The Flame in the Flood: Complete Edition

After all this time, our opinion of The Flame in the Flood hasn't changed. The presentation is beautiful, and the approach to survival remains unique because of the lack of a permanent home. The lack of combat means you can't make it on brute strength alone, and the many roguelike elements ensure that every playthrough is just as tough as the last. The Flame in the Flood remains one of the better survival games on the platform today.

What stands out most about The Flame in the Flood is that its form of survival isn’t candied up, but sits severe and plain about what chance most of us would have. It’s second even to the slice of America it presents, a piece of a soul set upon a shelf, hoping to be called upon once more. If nothing else, The Flame in The Flood allows that piece to have its moment with sincerity.

The Flame in the Flood is a beautiful game on the PlayStation 4 that puts the player in control a very likeable protagonist and her dog. The gameplay is not only challenging but also rewarding, particularly when you overcome an obstacle that has caused you grief. Add in some very gorgeous graphics, a soothing soundtrack and all in all, The Flame in the Flood is not only a very original game but quite enjoyable for this rogue-like survival experience.

I spent 46 hours with the PC edition of TFitF, so I obviously love this game. I wish it let me rate it higher this time, but I couldn’t do it because of the bugs – not very frustrating but frequent. [03/2017, p.67]

While there are quite a few survival games out, the Flame in the Flood approaches the end of the world from a new perspective. Its an enjoyable survival game that always ends in peril; nevertheless, the Flame in the Flood is worth playing over and over again.

The interesting visuals manage to impress, while the high difficulty spikes are sure to keep fans of the survival genre busy for days to come.

For about a third of the price of most Triple A titles, you get a decently lengthy experience that will stick with you afterwards, and is pretty replayable with the game’s Endless Mode, which goes on until you die, testing just how far you can journey down the river.

The Flame in the Flood successfully captures the intricacies of a better class of survival games and wraps them in a very neat, very pretty package.

I had a really fun time with The Flame in the Flood. It was a difficult experience but one that felt rewarding at the same time. It is easy to get into for newer players, and a decent starting point for survival games if one hasn’t played them before. All for a decent $15 price tag. Even with its issues here and there, I highly suggest giving this one a shot.

Flame in the Flood is a sweet addition to the roguelike genre. It looks great and offers a good challenge. The menu however is a little annoying at times and if you die it can feel like you got cheated. Still this game is worth every penny.

A remarkably well crafted entry in the survival genre that sets itself apart with compelling gameplay, an intriguing setting, and a stellar soundtrack. Having released on computer and Xbox One last year, its arrival on PlayStation 4 with the Complete Edition will hopefully see it find a new audience to entice on a beautiful, and bleak, journey down the river.

The Flame in the Flood is a superb rogue-like survival game with a deep crafting system, charmingly beautiful presentation, and challenging gameplay that entices you back time and time again to try and best your previous run. If you're a survival fan and you're in a dry spot for games at the moment, we suggest you jump right into this one. Well, assuming that you can swim of course.

The Flame in the Flood is a quiet apocalypse in which it’s Mother Nature you have to fight, not aliens or zombies. The goal is to drift down a river in a flooded world to reach salvation at the end. Surviving is no walk in the park, but with Chuck Ragan’s brilliant soundtrack to soothe you, it’s sure worth a try.

The Flame in the Flood is a scary and quiet sandbox game, set in a terrifying post-apocalyptic world. The survival game by Molasses Flood tries to provide a strong emotional impact.

Beautiful artistic design and great atmosphere are sadly somewhat overshadowed by sloppy mechanics and unbalanced gameplay.

The Flame in the Flood is a challenging game that requires persistence. If you are up for that, you can enjoy a beautiful looking game with an amazing soundtrack.

As survival games go, The Flame in the Flood is accessible and a good introduction to the genre. While it has several roguelike elements, it includes checkpoints on its easier "Traveler" difficulty that removes the sting of permadeath. Prepare for an enjoyable trip down-river but count on spending time learning the ins and outs before you start to find success.

A lovely survival game in a flooded rural America about finding a escape of the world with our dog.

The Flame in the Flood is a great survival adventure with amazing art style. The trip down the river offered is an emotional experience that surprises for the tension generated. It's tough to survive, but it's a job that's very enjoyable.

An incredibly charming survival game. Even those that don’t tend to love the harsh genre will enjoy the visual flair and fantastic soundtrack on offer.

Great art, a brilliant soundtrack and a challenging, rewarding survival experience awaits those who have the patience.

So why should you bother to make it to the credits? Even in the weakest moments, there’s a rich mystery to this world that remains captivating. [April 2016, p78]

The Flame in the Flood is a survival adventure that despite some imperfections, will attract everyone who liked games like Don’t Starve and Journey.

More often than not, the game is an exercise in frustration, which unfortunately characterizes The Flame in the Flood most accurately: a promising, interesting survival game that is ultimately left to drown in the waters of mediocrity by its own core mechanics.

Tense at first, the initial thrills dampen the more time you spend in the company, but The Flame In The Flood's warm ambience and unusual design are worth discovering for yourself. [March 2017, p.94]

Although the mechanics may get same-y in the long run, due to the lack of much variation, The Flame in the Flood is pure art. It’s full of emotion and is abundantly clear that it was made as a labour of love, making the lack of a true challenge or any real replayability an even bigger shame as it falls short of being great.

Amid a few new additions and changes, The Flame in the Flood is still very much the same flawed but absorbing survival game that you might remember from last year.

Not the deepest wilderness survival game in terms of gameplay, but certainly one of the most atmospheric and thought-provoking.

The Flame in the Flood is an enjoyable game and the survival and crafting elements work really well together. The random aspects add a degree of difficulty which can spike in unexpected ways. Happily though the wonderfully realised river helps the game rise above it’s flaws.