Recent reviews by goooooooose #(´･ω･`)

I was enjoying this game until the new decision made by Sony. To clarify, this is a good game soured by a publisher decision, not the dev.

Unhappy with the direction Sony is going, and will not be playing until the PSN link requirement is addressed.

EDIT: Sony has back-tracked on the PSN link requirement. I am looking forward to playing this again.

honk honk >(o )

Wish I could review this as a "Yes, but..." I'm going to echo what many others have said.

This game is a LOT of fun with friends that you know, especially in Discord/voice chat.

This game can be very irritating in public random games. Pubbers who will use voice chat outside of game to cheat, people who leave if they don't get Impostor, and hackers (but the hacking is getting fixed.) Because the game has gotten so popular so quickly, there are a lot of people who don't play the social deduction aspect of the game, and either bandwagon or accuse randomly.

The game really shines if you are with people who can string a sentence together more than "red sus" but your mileage may vary.

honk honk >(o )

It was unfortunate that I had lost myself so much in the lore and background that I ended up accidentally spoiling myself to the ending, but suffice to say that even knowing what comes up, I was still moved by the emotional impact of the story's conclusion. This is becoming rarer in video game storytelling, and being able to experience this game has earned it a permanent spot in my Library.

There are points where you simply don't want the story to progress, so that you can live in the world and experience what the sandbox has to offer. Run and gun action with gangsters, thrilling banditry on the rails, stalking and tracking the dynamic beasts of the various climes. For a change of pace, one could just take it easy, saddle up and go for a calm ride through the wilderness, or spend literal hours sitting on the shore fishing. Some of my favourite moments in the game were the ones that were completely unintentional, like getting mauled by a cougar, only to respawn on a mountaintop at dawn, and watching the sunrise.

As for the storyline itself, whenever you can tear yourself away from the world to progress through the story, I've had family and loved ones draw just as much enjoyment out of watching me play through the story, seeing the characters interact, and experience it vicariously, even if they're not avid gamers.

This is a beautiful game, set in a beautiful world, with engaging characters, and is just a lot of fun. Less mad-cap hijinks of GTA, with more relatable down-to-earth problems of a simpler time. While I can't guarantee that everyone will love it, this was definitely an experience that I haven't regretted.

best score 5/7 honk honk >(o )

I'll preface this review by addressing the negative reviews first.

• This is a short "game" (I'll get to the quotation soon.) I started this in earnest at about 7:00pm and finished at about 11:00pm. This is in line with other reviews, saying the game itself clocks in under four hours long.
  
• This is not your typical game. There's little action, no quick-time events, no rooty-tooty-point'-n'-shooty, no strategy, or sense of "achievement".
  
• Many reviews complained about the abruptness of the ending, how it was "anti-climactic" or "a waste of time."

Playing Firewatch, I found the game's highlight to be its characters. I think people were let down because of the ending because they came into it with their own preconceptions about the story. But it's not about the characters' story, it's about the story's characters. You really get to experience the setting through Henry's eyes, understand his thoughts, and see his back-and-forth with Delilah. Honestly, in the end, I didn't care about the story. I cared about the characters. You get relatable, believable characters, with superb voice-acting and very well-written dialogue. The game expertly flows between light-hearted joking and playful teasing, into paranoid anxiety and somber melancholy. I cannot speak highly enough of the writers, their dialogue and characters kept me and the girlfriend enthralled the whole way through. (She actually sat through the whole thing with me, from beginning to end! I don't know how many games can boast that kind of third-person retention!)

One of the other reviews I read put it pretty succinctly, the story has a bittersweet ending. I think other players went through it all, expecting some big payoff at the end, "solve the mystery, get the girl, save the day." But real life isn't always like that. Remember when I said I'd get to the part about this being a "game"? I get that games should be an escape from real life, but this is sort of what makes Firewatch special; it's not a game that's meant to be played, it's a story that's meant to be experienced.

Exploring the Wyoming wilderness, getting attached to the characters, and getting immersed into their world. That's what Firewatch is about, and I think it achieved its goal admirably.

- honk honk >(o )

I really enjoyed this game. It's a little on the short side, but the characters were likeable, the world is immersive, and the gameplay and combat were smooth as silk. Special props to the unarmed fight scenes where you could bust out the kung-fu combos, and the gunplay that rings of a cross between John Woo-esque cover vaulting and Max Payne Bullet-time. The vehicles seemed a little tacked on, but there are racing mini-games to satisfy your inner speed freak. Speaking of mini-games, there's also a "karaoke" type game a la Rock Band, which while silly, was still very enjoyable.

I was very much reminded of Mafia II, delving into the gritty criminal underworlds; instead of the Italian Mafia Stateside, you're working your way up the Triads ladder in Hong Kong. The story was engrossing and you're stuck in the middle of being an undercover officer while trying your damnedest to not get attached to these lovable gangsters. If you're looking for an immersive crime drama with lots of action in an open-world that hasn't really been visited, go ahead and pick up this game. It's one of my favourites and I'd have it still installed on my SSD if'n I had the space!