Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers are divided over a “depressing” new Xbox One, PC, and Xbox Series X game added to the subscription service this month. Xbox Game Pass boasts a huge and evolving library of games, which means it’s easy to succumb to analysis paralysis while trying to deduce what to to play next week. The subscription service has something for every type of gamer, however, if you’re not looking for a narrative-driven, adventure-exploration game that comes with some heavy feels, you may want to avoid Firewatch. Released in 2016 by Campo Santo, many recommend the award-winning game, which cracked a million copies sold within one year, but others are being “bummed out” by it.
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“Recommending Firewatch, a four hour game,” reads one popular post on the Xbox Game Pass Reddit page right now. “The power of this game is in the story and the choices you make along the way. It is not a very hard game but is a fun game and well told. Hence I recommend it to you.”
There are a few of these posts on the Xbox Game Pass Reddit page this week, but there are also others who don’t echo this recommendation, pointing towards the fact that the game is, to be straightforward, somewhat depressing.
“Just started playing Firewatch.. I’m playing it because of all the good things I’ve heard – but I’m literally just starting it and wondering if the whole game is this depressing,” reads another post on the Xbox Game Pass Reddit page. “Or is this just a backstory to give your character more substance? Becayse it’s like, actually bumming me out and I don’t know if I want to play a game with a depressing story.”
If this discourse sounds familiar, it’s because despite selling millions of copies and winning a few awards during award season, the discourse around Firewatch in 2016 was divided. On one hand, many loved its short, narrative-driven experience, but it did not resonate with everyone, with many criticizing its length, lack of traditional video game gameplay, and the fact that it doesn’t make you feel great.
About the Game
“Firewatch is a single-player first-person mystery set in the Wyoming wilderness,” reads an official blurb about the game. “The year is 1989. You are a man named Henry who has retreated from his messy life to work as a fire lookout in the Wyoming wilderness. Perched high atop a mountain, it’s your job to look for smoke and keep the wilderness safe. An especially hot, dry summer has everyone on edge. Your supervisor Delilah is available to you at all times over a small, handheld radio-your only contact with the world you’ve left behind. But when something strange draws you out of your lookout tower and into the forest, you’ll explore a wild and unknown environment, facing questions and making choices that can build or destroy the only meaningful relationship you have.”
How Long Is It Available With Xbox Game Pass?
Xbox has not provided any information about how long Firewatch is available with Xbox Game Pass. What we do know is that long as it is available via the subscription service, subscribers can purchase it with a 20 percent discount. In other words, rather than pay $20 for the game, it can be had for $16.
