Biggest Firewatch Mistakes

Henry sets out fishing. Some extra activity would enhance this walking simulator, but Delilah asks Henry to track bear footprints instead. Where are the animals?FirewatchFirewatch is set in the wilderness. Animals do not appear in the entire game.

FirewatchFirewatch chapters divide by days, though some last longer. The start and end of the story show the plot well. The middle sections are short gameplay splices. This uneven structure makes tracking key factors hard, especially the growing bond between Henry and Delilah.

Henry sometimes jumps stone gaps or climbs ropes. Limited programming stops Henry from fully exploring. Henry cannot swim in the lake or hike small inclines. All games have physical limits. Containing Henry with boulders or dense thickets makes more sense than using invisible walls.

Henry thinks Brian's death was an accident. However, in his final talk with Delilah, they prepare their stories for the police. Henry decides to report the death as murder, influenced by Delilah's views. The narrative has plot holes despite the multiple endings.

Ned describes his three years in the wilderness on a tape to Henry. Ned followed Henry out of fear. Ned's actions caused Henry to find Brian Goodwin. Ned's motives remain unclear.

Ned's son Brian either died climbing or his father killed him. Three years later, Brian's body stays at the bottom of a cave hole. Henry sees Brian instantly, though the game offers no explanation. The main question is why Ned did not bury Brian, whether he killed him or not. A grieving father would bury his son; a murderer would hide the body.

Ned Goodwin matters to the story, even though Henry and Delilah learn this late. Ned knows everything about them, keeping information in a folder from time spent with them. Eavesdropping on the radio feels real. However, it strains belief that Ned could track Henry so closely without him noticing.

Character models appearing to float in the air were a common glitch in the late '90s and early '00s. Today? Not as much. Henry, though, often finds himself hovering above the ground.

In FirewatchThe cache boxes holding supplies use the combination 1234, but this one is different. Delilah changed the combination for Henry because she feared spying. She gave the combination to the "tapped" radio. Also, delivering the radio in person made more sense given the situation.

FirewatchScale fails in Firewatch. Multiple miles happen in minutes. Signposts skew the environment's scope. A story focusing on grueling hikes allows fast travel between points.

The game has few characters. You never meet anyone face-to-face. Still, FirewatchFirewatch brings in stereotypical teenage girls. They use annoying dialogue and overactive imaginations. These girls feel like caricatures, not people.

Besides walking, much activity happens in FirewatchFirewatch involves climbing and rappelling ropes. As Henry climbs, the rope wiggles, making him seem lighter than air. Pictures show Henry is burly, but the rope does not tighten with his pull.

A boombox sits on a rock, blasting '80s pop music. The volume stays the same even when knocked down. This seems like a small issue, but developers missed an opportunity. Why not make the game environment more interactive, especially with canned dialogue?

Fittingly,FirewatchFirewatch does not use flashing neon signs for objectives. Players get a map and a compass. These two tools cannot be used together. Because the map covers most of the screen, players cannot see landmarks while trying to find directions. The compass becomes mostly useless.

FirewatchFirewatch aims to show reflection and overcoming tragedy. The dialogue often sounds hokey and stale, except for lines like these. These odd asides appear without warning, feeling randomly added to the dialogue of two weak characters.

The introduction shows the player Henry and Julia met in 1975. The scene takes place in 1979, suggesting this is the first time the couple discusses having kids—four years into their relationship. This seems odd, and the dialogue feels slightly wrong. When asked about kids, a critical view of youthful intelligence is unlikely to be the first response.