placed a tracker in the backpack (or in the alarm behind the backpack) to lead you to it. He didn't have access to a tracker before Brian's death, and neither did Brian.

the plot holes are real. & ned is mr. deus ex machina ...

 

[Jest Chillin]

even were the backpack there, it still wouldn't explain this:



the plot holes are real. & ned is mr. deus ex machina ...

The wavefinder doesn't just track the trackers. It's tuned to do that primarily but as you see when you play the game, it tracks both the belt type of tracking as well as the small tracking unit that was in the tent... it's not far fetched for it to have picked up the electronic signal from the camera.

That's also not what a plot hole is and Ned's actions are not deus ex machina either. At most the backpack is a sequence based convenience to preserve the arc.