Firewatch
Overview -
'Firewatch' is the first game from San Francisco-based Campo Santo, which includes the creative leads from both 'The Walking Dead' and 'Mark of the Ninja'. It was released for desktop and PS4 earlier this year and is now available for Xbox One.
Video Review
The art design comes from the fanciful, colorful work of artist Olly Moss, and here the Unity Engine renders his portraiture into a not-quite-cel-shaded form. Surfaces look slick and glossy, much like 'The Witness'. The natural panoramas of trees, meadows, and valleys are rendered beautifully. There is little in the way of creature models or animations and not many animals at all. The framerate is usually fine but for some reason took a nosedive when I stepped into a certain tent towards the end of the game, but that was a short scene.
Audio Review
Most of the sound effects are pure nature, just like you'd expect from a massive and mostly pristine forest. The music is soft and somewhat regretful, like if wildlife documentaries and a Wes Anderson soundtrack had a lovechild. The voice acting is the real art in 'Firewatch' and the main reason why it is such an immersive experience. The two leads are Cissy Jones, prolific game actor and Telltale collaborator, and Rich Sommer, the instantly recognizable Harry Crane from 'Mad Men'. They do a spectacular job.
Final Thoughts
After finishing 'Firewatch', I sat in a kind of stunned silence for awhile, the same way I do after watching a particularly powerful movie. It's the rare game that makes you feel something human, something ethereal and difficult to describe. It's not a long game but I finished it in one sitting, completely spellbound. If you are at all a fan of gaming as a method of storytelling, you should probably play 'Firewatch'.