Firewatch stars a man named Henry, and the beginning of his story plays out a bit like a text adventure crossed with that depressing opening sequence from Pixar’s Up. Words flash by on screen, telling you how our lead met his wife Julia. You’ll learn about their courtship, their life together, and at certain points you’ll be able to make choices, deciding what Henry does or says at key points. You even get to choose which dog they adopt. Eventually you learn that Julia is very sick, and that Henry maybe isn’t the right person to look after her. She goes to live with her family in Australia and Henry decides to get away from everything and move to Wyoming to become a fire lookout. It’s not the job itself he’s interested in; it’s the solitude.

Conversation is the thrust of Firewatch

The game plays out like most first-person adventures (think Gone Home or Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture). There isn’t a lot of action. Most time is spent hiking around the park, doing various chores. Though Henry is physically isolated, he’s never really alone. At all times he carries a walkie-talkie that puts him in touch with his supervisor Delilah. In the beginning she mainly just tells him what to do, like investigate a downed power line or deal with troublesome drunk teens. The two become close.

There’s a strange kind of intimacy that comes from knowing a person only by their words. Not only is Delilah the voice in Henry’s ear, she’s the only human contact for a stretch that spans weeks. Conversation is the thrust of Firewatch, and when you aren’t talking the air fills with that dreaded, discomforting silence.

Mechanically, Firewatch seems almost dull. You hike around a yawning forested area, using a map and compass to find your way to and from key locations, backtracking over the same areas multiple times. Aside from not getting lost, there isn’t challenge or variation (I have a very poor sense of direction, but only lost my way once during my playthrough). Occasionally you’ll need to search an area for clues, but it’s never tougher than a sporting round of Where’s Waldo.