I heard about The Flame in the Flood by The Molasses Flood some time ago. When it came out it wasn't greeted with the same enthusiasm that it was hyped up to be but something about the way the game looked caught my eye. Being the ever patient gamer it sat on my wishlist till it happened to be in a Humble Bundle I picked up. I wanted to give the game a shot so I set the clock for one hour and dove in.
The Experience:
The Flame in the Flood is a survival game set on a river. Immediately the game greats you with a melancholy scene of a dog walking around a skeleton and a backpack with dark crows in the foreground. On the sign is a foreshadowing and a warning "DO NOT IDLE".
The only tutorial to this game is a few signs in the starting area and the exit menu. The object of this game is to survive as long as you can with your loyal four-legged companion. I do believe there is an endpoint seeing as there is an option for an endless campaign. You have 4 core stats you need to take care of which is food, water, temperature, and sleep. You also have a raft that has health that will take you from one area to another. To travel you jump on your raft and head one way down a river full of obstacles until you reach another area where you can dock and explore.
From the very beginning, this game wants to kill you. There are poisonous plants, angry wildlife, the rain, obstacles in the river, and a whole load of other shit that is there to take you down. You have to gather mats at each location and are given a crafting system in order to build things to help combat this inhospitable world. You can create bandages for cuts, splints for broken bones, and teas for food poisoning. You need to kill wildlife to cook it and piss off PETA. This all comes with managing the very little inventory space you are given at the start.
The fire is your friend in this game and I found that one of the most important mats is flint. Not only is it needed to craft you starting weapons and tools but it is used for arrows. The one thing that is a little frustrating about this game is since it is a survival game you don't necessarily know you are going to get the mats that you need. You can get an idea because the areas you stop at are marked with icons and if you are able to navigate the river to them you can pick the ones that tend to hold what you need. For example, the church is great for finding rags which can be used for splints and bandages.
The art style is pretty cool. It reminds me of a cross between the old Warcraft 3-D models and a Tim Burton movie. The music serves to remind you that the world is dark and the story is scattered through several points in the form of interactions with strangers. The strangers tend to help you out if you talk with them. They are the nice relief between the biting ant, charging boars, and deadly wolves that are around every corner.
This game is fun so far. I am only a short way in but the gameplay is pretty compelling. I have already died because I thought I could 1 v 1 a wolf and lost. Even though I was given the option to go back I had to start over again for moral reasons. There is a single death mode but I am little afraid I might not have the knowledge to jump into that yet.
This game is pretty fun and I really don't have any complaints yet. Once I hit the end, if I ever hit the end, I'll do the full review but until then I will say this was a pretty solid one hour of gameplay. I am not always into survival games but the pieces for a good one are here.
TL;DR:
The Flame in the Flood is a melancholy survival game that will test your patience and planning. I am only at the start of my adventure but so far it looks promising. The game definitely has me compelled to continue playing.
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