It’s been four years since Khalid, the short-tempered and mischievous rabbit from Firewatch made his debut in one of my favorite games. If you haven’t played it, I strongly encourage you to do so – you’ll be amazed at how utterly perfect the game is. If you have not yet played it, I’d highly recommend that you should give it a shot.
Now, three years later, it’s time for Khalid to make his most beloved appearance yet in Firewatch. He’s heading towards the Northwest, about to escape from the outside world, but then he’s kidnapped by two men. This is going to be a real shock, so fire up your save file… and remember to start Firewatch while playing the game so you can see everything in the correct order, too. Hopefully this will help you get through this adventure smoother.
What happens in Firewatch immediately sets the tone for this game: first, there’s an explosion and lots of debris around, which prompt Sarah to pick up a phone call, which turns out to be the woman that Khalid saved earlier. This is followed by the interrogation of Khalid by the men, and the questions they ask do not match what they are saying. Instead, they give some different statements in a quest to find out where he is, and why he decided to help them. The ending of this part of the game will make things even more interesting, as you get to see whether Khalid was truly killed or if he is still alive.
After the confrontation between Khalid and the men, the main quest continues – you have to look for your missing friend, Heather, who has gone to another place called “Firewatch”. She managed to make it into the wilderness safely, but she needs your help to get out again. You also have to find out where she is and how to get her out of there.
Once you’ve been given the assignment of helping Heather escape from Firewatch, she tries to tell you what happened before you meet her, and what you should do. If you listened to her completely, the answers would be obvious, but we all know that a little bit of side information never hurt anybody. It can be considered an Easter egg for all those players who have played Firewatch several times.
Here’s a small spoiler for those who haven’t finished Firewatch yet. You won’t miss a single beat with the ending. There will be no bad endings, or anything like that. It’s just a nice twist to the game that a lot of people will love.
Firewatch is a game with lots of very unique themes and ideas, and it is really quite delightful. Not only is it one of the best hidden object games ever made, but it also takes a look at the negative aspects of humans – including our own weaknesses – and how we need to be careful not to let those things interfere with our lives.
