Firegirl: Hack 'n Splash Rescue Game Sample - PC/Indie
38You know, games about fire fighters or fighting fires has so much potential and yet there are so few of them out there. Sure, they exist such as Atari 2600's "Fire Fighter" (a mediocre game of its era but dealt with fire fighting), SNES' "The Ignition Factor" (a terrific but short game), "The Firemen" (SNES/SFC) or its more obscure sequel for PS1 which is "The Firemen 2: Pete & Danny" or titles like "Rosco McQueen: Firefighter Extreme" and more, but it's disappointing that the best game in this niche is still a title from the 90s (and for those wondering, it's the short and obscenely expensive "Burning Rangers" for Sega Saturn). Obviously, with me saying this, that means our subject for today, Dejima and Thunderful Publishing's "Firegirl" (DX) doesn't quite reach the greatness of some of the aforementioned fire fighting games, but as someone who likes Indie titles and niche concepts, I was willing to give it a chance. Released in late 2021, the game combines procedurally generated levels and Roguelite elements with extinguishing flames, and while this could've been a good combo, FG simply needed more time in the proverbial oven.
I've been following the game since it was announced but did not get it at launch; it was plagued with day one issues and various bugs that really hurt its reputation and as these types of things are becoming the norm with modern games, I generally wait a few weeks unless it's something I absolutely want. In its current state, it is a game that I can offer a soft recommendation for but with the caveat that it still feels like an Early Access title with all sorts of minor annoyances (the way text populates, not having clearly outlined detection points for end level markers, wonky hit animation, wonky aiming, etc.) but controls and plays well enough with a fundamentally sound (albeit not diverse) concept. As the eponymous Firegirl, you have come of age and are filling the role of her Dad in the Fire Brigade who perished ten years ago in an major blaze. The city is constantly ravaged by flames and between a shady mayor, a mysterious FBI agent and a not-always-truthful fire chief, the game's story gradually unravels as you put out blazes, rescue civilians and discover "Fire Tomes".
Of course, due to all the fires, you've joined the department at an all-time low as they are slapped with budget cuts and complaints from the homeowners association, with the general public lacking faith in your abilities. That said, you have to create a new stream of revenue and fans to help improve the department's standing and get bigger and better gear to do your job to the utmost. The Fire Department is your general hub where you can use money you've earned to get a variety of upgrades, but only after you've found the requisite civilians while out on the job who specialize in different services. Heading out will send you on random missions at a random location with a preset time limit but they generally boil down to rescuing a certain amount of people (you can rescue pets, but they don't count towards the casualty count unfortunately) or stopping some mechanism. Dying or running out of time will cause you to incur a financial penalty, but you will always benefit even if you lose. One thing of note is "Fire Demons" restore time based on type but will stop giving time if you have one minute left or less.
As the game is RNG-dependent, you will have to choose between ending a level early or to keep going. In the beginning, you'll want to only go so far, but as you get more upgrades, you can increase the amount of time you're on a level as well as how much water you have (and how far it goes) and get even further, which is required to have the best odds of finding all the tomes. You can use your hose to blast off into the air as well as break your fall (you'll lose health if you slam right into the ground from being too high) and you have an axe to break down various obstacles or doors. Levels are generally short and the game has a simple pickup-and-play nature but the extreme lack of level diversity weighs the game down -- after 30 minutes to an hour, you've seen the vast majority of what the game has to offer, which puts it behind many other rogue titles. Sure, you can pull off a handful of feats for badges and medals and such, but they don't really do much.
One definite pro of the game is that it is pretty; with 2D characters and 3D graphics with dynamic lighting and shading, it is easily one of the prettiest firefighting games. The soundtrack isn't too bad either, but the game could've ultimately used more variety in the levels and objectives. I'd pick it up on sale -- you can get it at:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1608550/Firegirl_Hack_n_Splash_Rescue/
This is a video showing various things in action. Enjoy.
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