This gorgeous new game perfectly demonstrates how great games can tell incredible stories

Henry is a man in his forties who's struggling with a breakdown of his life: he's out of shape, he's a bit too fond of alcohol, and his wife Julie is suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Julie's parents, worried about her continued dependency on a man slipping into alcoholism, have moved her back home to Australia.

Henry is alone, struggling with his life falling apart, and is depressed about his wife's condition. So what does he do? He signs up to watch out for forest fires in the remote Wyoming wilderness for an entire summer.

Campo SantoThis is "Firewatch." 

So it's about storytelling — what do you do in "Firewatch"?

You engage with "Firewatch," which is available on PlayStation 4 and PC, from a first-person perspective: you are Henry. You'll explore the Shoshone National Forest — specifically, the Two Forks region — while tackling various objectives for your boss Delilah.

What this translates to, in terms of gameplay, is a lot of walking:

Campo SantoAnd talking over a walkie talkie:

Campo SantoYou'll climb, leap, and flirt your way through the four or five hours that "Firewatch" takes to complete its story.

This isn't a game about exploring an open-world looking for secrets (though you're welcome to do that), nor is it about perfectly-timed actions. "Firewatch" is about storytelling — the story of Henry and Delilah and their summer together in a national forest — and what you bring to that story.

So, what do you actually do in the game? You talk to Delilah, and you shape your own story. Do you want to tell her about Julie? Do you want to explore some personal healing, or do you want time alone to think? Player choice in "Firewatch" isn't about choosing a way to play, but about choosing your own way to tell Henry's story.

 Should I play "Firewatch"?

Campo SantoNo caveats: yes, you should play "Firewatch."

It's a beautiful game, both visually and emotionally, and it experiments with the medium in new and exciting ways. Unfortunately, without massively spoiling the game, I can't tell you about what those new and exciting ways are — you'll have to take my word on that. If you liked the twist in the original "BioShock," you'll be excited by what "Firewatch" does with your expectations as a player.

Okay, okay — one caveat: in order to play "Firewatch," you must have a decent grasp of how to use two thumbsticks on a gamepad at once.

Like nearly all video games on console and PC, you need a basic grasp of how to use a gamepad. This may not sound like a big deal to you, seasoned video game player, but in a game like "Firewatch" that I'd suggest to anyone (not just so-called "hardcore" video game fans) it's a big deal. You may actually be better off playing it on a PC for this reason — most people know how to use a keyboard and mouse at the same time.

Campo SantoThat said: play "Firewatch"!

It's a great example of what games can do with storytelling, and a meaningful step toward the future of the entire medium.

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