My first and last camping trip took place in Ponca State Park. Though I’m not an “outdoorsy type” by any stretch of the imagination, I did approach the outing with enthusiasm, and left with strong memories. Example: On the first night, I realized how impossibly dark the forest becomes once the Sun goes down. Our LED lantern was a mere candle-flame against the encroaching black void. (Also, walking to the outhouse at
1 AM was terrifying, mainly thanks to Slender.)

I can understand why Henry, the protagonist of Firewatch, decides to take a summer job as a fire lookout in Shoshone National Forest. It’s a sabbatical from cell phones, routine and television chatter. Indeed, when he first arrives at his guard tower, his new supervisor crackles over a walkie-talkie: “People take this job to get away from something.”

Firewatch is a game about, among other things, coming to terms with what that something is. And it’s awesome.

The genre is first person adventure, and most of the playtime is spent trekking through the gorgeous scenery of Shoshone as Henry. Though there’s plenty to find, it’s hard to get lost. Henry’s supervisor (and sole companion), Delilah, will often chime in over the radio and the player will be presented with perhaps their most significant choices: dialogue options that change the player’s relationship with her. Together, they go on to solve conflicts and mysteries in the park.

It’s rare for a game to elicit tears within the first couple minutes — that distinction is usually reserved for Pixar movies — but Firewatch manages it, which foreshadows what sort of game it will be. This is no surprise: the game’s developers also worked on The Walking Dead, a narrative-centric zombie game that won Game of the Year at VGX in 2012. TWD was great, and I’d venture to say that Firewatch is an even more conclusive, fulfilling realization of the choice genre.

Novelistic in structure, Firewatch guides the player through an enthralling, self-contained mystery featuring the relationship between Henry and Delilah during their isolated months at Shoshone. This format has definite advantages. With The Walking Dead, for instance, the stretched-out episodes mean that we lose the minutiae of our decisions along the way. Choice becomes meaningless as the plot is shoehorned in a certain direction. At the end of Firewatch, however, I still felt connected to “my” Henry. I felt his story was complete, and exactly as long as it needed to be.

I was incredibly impressed by my experience with the game, and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys fiction. I laughed, I sobbed, and I found what may well become one of my new favorite pieces of interactive media. Ultimately, the game’s choices don’t change much about the ending — but they do change how the player experiences it, which is the important thing.  The characters are candid and human. Henry is just an average guy; he’s flawed no matter what, and as with real people, there’s no way to S-rank his problems away. His and Delilah’s rapport is realistic, as well as a delight to eavesdrop on. My only real complaint would be that the story uses some extreme methods to achieve a plot twist, but it’s a pretty small issue.

After shivering all night in my sleeping bag at Ponca, I woke to a dawn that was cool and beautiful. The trip turned out to be a highlight of my year. Somehow, all the things that stressed me out at home had evaporated away in the wilderness. Firewatch provides a similar experience to both Henry and the player: a wonderful, temporary escape. I recommend you pack yourself a protein bar and lose yourself in its world for a while. You may be surprised at what you find.