Firewatch ▶ Trailer
Firewatch screenshot 1Firewatch screenshot 2
AdventureIndieAtmosphericStory RichWalking SimulatorMysteryFirst-Person

32 playing

Peak in the last 24 hours: 108

Peak in the last 7 days: 150

Firewatch Steam store

Game description

Firewatch is a single-player first-person mystery set in the Wyoming wilderness, where your only emotional lifeline is the person on the other end of a handheld radio.

Basic info

DeveloperCampo Santo
PublisherPanic, Campo Santo
PlatformsWindows · macOS · Linux
Steam DeckVerified
Release dateFeb 9, 2016
Price

Prices by IsThereAnyDeal

Minimum specs

OSWindows 7 or higher 64bit
ProcessorIntel Core i3 2.00 GHz or AMD equivalent
Memory6 GB
GraphicsNVIDIA GeForce 450 or higher with 1GB Memory
Storage4 GB
steamyze

Review Analysis Score

Based on 451 reviews from the past 1 year

84.9/ 100
Top 40%

Steam rating: Very Positive (91%)

Metacritic: 81 /100

Review analysis summary (Reviewed Oct 22, 2026)

A short first-person story set in a forest lookout tower, Firewatch scores 84.9 from 451 analyzed reviews, with praise centered on its writing.

👍 Strengths

169 reviews praise the story and dialogue, and the most upvoted calls the dialogue the soul of the game, thoughtful and vulnerable. 134 admire the atmosphere of the forest setting, and some describe a calm, meditative mood that slowly turns tense. Story & World ranks 301st of 1096. 56 praise the visuals, and a few single out the scenery around the lake and the soundtrack. Visuals & Sound ranks 143rd of 1249, and others enjoy the voice acting.

👎 Where it falls short

68 reviews feel the story is let down by its ending, and some say mysteries built up over the game are left unresolved. 47 say the game is short, and some feel a few hours of content is not worth the full price. Content Volume ranks 1152nd of 1351. 31 report bugs, such as the character getting stuck on scenery and achievements that fail to unlock. Gameplay ranks 918th of 1396, and Tech & Support ranks 730th of 1399.

Representative reviews Original reviews ↗

“dialogue is the soul of the game, thoughtful and vulnerable” · 169 reviews
“cute visuals and nice digital forest” · 56 reviews
“Occasional severe bugs cause character displacement preventing interaction completion” · 31 reviews

How it holds up

−50+5

Controls, difficulty, progression and depth
Mentioned in 29% of reviews · Bottom 40% of the games we've analyzed

Freedom +1.37 · Room to explore, build, and play your own way
Positive “navigation without arrow made exploration more interesting” · 1 review
Negative “map is confusing, got lost too many times” · 7 reviews

Progression 0% · Difficulty 4% · Onboarding 5% · Strategy 8% · Controls & feel 8%

Plot, characters and the world
Mentioned in 92% of reviews · Top 30% of the games we've analyzed

Story +2.88 · Plot, quests, writing, and the ending
Positive “dialogue is the soul of the game, thoughtful and vulnerable” · 169 reviews
Negative “abrupt uninspired ending and mysteries left unresolved after 80% through” · 68 reviews

Characters 34% · World 57%

How much there is to do, variety and replay value
Mentioned in 41% of reviews · Bottom 20% of the games we've analyzed

Volume -1.48 · How much there is to play, including endgame, for the price
Negative “only 4 hours of content for full price” · 47 reviews
Positive “game passes quickly as a relaxing walking simulator concept” · 2 reviews

Variety 4% · Replayability 5%

Graphics, art style, music and sound
Mentioned in 50% of reviews · Top 20% of the games we've analyzed

Visuals +3.99 · Graphics, art style, and animation
Positive “cute visuals and nice digital forest” · 56 reviews

Audio 25%

Playing with others, the community and servers

Not enough data — only 1% of reviews mention this.

Playing together +3.33 · Fun of playing with friends, teammates, or rivals

Community 0% · Servers & Connection 0%

Pricing, cheaters, balance and matchmaking
Mentioned in 7% of reviews · Top 50% of the games we've analyzed

Pricing -0.09 · Whether the price, DLC and microtransactions are reasonable, and how much paying gives you an edge
Negative “20 euros for 4 hour story is overpriced, should wait for sale” · 3 reviews

Anti-cheat 0% · Balance 0% · Matchmaking 0%

Bugs, performance and developer support
Mentioned in 12% of reviews · Bottom 50% of the games we've analyzed

Stability -0.18 · Crashes, freezes, save loss, and game-breaking bugs
Negative “Occasional severe bugs cause character displacement preventing interaction completion” · 31 reviews

Performance 1% · Developer support 1%

Grey means too few reviews mention it to trust. — means almost no reviews mention it.

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🎲 Fans of this game often get the title Lone Pilgrim. Which one is yours?