This game had me hooked right from the start with its immersive life simulation and captivating characters. Like full ADHD hyperfixation didn't move from my bed for 10 hours bones sore from lack of movement full iPad kidding it at my switch.

The art and world-building are stunning, offering deep lore and plenty of discovery. It's definitely designed for replayability, with subsequent playthroughs offering new paths and challenges in a super, super cool way to me... However, there are a few gripes.

The endings feel too generic compared to the engaging gameplay. Some plot twists in the epilogue seem to come out of nowhere, like suddenly falling in love with a character with little foreshadowing. The pacing also feels slightly off, with important plot points sometimes happening abruptly. While the game captures the feeling of helplessness well, it can leave character plotlines feeling underdeveloped.

Despite these issues, the world lore is incredibly rich and immersive, making the fictional planet feel like it's been around for longer than the game. However, the character writing doesn't always match up to the world-building. Despite its flaws, I was drawn in by the intense world-building and emotional impact of the game. The card game was enjoyable, but I was left disappointed by some incomplete storylines and lackluster romances. Regardless, I'm def gonna play again because its beautiful. And the music!!!!

TLDR; Bought it for the puppy boy, stayed for the childhood ptsd simulator

My least favorite genre of games are those that take themselves so seriously as to imply the player must be stupid. The game hypes up a very high intensity mystery throughout the whole game, and intentionally leaves you feeling lost, confused, and disappointed. All in an attempt to make an "intellectual" videogame.

Firewatch was supposed to be a groundbreaking narrative about escapism. Despite that intention, i still had to google what the ending meant, because there were so many loopholes and loose ends that i didn't quite believe that it was the end. Example: Why was Delilah talking to someone else on the radio in the beginning of the game, saying "yeah... he doesnt know."? I'm pretty sure its just another loose end put in to make you trust that the story is going to have a better ending than it did.

It seems like the people who made it, don't like the medium of games at all, and wanted to "improve" the medium.
Firewatch wants to disappoint you. Some may argue that you're not supposed to like the ending, and i think thats dumb.

Games are meant to be enjoyed, and can be cruel or sardonic without feeling like a waste of time. See: Portal 2, or The Stanley Parable, or Inscryption.

Putting aside my irritation, it can be played in one day, and its pretty fun during the gameplay despite it being a walking simulator. The layout of the map is really well done and i didn't get lost despite my horrible sense of direction, so that was nice. The scenery is also beautiful, and the dialogue was well written, the characters had great chemistry.

The entire philosophy of this game might be a spit in the face to videogames, but the actual gameplay before the ending was good.

I wouldn't recommend wasting your time with this game, but as far as wastes of times go, its not the worst in the world.