Firewatch Just Got A Release Date On Nintendo Switch

One of the surprise sleeper hits of 2016 was the indie game Firewatch from developer Campo Santo. The game came out for PC and PS4 and later had a release on Xbox One. Well, now the mystery-oriented, adventure walking sim is set to make its release on the Nintendo Switch.

The game is actually launching a lot sooner than some thought it would, with the release date for Firewatch on the Switch being set for December 17th across the Nintendo eShop in various regions, as reported by Nintendo Enthusiast.

The exact regions will include the Americas, both North and South, along with Europe, Australia, and Japan. So no matter where you are in the world you'll be able to grab a digital copy of the game from your neck of the woods. Alternatively, if you prefer having a certain version of the game from a certain region, you can do that thanks to Nintendo's region-free options for the Nintendo Switch.

It's interesting that Campo Santo decided to re-release Firewatch on the Switch so late after it launched on the other platforms. It was announced around eight or so months ago that the game was in development for the Switch. So technically Campo may have wanted to release it earlier, but due to porting times December was probably the earliest that the team could get the game out for Nintendo's system.

As for Firewatch itself, the award-winning game follows two characters out in the Wyoming forest who are basically rangers on watch for anything suspicious happening. It's a period piece that takes place back in 1988, so cellphones and high-tech gadgetry are outside of the grasp of the main characters Henry and Delilah. They do communicate frequently using walkie-talkies while attempting to limit the potential of forest fires and looters in the Shoshone National Park.

Things, however, take a turn for the worse when it appears as if a conspiracy is unfolding within the park that involves both Henry and Delilah. Things become even more hairy for the duo when it seems as if they could be involved in a murder plot.

The game unravels in a way that you really wouldn't expect. And despite its trappings within the typical walking sim genre, it does offer a few more interactive gameplay beats that allow gamers to interact with the environment and engage in a little bit of climbing, exploring, and item scavenging. It's definitely more involved than, say, Everybody's Gone To The Rapture and slightly more interactive than Gone Home. You could say that it's very similar to Bloober Team's Observer or Layers of Fear, both of which also operated on a similar philosophy of gameplay mechanics.

Not everyone loved Firewatch due to how it ended, but plenty of people found it entertaining for what it was. Campo Santo is now working on another project called In The Valley of Gods, which will be the studio's first game published under Valve. Given that Valve gave the go-ahead to launch Firewatch on the Switch, don't be surprised that after In The Valley of the Gods launches on PC it will likely make the rounds to home consoles and may even appear on the Switch as well.