Firefighting Simulator: The Squad Xbox Series X Review 5.5/10 "Smouldering Embers" 🔥🚒🧯 @FirefightingSim #IndieGame #GameDev

A game that looks and runs much more smoothly and cleanly than others of its ilk, catastrophic AI and flat gameplay let down would could have been an interesting title.

The tutorial of Firefighting Simulator: The Squad does a decent job of laying out the core mechanics of the game, with an oddly rousing tutorial musical score, you’ll use one of your tools to smash down a door, rescue a smoke inhalation victim from their bedroom floor, and carry them to safety before returning to fight the blaze. 

This will pretty much be the main recipe for each of the numerous missions ahead of you. First impressions are quite solid, the frame-rate rocks a steady 60fps for most of the time, the visuals are crisp and grounded, and the overall mood is quite earthy and practical. It’s only after this tutorial that the issues creep in.

For a game that features ‘The Squad’ in the title, unless you are playing with other human players online, the AI squad is easily the weakest part of the game. Whilst the in-game controls make it easy to control them – you just approach them and open a decision wheel – they rarely follow your commands, and you’ll often find them either standing still, rotating on the spot, following you blindly, or spraying water at a wall, it quickly becomes clear that you’ll pretty much be tackling these flames alone. 

Again, whilst the game looks solid, the main mechanics of putting out fires is a very flat and unrewarding experience, as the flames are often fought by pointing at hose at them, and waiting for small water icons to shrivel and disappear. You really feel like you are at a tedious balloon-filling shooting gallery at the fair, with no sense of rising urgency or satisfaction in your work, due to the lack of ambient sounds and the erratic music which will switch seemingly randomly from lilting tunes, to fuzzy guitar rock with each mission, further removing the sense of cohesion.

The AI issues and slightly weak gameplay aside, there is definitely something here, the fire truck that takes you to each mission has a wealth of interactive sections when on scene (the travel sections are fully automated and can be skipped) to attach/remove hoses, grab an axe / door opening tool etc. and it’s all handled in a simple and accessible way. 

I found myself wishing that the AI was a lot stronger so I could take on more of a management role on the scene and direct my squad to quash the flames as I ensured victims were carried to safety and that the fire didn’t spread, but due to the sheer uselessness of your AI controlled team mates, that just isn’t possible, and so you find yourself pretty much doing everything, making the core fire hosing part of the game the lengthiest and most tedious aspect that bogs down any sense of agency and urgency at the scene.

SUMMARY
Worth a play if you and some friends are firefighting fans, as that human element will allay a lot of the tedium, and totally remove the AI-centric issues. 

If this is game you hope to play in single player mode, however – be prepared for some infuriating immolation incidents.

5.5/10

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