Firewatch is a great departure from the warfare and violence that I’d been playing at the time of playing this game. Firewatch starts off with grief, and as a care worker, I just immediately felt a connection to Henry as I’d seen his case hundreds of times. As you start the game, you are in a serene and almost untouched beautiful forest. The game strips away everything apart from your own thoughts as a player and Delilah.
This was the best part for me. I liked that for most of the time, the game is just you building this friendship/relationship with this woman in the adjacent watch tower. I looked forward to talking to her. It was so organic.

The game is linear but has a level of autonomy on a small scale: of what you say or omit. A wedding ring left on? Or off and the level of comfort you find in a stranger. This all builds up to the small world building of this patch of forest.

Things begin to escalate, and when they do, it gets dark quickly. Some moments literally made my spine shake. It’s a story of love and the isolation that Henry feels, which is beautifully shown through the setting. And when your own spouse doesn’t recognise you, is it okay for Henry to seek refuge in a stranger in a faraway tower?