Recent reviews by paroikos

CLARIFICATION: I don't think this this game is worth $20. It might be worth $15. I think it's worth $10-12.

Firewatch does what it sets out to do. It tells a story driven by excellent voice actors and great dialogue. As far as the story writing, it's not bad, but it isn't mindblowing. It may not even be great by some standards.

Playing Firewatch doesn't feel like an interactive movie, it feels like a book. It's a cool feeling, but it's a short book, which is actually why I would recommend buying it on sale. Most of what I read said it was a 5-6 hour game, I finished one playthrough in 3.8 hours, 15-20 minutes of which I was paused and AFK. This was a huge downer for me.

Another downer was that nothing really "happens" in the game. I don't just mean with the story or events, I just mean in general. The game establishes controls and settings, then skips SO MUCH story time to the point that you only play through days where something MAJOR happens. A few days here and there of random activities would really have helped build atmosphere, and would have been a great chance for dialogue.

The good things: there are few games like this, and the story is at least very unique. It only became predictable for me in the last 30-45 minutes, and I still wasn't 100% sure I was right. I love that the main character is a character and not just the player. Even though you guide his dialogue, Hank is a human being in his own right. The atmosphere is good as well, I never really got tired of running around through the park, I could have stood for more of it. I was let down a little by the climax, but even the moments afterwards while the game was winding down still felt poignant.

If you want an experience that is immersive and has more thought in its writing than the average game, go for it. If you're interested in gameplay mechanics or you're looking for something really active, it's probably not for you. If you want something scary, it's not even close, it's only suspenseful at points.

6.9999999/10 (can't bring myself to give it a 7, there's just too much room for improvement, but it's close)