Instead, it pushes the player into pursuing something fishy out in the woods, treating the park as suspect rather than letting it evolve into a welcomed, shared experience. Despite how well the ending captured the poignancy of their miscommunication, I felt that if the game had spent all of its effort on exploring the nuance of their relationship, I would've been wholly onboard. The ingredients are there for a very fascinating tale about human connection deprived of physical interaction-both seek to escape into one another, yet for different reasons-but it feels undercooked by the finale. However, the conspiratorial element doesn't compliment Delilah and Henry's relationship as much as it distracts from it. It admittedly stumbles a bit in the delivery, but I respect the game for what it was trying to achieve. As much as one may detest the numerous red herrings, every event and action in the game has a reason for unfolding the way it did, though I imagine many players will get flustered by the abundant amount of information stored in Ned's hideaway (plus they have to dispel their own convictions while digesting each factoid). I do think the subversion it took with conspiracy theories was admirable, expanding on how isolation and paranoia can mix to brew a very potent (and nearly tenable!) concoction. I'm not bothered by the fact that there's only one ending or that the central mystery leads nowhere-I'm disappointed that Firewatch steered away from Delilah and Henry's relationship. I can't really say the same about the story, unfortunately. Firewatch may be short and move at a snail's pace, but its characters and world feel well realized and very much alive. This isn't to downplay the visuals either like The Witness, the game deserves praise for its vibrant color tones, varied locales, and soothing atmosphere. There isn't a significant payoff for your decisions, but I feel the moment-to-moment challenge of choosing an answer is worthy of merit despite narrative inevitability. Even pit against the majesty of the softly rendered Wyoming wilderness, the moments where Delilah radios in to talk to you are among the high points of your days the banter is well-written (though a mite sarcastic at times) and the small choices you make in the conversations feel like they matter. The push-and-pull nature of Delilah and Henry's relationship is stupendous, easily becoming the focal point of the game. The way the game resolves Julia'a presence through Alzheimer's is a really clever and uncommon thing to see too: it allows her to persist in the story but prompts the player to move on. At first I was a little puzzled over its inclusion but I reasoned it was a pretty smart move: it inducts the player into Henry's tumultuous past and gives them a reason to be hesitant towards Delilah. Right out of the gate Firewatch throws you a curve ball by exploring Henry's life pre-lookout days (albeit in a slightly ham-fisted way), doing the bold thing and-*gasp*-giving the protagonist a compelling backstory.
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