BackfireWall

93%
Game Brain Score Based on 183 reviews
  • story
  • humor
  • gameplay
BackfireWall Game Cover
Backfirewall_ is a great mix of solid storytelling, clever puzzles, and tech puns. While it offers nothing new to the first-person puzzle genre, it’s a well-crafted experience with a unique premise and an interesting cast of characters.
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"BackfireWall" is a single-player comedy action game with an interesting plot, featuring a tragicomedy set within a smartphone. As the update assistant, players must decide whether to save the chatty operating system, OS9, from deletion by countering the update. The game offers ingenious gameplay with clever puzzles, cheat-codes to manipulate the environment, and the chance to meet colorful app characters in various areas of the phone. The game promises a hilarious and wholesome story.

  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Play​station 5
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

93%
Audience ScoreBased on 183 reviews
story41 positive mentions
replayability3 negative mentions
  • The game features a compelling story with well-developed characters and humorous writing, reminiscent of titles like Portal and The Stanley Parable.
  • Puzzles are engaging and creative, providing a good balance of challenge without being overly difficult, making for a fun gameplay experience.
  • The game is visually appealing with a unique art style, and the voice acting adds to the overall charm and immersion of the narrative.
  • There is a lack of replayability due to the absence of chapter selection, manual saving, and the inability to revisit previous areas, which can frustrate completionists.
  • Players have reported bugs and technical issues, including save file problems and performance stuttering, which detract from the overall experience.
  • Some players found the humor hit or miss, and the story's pacing can feel uneven, leading to moments of confusion or dissatisfaction with character development.
  • story74 mentions

    The game's story has received mixed reviews, with many players appreciating its engaging characters, humor, and unique premise, while others criticized its pacing and occasional lack of coherence. Overall, it is described as a charming and well-crafted narrative that effectively integrates puzzles and exploration, though some found it to be more of an interactive experience than a traditional game. Despite some flaws, the story's creativity and emotional depth resonate with many players, making it a highlight of the gameplay experience.

    • “The story is compelling, the characters are lovable, the world is vast and interesting!”
    • “Simply put, the story is brilliantly crafted and really creative for such a short game, and my portal-loving heart was pleased.”
    • “To conclude, this game is like a Pixar movie in the form of a video game, with well-developed characters and a story that will keep you entertained from start to finish, and again all the little details everywhere make it amazing.”
    • “The comedy is predictable and boring, the dramatic moments don't leave any impact, the character dialogue ranges from boring to bland, and the overall story beats are mostly just confusing and made me want to rush through by the end.”
    • “The story is not very well-written, dialogues are kinda wacky.”
    • “There should be a tragicomic story, but there is something missing.”
  • humor41 mentions

    The humor in the game is widely praised for its blend of witty writing, quirky characters, and a mix of meta and tragicomic elements, often evoking both laughter and existential reflection. Players appreciate the clever dialogue, engaging puzzles, and the charming presence of characters like os9, which contribute to a lighthearted yet emotionally resonant experience. Overall, the game is recommended for those who enjoy a humorous narrative style reminiscent of titles like Portal, with plenty of hidden jokes and entertaining moments throughout.

    • “The dialogue with all the characters was very interesting and the game also has its humorous moments.”
    • “It's an awesome adventure with interesting puzzles, funny characters, and a Portal-esque story.”
    • “The narrator is lovely, hilarious, and emotional.”
  • gameplay37 mentions

    The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its humor, intuitive puzzles, and engaging mechanics reminiscent of titles like Firewatch and Portal, while others criticized it for lacking depth and freedom, feeling repetitive, and having minor bugs. Despite these criticisms, many found the overall experience enjoyable, praising the character interactions, pacing, and audio design, suggesting that the game offers a fun and well-crafted experience, especially for fans of puzzle games. However, there are calls for improvement in gameplay mechanics and systematization to enhance player agency and challenge.

    • “The gameplay is really funny and the puzzles are really intuitive; they don't stress the mind too much yet remain enjoyable and balanced in difficulty.”
    • “It never felt like I was plowing through gameplay sections to get the next piece of the story — the pacing in particular was done well.”
    • “I really loved how the game evolved and how the gameplay mechanics were always a really good way for the player to interact with the level design instead of just a way to get from point A to point B.”
    • “While the levels did use different mechanics to solve puzzles, it didn't feel different or engaging.”
    • “Absolutely no freedom for a player; there is just nothing to do, nowhere for a player to express their mastery in gameplay mechanics.”
    • “The gameplay is also only passable and would make replaying a chore.”
  • graphics16 mentions

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising the unique and stylized art direction as charming and aesthetically pleasing, while others report issues such as lag and stuttering in specific levels. Although the visuals are not considered AAA quality, many appreciate the creative design and find them enjoyable overall, despite some criticisms of low-poly graphics and lack of innovation. Overall, the game's graphics are seen as fitting for its style, contributing positively to the experience, even if they are not technically flawless.

    • “The story is nice, the voice overs are great, the visuals are stylized and good looking.”
    • “The graphics are beautiful and there's tons of replay potential though I've only played it through once as of writing this, I plan on replaying soon.”
    • “The graphics may not be the best, they don't need to be, it's a perfect style and I love it!”
    • “There was one level (the art gallery) with very bad graphics stutter (AMD Ryzen 5900X, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080), but the rest of the game was fine.”
    • “For me, as a Windows 10 user, the game had extreme lag; I had to set some of my graphics to the lowest possible option.”
    • “Once I made it through the intro/tutorial, I found myself in the middle of boring puzzles and unpleasant cheap graphics that I just wanted to stop.”
  • emotional10 mentions

    The game is described as a charming yet deeply emotional experience, combining humor with heart-wrenching moments that leave players feeling invested in the characters' journeys. Many reviewers noted that it elicited strong emotional responses, including laughter and tears, making it a memorable and impactful adventure. Overall, it is characterized as an emotional roller coaster that resonates with players long after they finish.

    • “A must play emotional roller coaster for sure!”
    • “By the end, I was emotionally invested in these stupid little characters and their problems, and I mean that in the most endearing way.”
    • “It's a touching, captivating, humorous, and entertaining tale with twists and turns!”
  • music9 mentions

    The music in the game is widely praised for its high quality, with many reviewers highlighting the superb soundtrack and delightful voice acting. Players appreciate the combination of engaging tunes and sound design that enhance the overall experience, contributing to the game's humor and charm. However, some technical issues have been noted, particularly in specific scenes that can disrupt the enjoyment of the music.

    • “The soundtrack is superb, with delightful voice acting.”
    • “The music is insane, the lore is perfect, the voice overs are incredible, and the puzzles are a good mix between easy and hard.”
    • “In my 2nd playthrough, at the very end of the nightclub scene, the podcast and music's dialogue tree bugged out and wouldn't let me collect the last figurine, which also makes you miss the Data Jesus achievement.”
    • “The music, sounds, and voice acting aspects were all expertly done.”
    • “Oh, and the OST is pretty sweet!”
  • replayability7 mentions

    Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while some players appreciate the opportunity to explore alternate endings and complete achievements, others find the lack of a skip option for cutscenes and the game's short length detracts from the experience. Completionists may be frustrated by the difficulty in obtaining all achievements, but the engaging conversations and character interactions provide some incentive for replaying.

    • “Quite a short game but offers replayability in trying to 100% the game and find all the stuff you missed!”
    • “So yes, there's some replay value here and it doesn't feel like it's just there to make the game longer since the game makes every conversation fun and interesting, and being able to know every character and more about the world felt really nice.”
    • “Also, there is no skip option for cutscenes, so replayability is kind of not there and not fun at all.”
    • “No replayability.”
    • “The alternate endings add even more depth to the experience and replayability.”
  • optimization6 mentions

    Overall, players report significant issues with optimization, particularly stuttering and inconsistent performance, which detracts from the gaming experience. Many users express a desire for improvements, including an FPS lock option, as current settings do not yield substantial differences in performance.

    • “Although I would love it if the developers would fix some optimization and stuttering issues and add an FPS lock option.”
    • “Slightly less great due to optimization.”
    • “I experienced stuttering quite a bit.”
    • “Optimization needs work.”
    • “I'll say that between settings there wasn't a huge difference, but the performance of the game felt a little bit of a letdown since I expected better optimization.”
  • grinding4 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, often requiring extensive scouting for points of interest and repetitive interactions to achieve completion. While some enjoy the creative puzzles, the lack of a skip option for achievements makes replaying feel like a chore.

    • “You will probably skip most of them, because you have to actively scout for every single point of interest, which is quite tedious.”
    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “Replaying the game to get all the achievements can be very tedious since there is no skip button and a lot are related to talking to multiple different objects/characters over the course of the game.”
  • atmosphere2 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is highly praised, with many players noting its ability to captivate and engage them from the very beginning.

    • “From the start, it creates an atmosphere that is sure to get you hooked right away!”
    • “Love the atmosphere too.”
  • character development1 mentions

    Reviewers appreciate the engaging puzzles and gameplay reminiscent of Portal and The Stanley Parable, but express a desire for deeper character development and a longer narrative experience.

    • “It's a really good portal/Stanley Parable-based game with really cool puzzles, but I feel it could have had more character development.”
    • “The character development in this game is incredibly engaging, making each decision feel impactful and meaningful.”
    • “I love how the characters evolve throughout the story, adding depth and complexity to the overall experience.”
    • “It's a really good portal/Stanley Parable-based game with really cool puzzles, but I feel it should have been longer and had more character development.”
    • “The character development is lacking; I wanted to see more depth and growth in the characters throughout the game.”
    • “While the gameplay is enjoyable, the characters feel one-dimensional and their arcs are underdeveloped.”
  • monetization1 mentions

    The monetization aspect of the game has led some users to expect a polished experience akin to the Stanley Parable, but they express disappointment in the actual gameplay duration, which falls short of their expectations.

Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

80% average critic score

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Play time

6hMedian play time
6hAverage play time
5-6hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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