It’s not too long before we can finally experience the beautiful, pastel coloured vistas of Firewatch. February 9 next year, to be precise.
Isolated and with your only contact a woman’s voice on the end of the radio, Firewatch aims to fill us with existential dread, asking questions like “Why are we here?”
SOMA is another recent game that captured that same particular flavour of dread by crafting an unusually compelling and thoughtful story. Here’s how SOMA approached the design of its narrative with a unique development method.
In Firewatch you play as a man named Henry who has swapped the bustle of city life for a watchtower in the Wyoming wilderness.
His job is to keep an eye out for smoke, particularly in the dry summer months where the sun can create a blaze in a moment’s notice. The voice on the radio belongs to your supervisor, Delilah – she is Henry’s only contact with civilisation.
Strange events soon draw Henry out of the safety of his tower and he is forced to make choices that could negatively impact the only human relationship he has left.
It’s a novel setup for a game, and the setting and visual style make it all the more appealing. I know I’ll be giving it a go in February.