Fire Tonight
Publisher: Way Down Deep
Genre: Adventure, Puzzle
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Fire Tonight is puzzle platformer game with a 90s indie twist. As a child of the 90s myself, this game definitely hit all the right nostalgia buttons from it’s catchy soundtrack to the lack of internet and mobile phones. You play as Maya, a biracial young woman who spends the game trying to make her way through the black-outed and on fire cityscape to reunite with her boyfriend, Devin. Without electricity, alone, and with dangers lurking throughout the environment, can Maya make it through the various obstacles that stand in her way?
Fire Tonight is a game with a beautiful aesthetic, from the comic book style visuals of the characters, to the gorgeous use of lighting and designs for the city areas. All of this is augmented by the catchy synth soundtrack, giving this great retro feel. Little details help it stay grounded in the 90s – using landlines and payphones to contact one another, having to reel the film back into a music tape, for example, the band posters on the walls. The comic parts of it aren’t static either, with some movements, making you feel like you’re watching a cartoon instead. The main puzzles take part in eight levels and are all reasonably short – the whole game runtime can be completed in under an hour actually, but the experience whilst brief is fun and memorable. None of the puzzles are particularly difficult, but this very much feels like it’s a game about the characters and their environment, then anything majorly groundbreaking in terms of the gameplay content.
Maya is a pretty likable character in her own right, her commentary throughout the puzzle sections, humanising what is essentially just a ‘get from point A to point B’ premise. The little snapshots you see of Devin and Maya’s relationship is realistic and charming, and you really do root for them and want them to reunite. One of the few complaints I have about the game is regarding the level design. As I mentioned previously, the puzzles themselves are rather simplistic at times – often just a case of dodging police-men, navigating to exits and finding keys and there is very little real challenge here. The fire itself never really seems particularly dangerous and serves just as a barrier when in screen. There are potential ways to die but you’re spared any of the nasty aftermath and the game forcibly rewinds you to before the action like a tape recorder.
Fire Tonight’s real strengths lie in it’s visual and audial showcasing and in the characters with the charming story they tell. The relationship between Devin and Maya is the true heart of the game, and both feel like real people you can relate to. It would be great if the developers released an expanded version of this game in the future, as I’d have loved to have spent more time with them both but the ending is charming and even if the game clocks in at little under an hour, I didn’t regret my time with it at all.
Short and sweet; Fire Tonight is a game about a couple reuniting through terrifying obstacles and the game's strong aesthetics shine as brightly as it's charm.
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