Fun Firewatch Parallels
I just finished playing Firewatch again (great game but it will leave you rethinking your whole life afterwards) and it struck me that there are a lot of parallels to KF that honestly, I don’t think are a coincidence. I recall a LONG time ago the dev twitter mentioning Firewatch as a source of inspiration, but I could literally just be misremembering that and it could be regarding a different game.
Anyway, I wanted to write down some fun parallels I picked up on this playthrough, some way more specific than others.
- both games take place in the late 1980’s
- the deuteragonist, whose face is completely obscured (at least during the actual gameplay) in both games is a woman, while the protagonists are both men
- the protagonist of Firewatch’s name is Henry, and a major antagonist’s of KF’s name is also Henry
- the protagonist of KF’s name is Forrest, while the protagonist of Firewatch says “there is no fictional character I hate more” than an in-universe character named Forrest
-the deuteragonist of Firewatch, Delilah, is 43 and stated (however truthfully) to have been in a relationship with a 28 year old man. Peggy, the deuteragonist of KF, is 28, and stated to skip work to hang out with her coworker Karen, who is 43.
- the premise of each game is, generally, that the protagonist had to leave their home and take a job in the middle of nowhere alone
- the plot twist in Firewatch is that there is no great conspiracy, while the plot twist in KF is that there WAS a big conspiracy
- the inciting incident that drives both stories is the wrongful death of a boy resulting from a tragic accidental fall, and the attempt to cover it up afterwards
- aforementioned boy’s initials are BG (Firewatch) and GB (KF)
- in Firewatch, the person who caused the accident’s name is Ned. In KF, the person who caused the accident’s name is Teddy
- both games heavily rely on audio and dialogue and are linear, though KF has multiple endings
Whether or not these were intentional, these two games are a part of a shared, “2-people-solving-crimes-in-the-middle-of-nowhere” universe in my head. I just need games to fill out the winter and spring slots and I’ll have a game for each season lol
Anyways I just wanted to share these because I thought the coincidences were neat and that you all might enjoy!