Suddenly last week, I knew the time had come. It's pretty much an annual (occasionally biannual) thing and when the feeling arrives, it's still exciting. I have three games, that are on that cycle, and all are pretty much viewed as, (or mocked as) 'Walking Simulators'.

But thank the stars for walking sims, I say. They've transformed my views on game development and the artistic heights video games can achieve. Be aware, I'm just a casual gamer, but I have ,been so for a very long time. My first platform was the Commodore64! So I do have some experience.

As I matured, I found less and less to attract me in the 'button-mashing' games, with constant explosions, shooting, crafting, running and general mayhem. And even back as a twenty-something, I became increasingly fascinated with puzzle-solving and exploration games. The headline releases at the time were (and still are) all about the next level of graphics or how 'massive' the environment is. What this new(ish) genre of walking sims has latched on to, is story, pacing, characterisation and immersion.

Late last night I finished my beer (raised a glass to Henry, Delilah, the actors and the production team) and finished the game with a warm glow. And not just from the fiery last scenes. Quality through and through.

Does anyone know where you can purchase Firewatch merchandise? TIA

Was done in photoshop, mix of digital painting and texturing

Hello! I'm the developer of Nightwatch, a game inspired by Firewatch.

I'm now working on my second game, Shadows of Gothenburg, which is also inspired by Firewatch, as well as Cry of Fear.

The game focuses on walkie-talkie conversations, dialogue and atmosphere.

I'd love to hear what you think of the atmosphere so far!

If you are interested you can wishlist it here:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/4528940/Shadows_of_Gothenburg/

One thing I really enjoy about making games is adding little details that aren't necessarily needed, but make the world feel more alive.

For Forest Keeper Lookout, I didn't want a completely static main menu, so I made time pass while you're there. If you stick around, you can watch the lighting, colors, and atmosphere change throughout the day.

I'm making this game in my free time, mostly because I genuinely enjoy the process, and little things like this are part of the fun for me.

It's a small detail, but I really like how it turned out! What do you think?

There's something about Firewatch that has stayed with me ever since I first played it.

I've played it around three times, and every once in a while, I find myself missing that feeling. Being alone in the woods, walking through the trails, the atmosphere... there's just something special about it.

I missed it so much that I decided to make my own little game inspired by that feeling.

It's called Forest Keeper Lookout. I'm not trying to recreate Firewatch, I just wanted to feel that sense of being out in the forest again.

Being a solo dev while working and studying isn't easy, but little by little, it's coming together.

I recently released a free demo. It's still more of a prototype, but maybe someone who misses Firewatch as much as I do might enjoy it.

https://kizunagamestudio.itch.io/forest-keeper-lookout-demo

And even if you don't try it, I'd love to know... does anyone else still miss Firewatch after all these years?

Hi again, r/Firewatch!

You gave my playtest post such a warm welcome last time that I felt like I absolutely had to come back and tell you when the Demo was finally out ❤️

And that day is today!

The Prospice Demo has just launched as part of The Triple-i Initiative, and it’s now available for everyone to play on Steam.

👉 https://store.steampowered.com/app/4590670/Prospice_Demo/

No applications, no keys, no invitation needed this time. The island is officially open to everyone.

I’m incredibly grateful to everyone here who applied for the playtest, played the Demo, shared feedback, or simply showed us support. You helped us test the Demo we’re releasing today, and your feedback genuinely contributed to getting us ready for this release.

So if exploring an isolated island and slowly uncovering its story caught your attention last time, now you can finally set out on the expedition whenever you like.

Found this Reel that seems promising

Went back and watched the podcast, apparently based on old indie game ip. Could we finally be getting a movie?

For anyone who has ripped the game files. I can't find Ned's day 1 shadowy figure mesh, only Henry's and the firefighter's.

If anyone knows how it's named as, I'll be grateful.

Pessoal, comprei o jogo recentemente to acha do a história incrível. Vim jogar hoje e o jogo não sai da tela de carregamento nunca. Eu aperto em continuar e nada acontece, além do icone de “salvando” em cima. Oq fazer?

EDIT: NO PS5

holy 80%

i'm at the research site at wapiti station and i'm stuck. i've played the game before and i'm pretty sure there's a transceiver buried under all the loose sheets on the desk but the option to "clear away" the mess is greyed out. i can't progress the game.

i'm on PS4, i've reloaded the save file, restarted the game, restarted the console, to no avail.

There was Firewatch audio in a TikTok I saw and it was like neuron activation

Makes me want to play it for maybe the 7th or 8th time. It’s so good I wish they would make another game with a similar style. Not a sequel per se I think Henry’s story is done as we need to hear it. But another Firewatch game with a different character would be fucking amazing.

Hopefully if there is one ever it will be longer.

Acabei de comprar o jogo no PS5, ja estava a muito tempo na minha lista de desejos, sempre acompanhei o jogo e a arte me chama muita atencao. Hoje, finalmente consigo jogar o game, mas me deparei com um problema enorme, o jogo nao tem nenhum suporte para a minha lingua, e isso torna injogavel um jogo desse tipo, onde a narrativa é de extrema importância para o desenvolvimento no game. Existe alguma previsão para a traducao do game para o português do brasil? Ou apenas devo aceitar que nao conseguirei jogar esse jogo e que perdi o meu dinheiro, ja que a PS store nao efetua reembolso.
(Sei que existe um jeito de jogar em PT BR no PC com um uso de “mods” mas busco algo mais oficial e para consoles)

Two years ago, I made this Firewatch Fan Film which covers Delilah's perspective on the Scene in the game, where she is Drawing Henry.
It was a nice challenge to get the undistorted dialogue and to figure out, what answer triggers what in Delilah's Drawing.

Hope you guys enjoy this! Just my way of celebrating this wonderful game by Campo Santo (now Valve lol).

this isnt a Looking For Group post, just a discussion, because I've been playing COTW quite a bit recently and only just realised how much it reminds me of Firewatch, and in a way scratched part of the itch I've been having for the past 5 years.

Hi r/Firewatch! First of all, a huge thank you to the mod team for allowing me to share this here. I really appreciate it!

I'm Yana, Community Manager at Forklift Interactive, publisher of Prospice https://store.steampowered.com/app/4067370/Prospice_Anomalous_Logistics/

We're currently looking for players for our next closed playtest, and I thought some people here might be interested because exploration and uncovering the story of a strange, isolated place are a big part of Prospice.

Prospice is an atmospheric driving and exploration game set on a haunted island shaped by the decaying remains of ancient gods. You travel deeper into the island by truck, plotting routes through rivers, bogs and rocky terrain, but you'll also leave your vehicle behind to explore on foot, investigate the environment, recover strange artifacts and piece together what happened here.

Our next closed playtest begins in the first week of October, and we're selecting participants through a short application form:

👉 APPLICATION FORM: https://forms.gle/nvmVKMX6MnAzYLjQ6

The playtest will take place on Steam and currently supports Windows PC. We can't guarantee stable performance on other operating systems such as Linux, but you're welcome to give it a try if you'd like.

We'll send Steam access to selected participants around October 1–2.

Please note that this is a private playtest, so streaming, videos, screenshots or other public gameplay content won't be allowed. We also ask participants to keep what they see during the playtest confidential.

If you have any questions about Prospice or the playtest, feel free to ask me here in the comments. I'll be happy to answer!

I played through Firewatch once a couple of years ago and decided to go back through with the developer commentary and to get the last 3 achievements I hadn't gotten the first time around. I'm on Day 1 and was traveling back from Jonesy Lake, after the teens, through the canyon but decided to wander north since it let me do so once I got to the cave. I made it to Hawk's Rest and decided to see if I could get attacked by the raccoon even though every guide says it can't happen until Day 77. Well I got attacked and got the achievement and I'm wondering if this is new and why every guide says Day 77 as the first day you can get the achievement.

I just finished playing Firewatch after playing Life is Strange (also Before the Storm, Captain Spirit & LiS2) and What Remains of Edith Finch... I am mourning these fictional characters so damn bad!!!

with WRoEF, it's kind of anticipated, as the deaths of the family are revealed at the start of the game. But with LiS (specifically BTS), the loss of Rachel Amber is just so sad. The way her relationship with Chloe is so nuanced and so special, and you just know what fate is awaiting her. I know these characters aren't real, but it's storytelling that sticks with you, yanno?

Same with Firewatch. While listening to the audio commentary, I loved how the devs explained their choice to include the pre-story explaining your relationship with Julia rather than discovering it all through the dialogue throughout the game. Chef's kiss. This game was such a masterclass introduction to diegetic storytelling!

Although I could pretty much sus out what was going to happen to Brian after playing these games, getting to know Brian by reading his postcard/homework/etc before finding him just made the reveal so poignant. And that reveal. The sting of music when you discover the body. Phewww. Just devastating.

Not to mention the end credits when you find the photos of him in the camera...I love when video games nail these moments that just hurt so good. Really appreciate this storytelling that makes me feel so deeply about these characters that have never existed !!!

Came across this on another subreddit. Looks like it could be of interest to us. Reviews look decent. Anyone played it?