Flame Over

 PlayStation Vita
Metascore
69

Mixed or average reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 16
  3. Negative: 2 out of 16
  1. Digital Spy
    Mar 11, 2015
    40
    Extra polish would have gone a long way to improving Flame Over's fortunes, but as it stands it's a few embers short of a fire.
  2. CalmDownTom
    Mar 9, 2015
    30
    Glaring flaws aside, Flame Over just isn’t much fun. With just one enemy (poorly modeled fire), effectively one weapon and a whole bucket of poorly explained, poorly chosen gameplay ideas, Flame Over is a real disappointment. Game over.

Awards & Rankings

29
#29 Best PS Vita Game of 2015
25
#25 Most Discussed PS Vita Game of 2015
24
#24 Most Shared PS Vita Game of 2015

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 21 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 21
  3. Negative: 6 out of 21
  1. RockStarGamers
    Jul 28, 2015
    7
    Flame Over is deceptively cute, hiding a tough game and a brutal time limit. If you're up for a challenge I'd recommend it, but definitely useFlame Over is deceptively cute, hiding a tough game and a brutal time limit. If you're up for a challenge I'd recommend it, but definitely use a joypad!… Full Review »
  2. FriedConsole
    Mar 16, 2015
    5
    Flame Over is described as a rouge-like fighter fighter game but as a fan of rouge-like games it misses the mark. The upgrade process requiresFlame Over is described as a rouge-like fighter fighter game but as a fan of rouge-like games it misses the mark. The upgrade process requires found unlocks and cash to upgrade to things that matter very little. Also a rouge-like has a sense of progression and Flame Over really has none. A rouge-like should have a sense of wanting to see what is next but Flame Over just offers you fire followed by more fire. The game is tedious and often clear areas seem to spontaneously go back on fire resulting in a lot of frustration. The only thing rouge-like is the randomly generated maps, which depending on placement of people rescuing, will determine the difficulty. This game is hard and tedious without any sense of reward. I do not like this game.… Full Review »
  3. psvitaroundup
    Mar 10, 2015
    9
    Bloody hell, if they put this in front of prospective fire fighters as part of the job interview, most of them would go home and becomeBloody hell, if they put this in front of prospective fire fighters as part of the job interview, most of them would go home and become yoghurt farmers, or something a little less challenging! Flame Over is a seriously tough slab of game, cut from the unforgiving cloth of the roguelikes, but with its own distinctive, and slightly singed, aroma to it.

    When you're playing it right, Flame Over is a deadly ballet, dancing in and out of rooms to preserve your life, pirouetting around to fight each devilish tongue of fire with water or foam, and striding purposefully with metronomic cadence to find the recharge points and bonuses around the randomly generated levels.

    To add to the chaos, there are people to rescue (which add to your time) and cats (extra lives). Finding the feisty Miss Ion and keeping her alive is an essential part of most levels. She gives you simple tasks, if you ignore the massive fire raging around you, to perform with upgrade tokens as a reward.

    The isometric perspective means you can't see every bit of the out-of-control BBQ. You are constantly juggling perspective and hose direction to keep the conflagration under control, before you get too toasted - shown by a red ring encircling you as the heat grows.

    Even the first level is a serious challenge. And, once you make it out alive, avoiding death - literally - if the timer happens to run out, things only get tougher.

    Annoyingly, when you make it out, you can have loads of cash, but often no token, which means you can't gain any benefit from the power-up screen at the start. A slightly more friendly bit of design here would have helped, but apparently Mr. Grumpy was in charge during development. Also, don't say "spend money now" when you can't actually spend any! Still, when you get a token or two, the upgrade process soon becomes another cunning part of your strategy, lots of water bombs, or a hardier fire fighter? You decide.

    As it is, you race into the next level with little time and more backdrafts to battle, making rescues the priority over the fire, it becomes a vicious juggling act. Play Flame Over a few times and you learn the strategies for saving and earning time as a priority. There are tips on the loading screen, but there's plenty you can learn yourself through clever play.

    Learning the properties of the different materials is another key to success, as is finding the big circuit switch that will kill the electrical fires, making your task a little simpler. Using the map, you can find reload points and other essentials, but Flame Over is essentially about time management, and is remorseless in its punishment when you cock things up.

    Spread across four areas, offices, the lavish executive suites, nasty chemical labs and the factory (which add their own challenges in the form of toxic spills, gas, exploding barrels and other nasties), the various power ups become essential. There's a defibrillator kit to revive collapsed victims, holy water to prevent recurring fires and several fire fighter performance improvements to help you battle the flambe more effectively.

    There are some brilliant touches in Flame Over, from the green glow that reminds you where the exit it, to the clever upgrade strategy and the pernicious nature of the fires. Mastering a major room fire brings a great sense of achievement, dicing with your health, water supply and the surging flames, but there's little direct reward from the game, just plenty more similar battles to fight.
    My complaints about the game are mostly minor. It feels a bit unbalanced, with lots of money wasted in the early going and lots of unspent tokens stacking up in the second half. A few cosmetic touches also really, really annoy me, The music is quirky, but they could have done a little more with it. The intro is skippable, but is poor and there should be an option to turn it off to save time. There's no quick replay button (for those many times when you don't get a token or enough cash). Also, it needs more than a little "bloop" to notify that you lost a life, and, as you may have noticed, the difficulty is definitely set at sadist level with no way to dial it down.

    While it has some character of its own, and the Caretaker and other guests to liven things up later on, it could also do with some better use of its characters. Flame Over just feels a little lacking in the British humour department that a game like this is crying out for, but that's a minor moan.

    As a pure game, Flame Over burns about as bright as a Bunsen burner with magnesium tape held in the flame. It is a rock of a challenge that only Herculean gamers will complete, with some right bastard trophies! If you're up for the challenge, jump right in, if not best go play Pokemon with the kids    … Full Review »
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