• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Firewatch Review Thread

S

squidyj

Member
CHC said:
A first person adventure game where you play as a dude who takes a job as a firewatching park ranger to take his mind off bad relationship / other life stresses. You walk around the wilderness doing stuff and talking to a woman over a radio, and can make dialogue choices and stuff like that. It relies on beautiful scenery and well written characters.
Click to expand...

Are there fires? can you look at them?
 
W

woen

Member
If the feedback is good and they patch it on PS4 I'll buy it in a few weeks (still have to catch up on 2015 releases and The Witness)

Any word from the devs about that ?
 
I

Illucio

Banned
I might pick it up. But from my experience, these kind of these big high quality indie-like games tend to go on sale quick or even become Playstation Plus free games of the month in the future.

Money is slightly tight so I'm going to pass for now and just hope it becomes cheap or free later on in the year.
 
R

Reluctant-Hero

Member
cabel said:
FWIW, we're currently talking to both Sony and Unity and we're all working hard to to optimize performance of Firewatch on PS4.

It's tricky, because it really requires all three partners working together to improve — it's not something we can tackle on our own, unlike a game bug — but we'll definitely continue to patch all platforms with every content and performance fix we can over time!

To summarize: we're on it. :)

(I've played through the game multiple times on a PlayStation 4 and enjoyed it thoroughly! But I'm not a PC gamer so…)
Click to expand...

No I feel much better about my Steam purchase. But I didn't buy the OST bundle. Hmm...
 
D

Deleted member 325805

Unconfirmed Member
lemmykoopa said:
I couldn't care less about frame dips in a walking simulator. Please guys can we stop the whining?
Click to expand...

So because you don't care the rest of us shouldn't? Nothing ruins a game more for me than performance issues.
 
Karak

Karak

Member
Gonna check it out for review in a bit. Got the PC version though. Interesting to hear about the PS4 versions performance.. Very interesting to see some youtubers reviewing it as Campo only sent out a snippit of the game to them(us) that wasn't close to the complete game and they reiterated that a couple different times in emails. Not sure if streamers/youtubers did reviews on half the game or Campo changed there mind for 1 or 2.
 
M

mrklaw

MrArseFace
Sir_Crocodile said:
5/10 from metro gamecentral

http://metro.co.uk/2016/02/09/firewatch-review-its-not-what-you-think-5670566/

Sounds like they did not like the direction the story went at all. They don't outright tell you want happens, but they do talk about themes, so it could be considered a spoilerish review I guess
Click to expand...

this is my worst sort of review. Fire watch is a short game so I'm trying to avoid any media for it to avoid being spoiled. But talk of the story being bad is worrying. Yet story is such a subjective thing, I can't tell if I might have the same issues because I don't even want to see enough of the game in previews to try and make a call on that.

I just put this in my 'setting seems amazing and the type of game is in my wheelhouse so let's roll the dice' bag - preload ready to go on steam. If the story disappoints then so be it, but I need to find out for myself.
 
J

Jolkien

Member
Damn for unsatisfying conclusion and technical issue on PS4. Once these performances issues are lessen or removed I'll jump in.
 
S

Sir_Crocodile

Member
mrklaw said:
this is my worst sort of review. Fire watch is a short game so I'm trying to avoid any media for it to avoid being spoiled. But talk of the story being bad is worrying. Yet story is such a subjective thing, I can't tell if I might have the same issues because I don't even want to see enough of the game in previews to try and make a call on that.

I just put this in my 'setting seems amazing and the type of game is in my wheelhouse so let's roll the dice' bag - preload ready to go on steam. If the story disappoints then so be it, but I need to find out for myself.
Click to expand...

Yeah, story's a bit of a crapshoot when it comes to reviews. Be interesting to see the gafsensus.
 
S

SomTervo

Member
orthodoxy1095 said:
So if we're not developers, we can't complain about the issues?
Click to expand...

Where did I say that? The point is to be sympathetic about how fucking hard it is to make games, and make them run well. Esp. in the independent sphere.

Ambitious said:
And if I can't, I have no right complain, right? That's not how it works.
I never complained about the game not running at 60fps. I complained about performance issues in a 30fps game.
Click to expand...

As people who don't/can't develop games, we don't have the tiniest inkling of how goddamn hard it is to produce a game like this. Even something which seems functionally simple. And this is an independent game. It's a small team with limited time, resources and experience managing whole projects. I'm not saying you don't have a right to complain - of course you do - I'm saying it's not fair to fly off the handle when a small dev have managed simultaneous multiplatform releases with software which functionally works, even if the performance isn't ideal. I mainly took issue with your umbrage-intoned post which was had an accusatory tone at the devs.

OrbitalBeard said:
What an incredibly lazy argument.
Click to expand...

The inference by that person was that the developers were too incapable (possibly lazy) to get it running properly. Now that is a lazy argument. I was fighting belligerence with belligerence.
 
A

Ambitious

Member
SomTervo said:
Where did I say that? The point is to be sympathetic about how fucking hard it is to make games, and make them run well. Esp. in the independent sphere.



As people who don't/can't develop games, we don't have the tiniest inkling of how goddamn hard it is to produce a game like this. Even something which seems functionally simple. And this is an independent game. It's a small team with limited time, resources and experience managing whole projects. I'm not saying you don't have a right to complain - of course you do - I'm saying it's not fair to fly off the handle when a small dev have managed simultaneous multiplatform releases with software which functionally works, even if the performance isn't ideal. I mainly took issue with your umbrage-intoned post which was had an accusatory tone at the devs.



The inference by that person was that the developers were too incapable (possibly lazy) to get it running properly. Now that is a lazy argument. I was fighting belligerence with belligerence.
Click to expand...

Oh no, I didn't intend to imply laziness or incompetence at all. Absolutely not.
See, if you attempt to make your game run at 60fps, but it doesn't really work out, that's fine. 60fps is demanding. It's hard, especially if you're just a small studio. But it's a different story with a game targeting 30fps. 30 is not any arbitrary framerate, it's the bare minimum. Performance issues in an 60fps game can be excused, but they're inexcusable in a 30fps game. I won't make any exceptions just because they're a small indie studio. Crank down the visuals or spend some more time optimizing it. Do whatever it takes to achieve the minimum acceptable performance quality. Don't just release the game in that state and patch it later.

Obviously, "just delay the game" is easier said than done when it comes to small studios with limited resources. But what else am I supposed to say? I just can't support the mentality of deliberately releasing a game with flaws like this which directly hurt one of its key qualities - immersion - and then trying to fix it afterwards.

To be clear, I'm not angry or anything, even though my first comment totally sounds so, I'm just severely disappointed as I was really hyped for Firewatch.
 
S

Superfrog

Member
Ambitious said:
Framerate issues in a game like this, which doesn't even run at 60fps? Oh come the fuck on, what is this? Get your shit together. Not gonna buy it until this is fixed.
Click to expand...
This. And no, you're not being too harsh at all. This is obviously nothing personal, so people should calm down.

Console releases should be technically polished, and for me that includes a constant/locked framerate at either 30 or 60 fps AND VSYNC. I'm ok with sub-1080p resolutions if there needs to be a compromise.

Just an example: I recently played Grow Home on PS4, and that one is fucking unplayable for me. The amount of massive screen tearing is absolutely ridiculous, they should have never ever released it in that state. And still there are people who aren't bothered by it. That's just beyond me.
 
Acquiescence

Acquiescence

Member
I'm really tempted to spoil myself on the story after reading how terrible the ending supposedly is according to that Metro review. Wouldn't be an issue if I was playing the game right now, but I honestly don't see myself buying this for a while, so the temptation is strong.
 
K

Karu

Member
mrklaw said:
this is my worst sort of review. Fire watch is a short game so I'm trying to avoid any media for it to avoid being spoiled. But talk of the story being bad is worrying. Yet story is such a subjective thing, I can't tell if I might have the same issues because I don't even want to see enough of the game in previews to try and make a call on that.

I just put this in my 'setting seems amazing and the type of game is in my wheelhouse so let's roll the dice' bag - preload ready to go on steam. If the story disappoints then so be it, but I need to find out for myself.
Click to expand...
The KindaFunny group had a spoiler review and while one of them didn't like it and others where lukewarm on it while playing it, they all said that the discussions afterward, and thinking about the game enhanced their experience, made them appreciate it more.

So if you're a fan of being in the middle of the current discussion and such, maybe check it out!

I will skip Firewatch.
 
O

OrbitalBeard

Member
SomTervo said:
The inference by that person was that the developers were too incapable (possibly lazy) to get it running properly. Now that is a lazy argument. I was fighting belligerence with belligerence.
Click to expand...

I can't be 100% sure what he was implying but he certainly wasn't asking for them to make the game run at a constant 60 fps. He, like many of us, have expectations that a console game should run smoothly. If you, as a developer, are not up to that task, that's on you. As a consumer, it is not my responsibility to let game breaking bugs and immersion-breaking performance issues slide. If it's too difficult to ensure a pleasant experience at a game's current state, delay the game or tweak the resolution, graphical effects, etc. to make it work.

Sorry, but his comment really wasn't out of line at all, based on what's been said in multiple reviews and by people who have played the game pre-release. Now, to be completely fair, the game isn't officially out yet. Once Gaffers have their hands on the PS4 version, we can revisit this topic.
 
G

GinoFelino

Member
SomTervo said:
Where did I say that? The point is to be sympathetic about how fucking hard it is to make games, and make them run well. Esp. in the independent sphere.

As people who don't/can't develop games, we don't have the tiniest inkling of how goddamn hard it is to produce a game like this. Even something which seems functionally simple. And this is an independent game. It's a small team with limited time, resources and experience managing whole projects. I'm not saying you don't have a right to complain - of course you do - I'm saying it's not fair to fly off the handle when a small dev have managed simultaneous multiplatform releases with software which functionally works, even if the performance isn't ideal. I mainly took issue with your umbrage-intoned post which was had an accusatory tone at the devs.

The inference by that person was that the developers were too incapable (possibly lazy) to get it running properly. Now that is a lazy argument. I was fighting belligerence with belligerence.
Click to expand...

Yup, I'm with this guy. A little sympathy/empathy towards devs goes a long way.
 
G

GinoFelino

Member
OrbitalBeard said:
Oh, I can show empathy. Obviously games are hard to create. But my empathy does not extend to my wallet.
Click to expand...

Thankfully, that's your right! Wait until the performance meets your standards, or skip it altogether if solid performance is really important to you.

I just disagree with the notion that, generally speaking (!), people have the right to be assholes about it.
 
S

SomTervo

Member
Ambitious said:
Oh no, I didn't intend to imply laziness or incompetence at all. Absolutely not.
See, if you attempt to make your game run at 60fps, but it doesn't really work out, that's fine. 60fps is demanding. It's hard, especially if you're just a small studio. But it's a different story with a game targeting 30fps. 30 is not any arbitrary framerate, it's the bare minimum. Performance issues in an 60fps game can be excused, but they're inexcusable in a 30fps game. I won't make any exceptions just because they're a small indie studio. Crank down the visuals or spend some more time optimizing it. Do whatever it takes to achieve the minimum acceptable performance quality. Don't just release the game in that state and patch it later.

Obviously, "just delay the game" is easier said than done when it comes to small studios with limited resources. But what else am I supposed to say? I just can't support the mentality of deliberately releasing a game with flaws like this which directly hurt one of its key qualities - immersion - and then trying to fix it afterwards.

To be clear, I'm not angry or anything, even though my first comment totally sounds so, I'm just severely disappointed as I was really hyped for Firewatch.
Click to expand...

I get you. Again, I can always play the "it's more complicated than that" card regarding "optimisation and cranking visuals". Videogame development is really difficult to control and every change has to be measured - they can't just change the baseline for something with ease and roll with it. In many cases all the individual parts of a game don't come together until the month before release - they literally can't know how it will perform until the 11th hour, when it's too late to change. This even happens with AAA development - I know for a fact it happened with Uncharted 2 and to a lesser extent The Last of Us - but on AAA development you can throw tens of thousands of QA man-hours to crunch the issues. That's impossible with a small team.

Of course I understand what you're saying though and appreciate that you're not angry, just disappointed. I can understand that.

OrbitalBeard said:
I can't be 100% sure what he was implying but he certainly wasn't asking for them to make the game run at a constant 60 fps. He, like many of us, have expectations that a console game should run smoothly. If you, as a developer, are not up to that task, that's on you. As a consumer, it is not my responsibility to let game breaking bugs and immersion-breaking performance issues slide. If it's too difficult to ensure a pleasant experience at a game's current state, delay the game or tweak the resolution, graphical effects, etc. to make it work.

Sorry, but his comment really wasn't out of line at all, based on what's been said in multiple reviews and by people who have played the game pre-release. Now, to be completely fair, the game isn't officially out yet. Once Gaffers have their hands on the PS4 version, we can revisit this topic.
Click to expand...

The guy ^ even admits himself that he came off as angry about it in his first post - though he clarifies it wasn't intentional. His post seemed insolent towards the devs, and that was the main thing I was taking issue with. I would call that out of line due to the outraged tone of it, which didn't level with the creators at all.

But we've cleared it up - it wasn't intentional, he clearly gets it and has explained.

PS not going to engage with crappy freemarket capitalist arguments about 'voting with wallets'
 
L

Lord Error

Insane For Sony
Oh not the unity -_-
Developers, please consider the implications of using a VM-running, garbage-collecting engine when making an open world game.
It is so wonderful seeing The Witness looking so great and running so smoothly that you just know it's a brainchild of someone who values proper approach to tech as much as game making. This will be so jarring in comparison.
 
C

Crash331

Member
I have a decent PC, but I have 2 kids who beat on the door to my PC room if I'm in there for more than 15 minutes, so I think I am just going to have to deal with the performance issues on PS4. I don't think I'm that susceptible to it anyway since Fallout 4 seemed OK to me.
 
A

ACE 1991

Member
Crash331 said:
I have a decent PC, but I have 2 kids who beat on the door to my PC room if I'm in there for more than 15 minutes, so I think I am just going to have to deal with the performance issues on PS4. I don't think I'm that susceptible to it anyway since Fallout 4 seemed OK to me.
Click to expand...

This makes me never want to have children.
 
SJRB

SJRB

Gold Member
Sheesh is the PS4 version really that bad?

Actually considering picking up the PC version now..
 
C

Crash331

Member
ACE 1991 said:
This makes me never want to have children.
Click to expand...

There are good days and there are bad days. It was pretty amazing watching my 5 year old play Battlefront and deftly dodge incoming laser fire, ducking around corners, throwing grenades and trying to take down an AT-AT.

Plus I have a LEGO building partner.
 
R

richard4481

Member
Regarding the game length;
http://psnprofiles.com/100-club/4295-Firewatch

You unlock all the trophies when you complete the game, so judging from those that have them it seems 4+ hours is the defacto length.

P.S.

Here is some direct gameplay from the PS4 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8h-pUf_gMgE

With the amount of talk about its performance I was expecting it to be near unplayable. Aside from some pop-in and a slight stutter when loading up a new event/area looks perfectly fine to me.
 
D

Deleted member 325805

Unconfirmed Member
I refunded it just before the 2 hour window was up, it looked and sounded great but I just didn't find it very fun to play. I've been looking forward to it very much so I'm pretty gutted.
 
X

Xieldos

Member
I reviewed it on the site I work for and gave it a 3/5.

I really enjoyed the story for the most part but its performance on the PS4 wasn't great for me, had two hard-locks and constant pop-in and framerate issues towards the end. It's a shame really, I can only imagine most of the reviews were done on PC where it looks like it's performed better.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1839 | Final Fantasy VII Rebirth awarded a 38 out of 40
Review
8
1K
killatopak replied
Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1835 | Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth awarded a perfect score
Review
44
2K
Miyazaki’s Slave replied
  • Locked
Stellar Blade Reviews
Review
1
582
FalsettoVibe replied
Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1847 — SAND LAND and more scored
Review
4
590
Shake Your Rump replied
Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1846 — Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes and more scored
Review
2
660
sigmaZ replied
Top Bottom