Well, I thought Firewatch was visually gorgeous, but in every other respect I hated that game. Completely linear—with access to new areas strictly and obviously gated by acquiring items in a particular order—threadbare stories, the relationship between the main character and the other person was unnatural, and the ending completely unsatisfying. So, YMMV.
I definitely enjoyed A Short Hike, though, and would love to see more games like it. Being free to run around and actually do stuff is much more fun than being free to run around and, well, just run around, until you find the one thing you need to proceed.
Viewing post in Other games like this ? (it was very good ^^ )
Yeah, he says the game "took players on one hell of a ride", and that's how I felt as a player—taken for a ride, as in the colloquial expression. I definitely didn't feel any emotional connection with Henry; in fact I resented being told who I was and basically having all the "choices" be slight alternatives on the railroaded path to that ending. The ending was the least of my problems with the game, although watching this video reminds me how, visually, they knocked it out of the park...which made the story and ending all the more frustrating.
I similarly quit playing Night In The Woods because I was dropped into the shoes of an unlikable person with a past everybody but me knew.
Still, it seems there are people who like such games; more power to 'em.