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Feb 14th, 2018 at 21:25:35 - This is the Police (PC) |
This is the Police immediately strikes me with its almost oppressively gritty atmosphere. The developers are clearly fans of film noire. This is my first session, and I’ve recently been introduced to my avatar, Jack Boyd. Jack definitely doesn’t strike me as the most likable character. He’s the stereotype of crusty, old, corrupted police chief personified. Emphasis on “corrupted”, as the goal of the game, from what I can tell after about an hour of playtime, is to make Jack a very rich man before he retires from the police force in 180 days. Whether or not that goal is met through entirely legal means is up to the player. For instance, I fired a cop for no legal reason in order to make room for a newly hired cop with significantly better professionalism. It’s interesting to play a simulator-style game where the goal of the game isn’t the betterment of whatever is being simulated (e.g., a city, a farm, an office), but rather your own personal wealth accrual. I’ll be interested to see what’s built upon the framework that’s been established in this first session. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jack’s asked to push his moral boundaries even farther.
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Jan 21st, 2018 at 00:37:44 - FireWatch (PC) |
Session 2:
I’ve just completed 2 more days. I can’t get enough of Henry and Delilah’s banter. It’s excellently written, in my opinion. And thank goodness too, as their dialogue is essentially the entire game. The spookiness/mystery aspect is definitely picking up as well. I remember the first time I played, I was worried that I’d been bamboozled into purchasing a horror game. One scene in particular really sticks out to me. That moment when you’re walking back to your tower at night, and Delilah says “Oh well, at least you’re back in your tower,” but you’re not. And then she says “I am looking at a man that is standing in your tower. And it’s not you?” I get goosebumps just writing that. There’s something so profoundly unsettling about having a place where you should feel safe and secure invaded like that. Firewatch EXCELS at creating this suffocating feeling of uneasiness throughout the vast majority of its story. Even though I wouldn’t technically call it a horror game, I think it does a better job at creating the atmosphere of one than many that I’ve played (though I’m kind of a wuss, so that’s a very short list if I’m gonna be honest).
Firewatch is a very ambitious game, story-wise. It attempts to interweave several plotlines into one cohesive narrative, with the main exposition coming through a simple radio and some notes. By and large, I think it succeeds. It has its shortcomings, though. The developers tried to cram a ton of story into a very short game, and it shows. The plotlines don’t always feel fully fleshed out. That being said, I still thoroughly enjoyed my time with it. It dragged me across the entire emotional spectrum in a way that a lot of triple A titles can only dream of replicating. I’m sure a large part of why Firewatch is so short is due to a small budget, so with its success I hope Campo Santo’s next game will be more “feature-length”. I’m very excited to see what they can do without financial restrictions holding them back, and I very much look forward to playing it.
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Jan 20th, 2018 at 22:39:47 - FireWatch (PC) |
Well I suppose I should start this off by saying I’ve already played through Firewatch once. However, it’s been so long that I wouldn’t be surprised if I’ve forgotten many details and I no doubt missed many more. Thus, I feel completely validated in my decision to play through it once more (especially since I remember really enjoying my time with it). I’ll be curious to see if my opinion of it changes at all.
Session 1:
Well right off the bat, I notice that you can’t seem to sprint. I guess I’d forgotten that little detail. I can understand the mindset behind not including such a feature, as I’m sure the devs wanted people to bask in the splendor of the breathtaking visuals (not to mention the fact that it artificially lengthens the time it takes to complete the game). It wouldn’t be so bad, but since Henry moves at approximately the same speed as a very large, stationary boulder, I’ve come to the conclusion that the devs ACTUAL goal is to antagonize their player-base. UPDATE: The game took its sweet time letting me know, but apparently you can in fact sprint. Thank god.
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I’ve just completed the prologue, and MAN the game doesn’t waste any time in hitting you with some tough choices. I don’t think I’ve ever gone from chuckling to tearing up in such a short span of time before (UP being the notable exception, of course). Having had family members go through the nightmare that is dementia/Alzheimer’s, the decision to put Julia in a nursing home or not really resonated with me. What a moral dilemma. Do you sacrifice your own happiness to take care of someone who doesn’t even know you anymore? Or do you “abandon” them? While the former may be the selfless decision, I don’t believe it’s the right one. After watching various family members slowly succumb to the devastating effects of these diseases, regressing into husks of their former selves, I wouldn’t wish that burden on anyone. I would argue that your moral obligation to your loved one is to stay with them for as long as they’re lucid, but past that point they need the professional care provided by a nursing home, as taking care of them then becomes a full-time job that requires training the average person simply doesn’t have. Regardless, it’s still an incredibly difficult decision. In the later stages of these diseases, the person that you knew is gone. What’s your moral obligation to a complete stranger?
Oof. I think that’s enough Firewatch for now.
This entry has been edited 1 time. It was last edited on Jan 20th, 2018 at 22:43:51.
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damnlyons has been with GameLog for 6 years, 10 months, and 8 days |
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