Backfirewall_ was provided to us by All in! Games and Plan of Attack. Thank you!
Backfirewall_ is a first-person adventure game that takes place inside of a smartphone on the verge of…updating? As the update assistant who has now gained full autonomy, you hold the fate of the system in your hands. Will you save OS9, a chatty and humorous interpretation of the old OS, or will you let the update happen and give the world a fresh reboot. Traverse through the smartphone and solve puzzles, meet unique characters, find bunches of collectables, and save the phone from impending “doom”.
Before 3 weeks ago, I had no idea this game existed, but I am so glad to have discovered it. I enjoyed the humor and setting, as well as the minimalistic graphics compared to the more complex 3D games. In the end, this unknown game captured my attention and I loved the experience I got. And the best part about this, enjoying this on the Steam Deck is almost a guarantee!
Backfirewall_: Performance
When first booting up the game, I was delighted to see it running better than I expected. 60 FPS with no setting changes (the game starts on max settings) was wonderful to see. It did hold up for awhile too, but I did start to notice some slowdowns later in the game. This started after getting out of the first area. I did have to change a couple settings at that point, bringing quality to medium and a FPS cap of 55, but I had no more issues after that! You could increase TDP and keep at 60, but the battery savings were much more appealing with 55, which felt just as smooth.
Other than that, there are a couple of little trouble spots I found that took deeper looking to find. The most obvious was actually a single standing light in the first area. Walking around was completely fine, but going up to it would cause dips to 14-20 FPS. As soon as I walked away though, the game would go right back up to the correct framerate.
I did feel the camera movement speed was a bit on the slow side for my taste, but overall, I had no issues running the game. The controls worked fine, with a slight adjustment to camera speed, and no graphical problems at all.
Conclusion
Backfirewall_ is a fantastic first-person game with a story that shines with its humor and setting. The puzzles require some thinking, but won’t completely break your mind. I loved seeing this interpretation of what it would be like inside of a smartphone. Thanks to how the game is made and how easy it is to run, Backfirewall_ also feels amazing on the Steam Deck. I wish I had known about this game earlier, but I am so glad I do now!
Our review is based on the PC version of this game.
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