Okay kids, sit down – grandpa Nick is going to tell you a story. Way before we had Spottefai and Jootoeb, we listened to cassette tapes. No, no, not the big round frisbees! Those are vinyl records. The small black boxes, you know, cassette tapes. Yeh, those things – whenever the tape rolled out of the cassette, you could roll it back in with a pencil or pen. Well, that’s where my story starts…
Fire Tonight is a game about reuniting lovers across a city that is ablaze! And it’s not a normal fire. It’s pinkish and doesn’t hurt you when you walk into them. Unfortunately, the people in the city treat it as a nuisance instead of it being a natural disaster. Fire Tonights sets the tone for the game’s premise right there; it’s fun, quirky, and sweet (and a bit short). Oh, and Danny Phantom, Fairly Odd Parents, and the other Nickelodeon cartoons called, they want their style back!
Fire Tonight
The story revolves around Maya and Devin, who are out of touch because the fire has taken out some of the city’s power – meaning Maya can’t call Devin from a payphone. It’s an era when there are no mobile phones, instant messages, or social media; the only way Maya can see if Devin is okay is to go directly to him. Throw in cassette players, retro games consoles, and rollerskates, and you’ve got a true nostalgia trip. At least, it was for me. We’re so used to sending stuff through the internet and being always available that it was a nice … touch to go back to an ‘easier time.
Fire Tonight is very short, with only eight levels to work with; it completed the game in under one hour. Don’t get me wrong, though; the game is worth every penny, dollar, or euro (depending on your currency). The puzzles are good and fun – with some winks and nudges to older games in the genre. I enjoyed the 2d/3d aesthetic they have going on, in which you can turn the world to discover nooks and crannies around the world and even finding new ways to complete the puzzle you’re working on.
Gameplay
To give you a little bit more in-depth information, you’ll switch between guiding Maya through the city and exploring Devin’s apartment. In Devin’s apartment, you’ll click around, getting some exposition on his surroundings. There are some nice touches here – like cassettes you can pop in a boombox and a games console you can interact with. But you’ll need to click on the right thing to progress the game, which can be a pain. There’s no indication of what items can be interacted with either, so you’ll find yourself moving a cursor all across the screen as you try to find something.
But Devin’s sections never last more than a few minutes. The meat of the game is spent with Maya. Her levels are maze-like as you make your way through streets and buildings, avoiding blockades of purple flames that stand in your way. You’ll need to find keys to progress, and there’s a small amount of stealth work involved early on as you try to get past security guards. There’s nothing too taxing, though; had Fire Tonight been any longer, these puzzles may well have become a little stale. As it is, Maya and Devin reunite at just the right moment to ensure the experience stays short and sweet.
Conclusion
So, to conclude – it was taken a bit off guard by Fire Tonight in how long the playthrough took me; but it was a short and sweet trip down memory lane. Combine this with a lovely art style and a good soundtrack, and I was sucked right back into the 90s. Anyone with some reminiscent feelings towards the era should definitely check this one out.
