The Flame in the Flood delivers a brilliant twist on the survival genre. The inability to linger in one place makes the game feel like a proper adventure with some additional survival trappings.
The Flame in the Flood encourages you to put long-term goals aside and live in the moment, to make choices and overcome short-term problems with risky but satisfying spontaneity. Despite the awkward menu system, it’s an absorbing game that lets you experience a journey in the present, and fully appreciate the sights, sounds, and joys of floating down the river in its alluring world.
Flame in the Flood doesn’t burden player with too many details: there simply was a flood, and now a brave girl and her dog are trying to get as far as possible downstream. Good Samaritans are all but non-existent, waters are rough and shores are rougher, so survival isn’t going to be pretty. [Issue#208, p.56]
Beautifully done battle with nature, which relies primarily on audio-visual aspect and a realistic setting. Grab your axe, food for three days and get downstream.
This is no quaint river rafting trip where you can sense the spirit of Huckleberry Finn. This is a relentless beast that let’s you die without warning. But even once you got the basics covered this is not as engrossing as Don’t Starve – even though artdesign and music are top notch.
Overall, the experience of playing The Flame in The Flood is more frustrating than nerve-wracking. I get that survival games won't be easy, but their systems should feel balanced, not bullshit. And the nodal method of traveling down river can feel futile in its own way. There's a big, bad wolf between me and any desire to play this further.