BackfireWall

93%
Game Brain Score Based on 258 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 258 reviews
story59 positive mentions
replayability3 negative mentions
  • The game features a unique and creative concept, allowing players to explore a smartphone's inner workings while solving engaging puzzles.
  • The humor and writing are well-crafted, reminiscent of games like The Stanley Parable and Portal, making for an entertaining experience.
  • The voice acting is excellent, and the characters are memorable, adding depth to the story and enhancing player attachment.
  • The game lacks replayability due to the absence of chapter selection and manual saving, making it frustrating for completionists who want to collect everything.
  • There are technical issues, including bugs and performance problems, which can detract from the overall experience.
  • Some players found the pacing slow, with cutscenes that cannot be skipped, leading to a feeling of tedium during replay attempts.
  • story119 mentions

    The story of the game is generally well-received, praised for its humor, engaging characters, and clever dialogue, with many players appreciating the unique setting inside a phone and the emotional depth it offers. While some found the pacing and focus to wane at times, the overall narrative is described as compelling and entertaining, with a mix of interactive elements and collectibles that enhance the experience. However, a few critiques mention that certain story choices felt underdeveloped or confusing, detracting from the overall impact.

    • “The story is compelling, the characters are lovable, the world is vast and interesting!”
    • “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.”
    • “Simply put, the story is brilliantly crafted and really creative for such a short game, and my portal-loving heart was pleased.”
    • “The story is not very well-written; the dialogues are kind of wacky.”
    • “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.”
    • “If you don't care about the collectibles, then the game may seem empty and shallow; the story is slow and there is just not much to do in the environments.”
  • humor62 mentions

    The humor in this game is a standout feature, drawing comparisons to titles like "The Stanley Parable" and "Portal" with its clever writing and quirky characters. Players appreciate the blend of meta-humor, snark, and existential themes, often finding the dialogue and setting both entertaining and heartwarming. While the humor may not resonate with everyone, many reviewers found it to be a delightful and engaging aspect that enhances the overall experience.

    • “If you like The Stanley Parable and Portal, this is very much in line with that level of humor.”
    • “The humor is spot on.”
    • “It's a touching, captivating, humorous, and entertaining tale with twists and turns!”
  • gameplay56 mentions

    The gameplay is generally described as simple and intuitive, featuring basic puzzle-solving mechanics that may lack depth and engagement, reminiscent of titles like Firewatch and Portal. While some players appreciated the humor and creativity in the puzzles, others noted a lack of freedom and repetitive elements as the game progressed. Overall, the experience is enjoyable but not revolutionary, with a mix of fun mechanics and minor bugs that do not significantly detract from the gameplay.

    • “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.”
    • “Backfirewall_ is a very captivating, funny, and dramatic puzzle-adventure game with some amazing gameplay mechanics.”
    • “I absolutely loved the game; the gameplay and story were so good that I could easily say it is one of the best games I've played in my life.”
    • “The puzzles are fairly simple, and there isn't a lot of active gameplay that would keep your attention.”
    • “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 itself is simple and the puzzles are not too challenging; they are simply a means to an end to get you to progress through this 7-8 hour experience.”
  • graphics30 mentions

    The graphics of the game are generally well-received, with many praising its unique and stylized art direction that effectively conveys the game's themes. While some users experienced technical issues like stuttering and lag, the overall aesthetic is considered charming and fitting for the game's narrative. Although not on par with AAA titles, the visuals are described as beautiful and enjoyable, contributing positively to the overall experience.

    • “The puzzles are fun and relaxing, the story is excellent, and the graphics are amazing.”
    • “Clever dialogue and puzzles, an emotional story, wonderful graphics and music.”
    • “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.”
    • “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.”
  • emotional15 mentions

    The game is widely praised for its emotional depth, combining heartfelt storytelling with clever dialogue and engaging puzzles that can evoke strong feelings, including laughter and tears. Players describe it as a captivating emotional roller coaster, with beautiful graphics and music that enhance the experience, leaving them deeply invested in the characters and their journeys. Overall, it is recognized as a touching and memorable experience that resonates long after playing.

    • “This is also a heartfelt game that can send you to tears with some serious drama.”
    • “Clever dialogue and puzzles, an emotional story, wonderful graphics and music.”
    • “By the end I was emotionally invested in these stupid little characters and their problems, and I mean that in the most endearing way.”
  • optimization13 mentions

    Overall, the game's optimization has received mixed feedback, with many players reporting performance issues such as stuttering, particularly in later zones, which detracted from the overall experience. While some users noted that the game performed well at times, there is a consensus that further optimization is needed, including options like an FPS lock. The game's large install size and inconsistent performance across settings have also been points of concern for players.

    • “A Unity project which still has some install size issues (currently occupying around 34 GB), the performance was spotless at the very least.”
    • “Although I would love if the devs would fix some optimization/stuttering issues and added the FPS lock option.”
    • “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.”
    • “The game had performance issues after the first zones, which did impact enjoyment somewhat but not to the extent that the game could not be finished.”
    • “I experienced stuttering quite a bit.”
    • “Although I would love if the devs would fix some optimization/stuttering issues and add the FPS lock option.”
  • music12 mentions

    The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers praising its high quality, engaging soundtrack, and effective integration with the game's design and narrative. The techno-style soundtrack is noted for enhancing the overall experience, complemented by excellent voice acting and clever dialogue. While some players encountered minor bugs affecting music-related gameplay elements, the overall consensus highlights the music as a standout feature that significantly contributes to the game's charm and enjoyment.

    • “Clever dialogue and puzzles, an emotional story, wonderful graphics and music.”
    • “Especially because of the amazing art, good voice acting and 100% certified banger of a soundtrack.”
    • “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.”
    • “Backfirewall_ has a little soundtrack in techno style that suits it very well.”
  • replayability11 mentions

    Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while some players appreciate the multiple endings and the opportunity to explore different aspects of the game, others find the linear structure and lack of a skip option for cutscenes detract 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. Ultimately, the game offers a brief experience with enough replay value to warrant multiple playthroughs for those interested in uncovering all its secrets.

    • “Multiple endings are a treat, since they provide some replayability to an otherwise brief experience of around five hours per standard playthrough.”
    • “So the game is truly captivating and as it's not fully linear, there's a good replayability.”
    • “Also, there is no skip option for cutscenes and stuff, so replayability is kinda not there and not fun at all.”
    • “The experience is linear and has no real replay value, so it's a one and done affair.”
    • “The alternate endings add even more depth to the experience and replayability.”
  • 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 contributes to a sense of monotony in the grinding process.

    • “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 users noting that it effectively captivates players from the very beginning, creating an engaging and immersive experience.

    • “From the start, it creates an atmosphere that is sure to get you hooked right away!”
    • “Love the atmosphere too.”
  • character development2 mentions

    While the game features impressive character design and standout moments, many players feel that the character development is lacking, with a desire for deeper exploration and longer narratives. Additionally, some users expressed frustration over the reliance on specific references, which detracted from their overall experience.

    • “It's a really good portal/Stanley Parable-based game with really cool puzzles, but I feel it could have benefited from more character development.”
    • “It has fantastic character design and standout moments, but I felt somewhat disconnected because I didn't understand every single reference and had to restart due to not being able to reload a save.”
    • “It's a really good portal/Stanley Parable-based game with really cool puzzles, but I feel it should have been longer and included more character development.”
    • “The game has an interesting premise, but the character development feels shallow and underexplored.”
    • “While the gameplay is engaging, the lack of meaningful character development left me feeling disconnected from the story.”
  • 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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