We all do this to different degrees, and this is where Firewatch evokes a personal affinity for Delilah and Henry. People ignore lifeвЂ™s problems in unique ways, but Delilah and Henry end up in the same place, utilizing an all-consuming job to distract them from their ghosts back home. Delilah remarks early in the game: You have to be running away from something to take on this job. Though at first Delilah and Henry seem to have rather opposing personalities, similarities become apparentВ as the game progresses: theyвЂ™re both trying to elude their past, including a trend of messy relationships. However, letвЂ™s first focus on analyzing the narration of these two characters.

These tasks run parallel to the other two storylines as Henry starts to uncover a mystery concerning both him and Delilah. The job begins by completing menial tasks assigned by Delilah. Delilah and HenryвЂ™s blooming relationship is by far the most intriguing of the Firewatch storylines. Nearly everywhere you go and throughout the entire journey, Delilah is present via the radio. YouвЂ™re given a walkie-talkie in order to stay in communication with your boss, Delilah. When HenryвЂ™s secluded job as a firewatch lookout begins, two вЂ“ possibly three вЂ“ concurrent storylines manifest to varying degrees. And in the end, he indeed decides to flee his problems by becoming a firewatch lookout in the Wyoming wilderness. It may also allude to Henry trying to escape his problems. These sporadic, short adventures in the woods seem to analogize HenryвЂ™s adrift mind whenever you have a hard decision to make, an outdoor trip, breathing in the open forest air without any obvious destination, always clears the mind. Amid onscreen narrative that illustrates JuliaвЂ™s ever-declining health intoВ dementia, you trek through various paths in a forestвЂ“giving you a taste for what is to come. Everything seems perfect, but trouble quickly interlopes upon paradise. Right from the start, Firewatch feels like a game that will require heartfelt, weighted decisions on your part. The initial story is presented in a choose-which-side manner: either this or that.

As the player, you start off by making rather inconsequential decisions concerning Henry and JuliaвЂ™s relationship. Henry, a bar-hopper and seemingly lost soul, starts a love affair with Julia, who quickly becomes the center of his life. He lives in Boulder, Colorado, and meets a woman named Julia. Read our previous Narrative Analysis article here, covering Oxenfree.ДЇirewatch starts off with HenryвЂ™s personal life trials as a prelude to the main story. I must warn that spoilers follow as we analyze the plot and narration of Camp SantoвЂ™s indie adventure title, Firewatch. Taking into account the lackluster gameplay, the dialogue serves as the majority of FirewatchвЂ™s appeal as well. The conversation amongst these two characters is the bulk of the gameвЂ™s mercurial narration.

Nevertheless, itвЂ™s still worth discussing the hidden gems and disappointing plot points found within Firewatch most notably the stellar dialogue between Henry and Delilah, all over a handheld walkie-talkie. My review of Firewatch, as well as Nick Calandra and my YouTube ending discussion, highlight many of the faults within the gameplay and story alike. Its story is far from clichГ©d, which is a good first step in telling a masterful tale. No matter your opinion of the overall game, Firewatch undoubtedly taps into a visceral part of the human psyche.

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