All of this adds together to create a tense, claustrophobic environment - not the sort of atmosphere one usually associates with the great outdoors, but this shows that thereвЂ™s no contradiction.ДЄbove all else, though, Firewatch has an amazing story. Even though youвЂ™re equipped with a map and a compass, itвЂ™s awfully easy to get lost amongst all the winding trails - and it doesnвЂ™t get any easier as the game progresses and (spoiler, sort of) you have to deal with deteriorating weather conditions. People are something you experience either at a distance, over the radio, or via lost and forgotten mementos left behind. Like I said, nature has never been my kind of thing, but I suspect that all but the most woodsy nature-lovers would find this empty Wyoming forest a little disconcerting. On top of that, the game has a setting thatвЂ™s conducive to creeping unease. Couple that with forest noises that sound ever-more-ominous as the story progresses, and you can see how Firewatch gets you off-kilter in that regard.

For one thing, it has a score thatвЂ™s perfectly suited for that purpose: hauntingly sparse guitar that wafts in and out of your consciousness, never quite resolving into an obvious melody, leaving you subconsciously unsure of whatвЂ™s coming next. Between the overabundance of nature and the near-total lack of other people, weвЂ™re already basically talking one of my nightmare scenarios, so itвЂ™s not like Firewatch had that far to go in terms of getting me into the right mindset.Д®ven if I wasnвЂ™t pathologically put off by the wild, however, I have a feeling Firewatch still wouldвЂ™ve had me feeling tense and nervous in no time. You play as a forest ranger, Hank, isolated in the Wyoming wilderness, with nothing but a voice at the other end of a radio to keep you company. In other words, it doesnвЂ™t take much for Firewatch to put me in an uneasy state of mind. IвЂ™ve gone hiking, like, once in my 35 years of living.

IвЂ™ve never been what youвЂ™d call an outdoorsy person.

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