Fireside is a heartwarming game about trading. But the goal is not to make the most money, but instead to make others happy with their trades. What a lovely objective!
The Backstory of Fireside
I played as a merchant who arrived in a strange land when my boat crashed there. I was helped by the unique character of Costa, who is actually a man wearing a wooden barrel! He had similarly crashed in this place years ago, but decided to stay and make it his home. I explained to him that I was a merchant but I had lost all of my items in the storm. I wondered how I could continue to make a living. He consoled me and assured me that everything would be alright. I want to sleep, and the next day I explored the area, finding broken chests. In one of them, there was a dry, soft blanket which I took. And suddenly I was a merchant again because I had an item to trade!
The Gameplay in Fireside was Easy to Understand
The tutorial for Fireside was built into the beginning of the game. I learned what I needed to learn, as I needed to learn it. I like it when game mechanics are introduced that way. I played with a controller and did not encounter any issues. For the most part, the gameplay happens at various campfires in the region, hence the title Fireside. The gameplay consists of making trades with other individuals around the campfires. But instead of purely making money, the goal of trades in this game is to make everyone happy. It’s lovely and heartwarming!
There is literally a scale on the screen for every trade in Fireside. My goal was to take items from my inventory and put them on one side of the scale, and then take items from an NPC’s inventory and put that on the other side of the scale. If it was balanced or maybe slightly in the NPC’s favor, I would try to make the trade. Most of the time in the demo, the NPC was very happy with our trades. But there were a couple of times where they considered their item more valuable than I did, and the trade did not occur.
Meanwhile, I was acquiring quests from NPCs that also required items. So the challenge and strategy in Fireside was to try to get my quest items while also giving the NPC something they desired. For example, at one point, I had acquired a pink shell. I really had no use for the pink shell, but the NPC on the screen with me had a thought bubble over its head, showing me that it really wanted the pink shell! So I was able to trade that shell for a piece of lumber, which I needed for a quest. We were both very happy with our trades. My ultimate goal in Fireside was to acquire Soul Energy from the trades I made. This was gained if my fellow traders also felt that they’d made a good trade with me. It was an interesting challenge.
The World of Fireside
The world is populated by unique individuals! I am dressed all in blue, and only my eyes are visible, for example. I’m not sure what that signifies. I also traded with Seraphin, who appears to be a large blue fish in human clothes, as well as Kevin, who was especially touching. Kevin is a drop of water. He was separated from his mother, who is a cloud, and I need to reunite them. He was a very sweet little guy and touched me.
As I gathered at various campfires with various NPCs, sometimes I could see their thoughts above their heads. That gave me a clue to what type of items I should try to offer them in trade. Other times all I could do was engage in a dialogue, as in the screenshot above with Kevin. The dialogues were fun and quite often had multiple choices for me. I wonder if the game plays out differently depending on my replies?
I maneuvered around the world by going from campsite to campsite. I didn’t really control my character beyond choosing which campsite I wanted to go to. After I made a choice, my character walked to it, and if there happened to be something to pick up on the way, that happened automatically. What I did control is dialogue and trades.
The Shrines, Spirit Nexus, Teleporting and Soul Energy in Fireside
All of those items are important in Fireside. My character discovered a shrine pretty early on, and it teleported him to another realm where I met Knack. He is the keeper of the Spirit Nexus, which is the magical tether that keeps people connected. He told me it is on the verge of collapse because of the same storm which stranded me there. I was able to teleport to speak with Knack once, but he was rapidly running out of Soul Energy to help me do that again. I needed to collect more Soul Energy, which I could use to power up the shrines. The demo ended with Knack building me a special portal to come and visit him anytime I wanted. My task was to keep trading with the locals and make people happy. That would generate Soul Energy which the Spirit Nexus needs.
Helpful Game Features in Fireside
I was equipped with a very helpful journal in Fireside. It keeps track of my quests, with lots of detail which I appreciate! It also keeps track of which NPCs I have interacted with. I’m always grateful for mechanics which help me keep on top of my quests!
Final Thoughts
I liked the demo of Fireside a lot!! It was not difficult to play, and I understood what to do pretty quickly. I love it’s message of kindness and gratitude. I loved that I was not trying to make a ton of money as a merchant, but I was trying to get what I needed while giving others what they needed. You should know the demo does not have a save feature, but I completed it in about 45 minutes. The full game of Fireside has been released and can be purchased. I encourage you to try the demo and see if the full game is a good fit for you!
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