(As you play as Henry throughout the game, I will use ‘you’ and ‘Henry’ interchangeably.) The two start dating, fall in love, get a dog, talk about kids, struggle with their relationship and drink a lot. The game begins with an introduction to Henry, drunk in a bar, as he meets a college professor, Julia. Therefore, let me try to quickly summarise the basic plot as I understand it. Of course, this is my reading of the plot yours may well differ, so don’t be afraid to share your thoughts in the ongoing discussion in the comments below. As a result, you might finish the game a little confused, as I initially did. (UPDATE: Thank you for all the comments! Be sure to continue scrolling after reading my thoughts to read dozens more interpretations.)Įxplanation: Part One: Firstly, what on earth happened?įirewatch’s story wraps up quickly, with lots of little narrative pieces hidden in the brief instances of dialogue or in notes scattered throughout the game map. In fact, I would encourage you to form your own! I would love to hear your thoughts I sense a discussion needs to be had regarding this game.

Let me stress, this is my interpretation it may be wrong, yours may well be different. In my eyes, it was the kind of amazing that warranted a score of 10 in my review. Worried it may not click for everyone, I’ve endeavoured here to explain my interpretation of Firewatch, beginning with the narrative before moving into its meaning. Studying and carefully considering the story, its major and minor characters, its setting, and even the video game form itself, I found something amazing. So I immediately began my second play-through. After just one playthrough, I felt like I had only begun to scratch the surface. I felt there must have been more to Firewatch than what meets the eye. Of course I understood the story on a surface level, but I was left feeling I had missed something. What happened to the government conspiracy? What happened to the axe murders abducting teenage girls? “That’s not what I expected,” I thought. For my spoiler-free thoughts on the game, read my review.Īfter my first play-through of Firewatch I was left feeling utterly confused.

DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER, IF YOU’VE NOT FINISHED THE GAME. As of word of warning, I will be interpreting the meaning and messages behind the story of Firewatch and will therefore be referencing events and dialogue from the whole of Firewatch.

Firewatch speedrun