I Personally Found The Ending To Be Quite Fitting *SPOILER ALERT*

[Rodster360]

When we play games we look for the happy endings. However these two characters were running away from their problems and happened to cross paths. Delilah was running away from being abandoned by her boyfriend who she expected to marry and it affected her life and Henry was running away from his wife's Dementia.

Henry just happened to find out about Brian Goodwin and when they both tried to find out if he was still alive his Dad got nervous they would find him dead and he gets accused of killing his son. Since Delilah allowed Ned to stay in the Forest with his son, he kept tabs on her just to make sure he was safe and the body wasn't discovered. That changed as Henry got closer to the truth and so he started making stuff up so they wouldn't have time to find out about Brian.

It almost worked because they were both planning to leave their jobs until the second fire when it had to be reported. So no, there was no government conspiracy theory. It was just a Dad who allowed his son to die because an accident.

In the end Henry wanted to be with Delilah but she refused because it would have meant was now forever tied to Brian's death because she lied to her superiors and allowed it to happen by not reporting Ned Goodwin.

Delilah in turn encouraged Henry to go see his wife who was in the late stages of Dementia. So it ends with both characters now forced to deal with and confronting life's demons/problems which both made a habit of running away from.

I think the ending was quite fitting, so i'm NOT disappointed.

[Sphinx of Black Quartz]

Pretty much, yeah. It's not a story about two people exposing some fiendish plot involving aliens or ghosts or whatever; it's a story about two people who are running away from their problems. see where that ultimately leads, and decide maybe it's time to stop running.

[zaphodikus]

I only worked these possible plotlines out on my 3rd playthrough, but yes, thanks, very good summary. This explains all the "the end is trash" haters, who did not know where to look for the clues. I totally enjoyed my first playthough only because I was playing for the fun on it, and not to critique the plotline at all. And I also came away with @Sphinx synopsis on my fist playthough:
"two people who are running away from their problems"

[Rodster360]

Originally posted by zaphodikus:

I only worked these possible plotlines out on my 3rd playthrough, but yes, thanks, very good summary. This explains all the "the end is trash" haters, who did not know where to look for the clues. I totally enjoyed my first playthough only because I was playing for the fun on it, and not to critique the plotline at all. And I also came away with @Sphinx synopsis on my fist playthough:
"two people who are running away from their problems"

Actually and it later dawned on me but all three characters were running away and did not face their problems. Ned Goodwin, who didn't have the guts to bury his son and left him to rot in the cave. Instead he hid and did not face that he was responsible for his son's death. In the end he just ran some more so he could still live in the forest.

The game was all about dealing head on with life's crappy problems that can drastically change your life. Delilah took the forest job when she was 30 years old when Javier who she wanted to marry left her and never came back.

[Rodster360]

Just adding that the game in the very beginning was about the simple lesson on facing problems head on because they can change and screw up your life forever if you let them. The first day on the job, Delilah asked Henry what he was running away from. She said people take the job because they are running away from something.

She was running away because she got dumped by someone she was in love with and instead wasted the best years of her life working alone in a tower. She never faced up to being rejected. She lied to her sister about being dumped and said Javier was unfaithful. She apparently was attractive because Ned tells Henry in the end why his son Brian had a huge crush on her. Then she lied to her bosses about Brian and Ned being in the woods

[zaphodikus]

Yep, great story telling. I have also heard there might be another game coming (I hope) from the same reconstituted team bc Campo Santo dissolved, but apparently got bought by a bigger house. Although not seeing any proof of that yet. do let us know if you know more about that, I have started a Steam group for similar games and a few of us also loved Firewatch and keenly await more.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Well said. Not everything needs to be avengers endgame level epic to be a good story.

[hirokaraka]

I agree, I found the ending very suiting.

[Scobee]

So how, exactly, did one dude (Ned), build this giant fence, radio comms towers, etc? How did he get the tents and cots and lie detectors and construction materials in? And why was he never reported missing? Did he get picked up when his "shift" ended and then hike back in? If so, that makes the first questions even more difficult to answer.

I think it was a good game. I'm fine with the overall story ending, but the plausibility of it all is extremely low... unless I'm missing something. Seems more likely it actually was a government cover-up and Ned was just the fall-guy...

[Leandro Eidi]

I wouldn't mind the ending, if getting there didn't make the plot get lost in the unnecessary mystery. The first part was great, when it looked like Henry and Delilah were going to talk and grow at the same time through their conversations. However, this route was interrupted by "the mystery", and the decision in the end to split and each go their separate ways to face their responsabilities felt like it came from nowhere. It wasn't like "ok, we talked, we grew, we learned that we need to face life", but more like "well, it all went to s***, the forest burned, we can't stay here, we thought we were going crazy so... well... yeah, let's get back to our old lives".

Although I see what the developers were going for, I would prefer if they either ditched the mystery and stuck with a more grounded "therapy session vibe", or (and I know lots of people will disagree) went completely bonkers with the mystery. Like it was all (including even getting the job in the first place) happening in Henry's mind to deal with what was happening with his wife. Or maybe a Silent Hill-like twist of guilty (maybe he felt relieved when his wife's family took her away and he feels guilty feeling like that) which could turn the game a bit more to horror by the end of it.
Yeah, I know my suggestions sound like cliche, but I don't know, the way the plot was handled, it felt like a kind of middle term that didn't feel satisfying in any front. The plot conclusion didn't feel like a natural progression of their character growth (which I feel got halted by the mystery), and the mystery got a disappointing ending which undermines its own existence.

Originally posted by Avolition:

So how, exactly, did one dude (Ned), build this giant fence, radio comms towers, etc? How did he get the tents and cots and lie detectors and construction materials in? And why was he never reported missing? Did he get picked up when his "shift" ended and then hike back in? If so, that makes the first questions even more difficult to answer.

I think it was a good game. I'm fine with the overall story ending, but the plausibility of it all is extremely low... unless I'm missing something. Seems more likely it actually was a government cover-up and Ned was just the fall-guy...

You can see from Ned's notes that the research place and the stuff are from scientists that were doing some experiments (normal nature stuff, from the looks of it), and they were on leave until August, and there are some maps on how Ned broke in the area and whatnot. Ned planted the notes on Henry and Delilah, but (almost?) everything else seems to have already been there.
However, it does seem like Ned understands a little about engineering and whatnot, since he stripped the snowmobile engine for parts.

[ChickenCat]

Originally posted by Rodster360:

Delilah in turn encouraged Henry to go see his wife who was in the late stages of Dementia. So it ends with both characters now forced to deal with and confronting life's demons/problems which both made a habit of running away from.

Yeah, what you write make sense, it was a while ago when I played this, but I still could not see how this decision was "moving forward" in a human/emotional level. Imho, life is about taking changes, feeling alive, and a new relationship could be scary, but that is where you need to go to grow. At the very least they should have gave it a chance. If this is not running away, I am not sure what is. If anything it was more like continuing to live in the past for an other round, or maybe forever, which is sad.
And they of course have issues to deal with, but what if a relationship was something they both needed to start/speed up the healing process.

Technically it is a nice narrative shocker, and fits a story like this really well. It felt artificial though, a means to arrive to a bittersweet end which is sure to have a lasting impact, but for me it did not felt as a natural progression after what I saw during the game.

In any case, it was a nice experience, and I really hope they make more games like this.