PS4: 10 Best Console Exclusives You Need To Play

9. Firewatch

firewatch game
Campo Santo

It's not often that a game can leave a profound emotional impact on the player after a brief four-hour campaign, but Firewatch managed it. While it could prove too slow if you like your games fast and frenetic with plenty of action, those who appreciate the slower, more thoughtful experiences will find lots to enjoy here.

Players assume the role of Henry, a fire lookout working in the Shoshone National Forest in 1989 - it's your job to keep the area safe and secure, free from vandalism and blazing forest-fires. Along the way, you'll explore a selection of beautifully-rendered environments, from deep blue lakes to forests to gloomy caves, while piecing together the mystery of two missing teenage girls.

Firewatch is short, and heavy on dialogue - which you can select from a number of options - but it's well-acted, punchy and engaging. There's no ridiculous supernatural twist or moustache-twirling villain here - the game is a simple character piece, polished to the highest of standards.

In that sense, it's a breath of fresh air in an industry of brown multiplayer shooters and grim apocalyptic dystopias.

Contributor
Contributor

Danny has been with WhatCulture for over ten years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. In 2022, he took charge of WhoCulture and has grown it into the biggest Doctor Who channel on YouTube, and one of the biggest Doctor Who communities on the web full-stop. He has been writing and video editing since his early teens, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers, off the back of a burning obsession with the Matt Smith era of the show. Like many his age, he first got into Doctor Who with the 2005 revival, but has since gone back and fallen in love with the classic years too. If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order, or to give you a random factoid about the making of Gridlock, Danny is the person to ask!