Firewatch lowers the narrative bar for games and that is fine

I was really anticipating Firewatch and I was sorely disappointed as was of course bound to happen.

This bit I liked:

The best part about the game

A video posted by Alper Cugun (@alper) on

The art and environment are the stars of the game. The attention to detail and craft that went into creating the world and nature you are walking through are breathtaking. It’s a nice touch that you get to take pictures and keep pictures.

What’s problematic about the game is that even people who don’t like it as a game think that the writing is really good. This is just not the case. The setup is embarrassingly bad, juvenile, and sexist. The cliched story of cheap self-pity and codependence made us want to quit the game then and there. As many people have remarked, the dialogue between the two characters is good and manages to entertain at times and move things forward despite the poor setup. The actual plot and reveal on which the game hinges is awful and inconsequential. The other characters and what happens with them do nothing more than distract from the core of the game: the natural environment & talking with Delilah.

I get that gamers don’t read literature and have historically low expectations when it comes to story. But when so many people think that the writing in Firewatch is good, it lowers the bar for all games. That is something that has been happening for a long time already and it has led us right here.

Lots of people are happy with Firewatch however poor and unsatisfying its story is. But maybe there could also be works with good writing? And maybe those should not be called games with all the expectations and limitations that come with the term?

2 thoughts on “Firewatch lowers the narrative bar for games and that is fine”

  1. This article is basically just “people say the writing in Firewatch is good but it’s not, they just think it is because gamers don’t read books” and then doesn’t explain what about the writing is bad. It also claims that it is sexist but doesn’t clarify what he means by that either. It never gets around to explaining why “that is fine” despite that being the headline, and then it closes with a complete non-sequitur about what defines a video game. I haven’t played Firewatch yet, so it’s entirely possible the writing is bad, but you can’t just declare that to be true and pretend that constitutes a complete article.

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