Firewatch

Want more Firewatch? It’s getting two new game modes soon

Campo Santo has been sorta laying low since the release of Firewatch earlier this year. But that time is over. The studio has now decided it’s about time to deliver DLC for the game in the form of two new and much-requested modes. The announcement came alongside the Xbox One version’s reveal, which arrives on September 21st.

The two new modes are an Audio Tour, which is a mix of scavenger hunt missions and development diaries. It’s going to be implemented in the game’s main storyline from the beginning by giving the protagonist, Henry, a Walkman and headphones before he heads out into the wilderness. At that point, you’ll be challenged to find more than 100 tape cassette kiosks spread across the woodlands.

indulge the wonderful nature and wildlife within

Each in-game day will offer a new set of tapes to collect with various themes, ranging from the difficulties the development team had to overcome, their own choices while playing Firewatch, and a simple commentary on the situation you find yourself in. “Each tape tells you what you’re going to learn about, and your map has a checklist of all the tapes that exist in the world on that day of the game,” said studio director Jake Rodkin to Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Sometimes the tapes will offer more than mere sound clips too, letting you see a glimpse of how the team over at Campo Santo made the game and the way they animated Henry.




The other new mode that’ll come with this expansion is a free-roam mode. As you’d expect, it’ll offer the chance to walk the game’s environments as you wish, and indulge the wonderful nature and wildlife within. Free Roam removes the story completely from the game and gives you access to all the tools from the beginning to set out on your own sightseeing adventures, turning the game into more of a hiking simulator. Rodkin discussed the reason behind adding this new mode by saying that the team is trying to cater to the “type of person who really likes the world of Firewatch and the “virtual hiking”/sightseeing/tourism aspect of exploring it, and wanted to be able to live in it for a little while, poke around at their own pace without having to feel the pressure of the story.”

The Firewatch Audio Tour mode will be available upon release for Xbox One players on September 21st, with PS4 and PC players having to wait a little while longer. The game’s Free Roam mode doesn’t yet have a set release date.