Critical Play | Walking Simulators
I had the joy of playing (more so watching a gameplay) of Firewatch. This is a first-person story where a middle age man, Henry, takes on a job in a national park as a way to cope with his difficult pass as his wife suffers with early onset dementia. Turns out that every other person who has had his job in the past usually take this position as an escape from something.
This was my first time watching a walking simulator and from the get go I was already invested in the emotional tolls that Henry was going through with his wife. From then on, I was hooked by the daily tropes he went through to discover the oddities happening in the forest. Interacting without seeing any faces was extremely interesting. Having this weird crush/love interest on the other side of the phone line was an ingenius way of creating a social relationship, yet feeling slightly anxious being in the wild all by yourself.
Not to mention, the beauty of the game. Because this game was so focused on the narrative, it was less about skill and mechanics, and more so exploring every piece of information. From notes left behind by previous rangers to a glimpse of a human being and missing teenagers, this game truly took you through a ride of emotions by giving the player only hints of information at a time. Despite not being given the full story, I was never bored either. Each day exploring the forest, there was always something new. I couldn’t stop watching half way through, I needed to know what happened next.
Though I say watching, I felt like Henry. Seeing everything from his pov, choosing the careful words I wanted to say to Delilah, all of these added to this walking simulator. Every design of this made you focus on the narrative and care about what words you wanted to say. Usually I rush through narration, but because of the variety of phrases you could say to Delilah and the fact that this was the main mechanic of the game, I was drawn to the conversations.
Overall, this was the first and by far not the last walking simulator game I will play. I hope both Henry and Delilah find peace in their futures.
