The Flame in the Flood

 Switch
User Score
7.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 49 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 49
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 49
  3. Negative: 7 out of 49
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  1. bnan_j
    Jul 24, 2023
    1
    Excellent idea, terrible execution. Has the staple of "guess our mechanics, win a prize". No tutorial, high difficulty, replayability depends on how the player can excite themselves with it.
  2. Icantquit
    Apr 22, 2022
    3
    Playing on Nintendo Switch: Gotta say I do love, love, love this game. It took awhile but I've repeatedly won basic and survival mode numerous times.....BUT I have played Endless Mode several times and was all set to keep going. I had tons of food, medical supplies, everything needed to keep on going. That is, until the game apparently just runs out of well, game. Around mile 211.6, afterPlaying on Nintendo Switch: Gotta say I do love, love, love this game. It took awhile but I've repeatedly won basic and survival mode numerous times.....BUT I have played Endless Mode several times and was all set to keep going. I had tons of food, medical supplies, everything needed to keep on going. That is, until the game apparently just runs out of well, game. Around mile 211.6, after leaving an area, I ended up nowhere. The screen went yellowish then blue and then it looked like I was under water at night with one color water around me, then I'd be on top of blue water during the day. There were no other items around. No waves, no rocks, no vehicles, no docking areas. Nothing. But my food, water and gas kept going down. Tried to endure to see if the world would return but no luck. I ended the game and restarted from the last checkpoint. Same thing. I shut the console off after hard quitting/closing the game and restarting. Same thing. Am I just DONE at mile 211.6?

    For this reason alone, it went from 5 stars to 3.    … Expand
  3. Oldschoolgamers
    Apr 3, 2022
    9
    I love this game, it's amazing how I keep coming back to it again and again. There was a bug where the raft got stuck in Endless mode where I've had to restart after 100 days in & he also can get stuck in a few areas when he was scavenging around on land but these didn't happen often. The many different things you can pick up & craft to get by obstacles as well as the immersion is great. II love this game, it's amazing how I keep coming back to it again and again. There was a bug where the raft got stuck in Endless mode where I've had to restart after 100 days in & he also can get stuck in a few areas when he was scavenging around on land but these didn't happen often. The many different things you can pick up & craft to get by obstacles as well as the immersion is great. I recommend this game to anybody who loves survival games this is a must play.… Expand
  4. pythonPie
    Jul 12, 2021
    9
    This is one of the greatest survival games. On Nintendo Switch it has one flaw - this game drain battery faster than Zelda: BoTW
  5. Prozacookies
    Apr 15, 2021
    3
    This isn’t the absolute worst game I purchased recently on the Nintendo eshop deals/sales page, but it isn’t very great or fun either. I started off having high hopes for this game as it sounds fun & is interesting visually, but it quickly became pretty underwhelming. There is a tutorial, but it isn’t very clear, it wasn’t near comprehensive enough & left me with a lot of questions &This isn’t the absolute worst game I purchased recently on the Nintendo eshop deals/sales page, but it isn’t very great or fun either. I started off having high hopes for this game as it sounds fun & is interesting visually, but it quickly became pretty underwhelming. There is a tutorial, but it isn’t very clear, it wasn’t near comprehensive enough & left me with a lot of questions & unable to understand basic gameplay functions. You leave the little starting area after being told how to walk, pick things up, & shoo away crows. Then you get on the raft, which is incredibly fragile & takes a lot of damage very easily (and you have no idea how to fix it, because of course the tutorial didn’t bother to cover something so basic & important), and float down the river to various places. The first place I came to had aggressive boars, but I had no idea how to handle them, because again, the tutorial didn’t even mention weapons or combat. I managed to make both a knife & a hammer, but had no option of actually using them to defend myself, and two separate traps that didn’t have any effect on the boar. It’s not fun to have to constantly guess at basic gameplay functions because the tutorial is so shoddy. That’s not making a fun, challenging game, it’s making some unnecessary, frustrating guesswork that doesn’t even make any sense. A knife, hammer, or traps are all things that should have helped. In addition, your hunger, thirst, temperature, & exhaustion level deteriorate at a ridiculously fast pace, especially compared to the actual resources available most of the time. There are rain & storms constantly forcing you to sleep indoors immediately (depleting your hunger & thirst even more) or get sick. For all the effort you go through to gather supplies, craft a snare, find a place with rabbits, build that snare, wait, catch a rabbit, skin a rabbit, build a fire, & then cook the rabbit- it doesn’t even fill your hunger up halfway. It’s just overall frustrating, stressful, and boring, on repeat, indefinitely. If you’re looking for a fun survival or exploration game, this isn’t it. If I could return it, I would.… Expand
  6. djplanetb
    Sep 12, 2020
    9
    Got this game two years ago, when I played the heck out of it for several months. To the point that I completed every Trophy on the PS4 which meant a lot of playthroughs. It was fun every time. Just picked up an Endless game again the other day and it's just relaxing and fun (except when being chased by wolves and boars!). That's about as stressful as it gets, as you can always just runGot this game two years ago, when I played the heck out of it for several months. To the point that I completed every Trophy on the PS4 which meant a lot of playthroughs. It was fun every time. Just picked up an Endless game again the other day and it's just relaxing and fun (except when being chased by wolves and boars!). That's about as stressful as it gets, as you can always just run away to the next river stop... as long as you have enough food and your raft isn't falling apart! The music is absolutely amazing and the graphics, while not AAA, are still very good. Comparing the weeds and trees recently to those in Animal Crossing New Horizons, I actually think the ones in this game look better even on a miniscule fraction of the budget that Nintendo gave that game.… Expand
  7. wheidal
    Feb 28, 2020
    5
    First let me say that I really like the concept for this game. I've played a number of survival, rogue type games and this one hits most of the right marks. I really wanted to like it. It's ruined, however, by the incessant barking of the dog which, on the switch version, has not been patched with a mute option. At first I thought the barking was a helpful mechanic for finding items. ButFirst let me say that I really like the concept for this game. I've played a number of survival, rogue type games and this one hits most of the right marks. I really wanted to like it. It's ruined, however, by the incessant barking of the dog which, on the switch version, has not been patched with a mute option. At first I thought the barking was a helpful mechanic for finding items. But it becomes tiresome when you're managing your inventory, dropping items, moving stuff around, and the dog is barking, and barking and barking. After some time playing, gathering items becomes automatic. The dog is not necessary. And yet every time I go to pick up an item, there is the dog, barking to remind me to pick up the item I'm already picking up. It's unnecessary, annoying and serves no function. Sometimes I'll be standing in place, in a safe area with no enemies or items, and the dog is running around barking. Not to mention the break from realism: I mean, what better way to survive a wasteland and avoid detection than run around with a loud obnoxious mutt. Scout may as well ring a dinner bell and wait for the wolves. I kept wishing the dog would die. I would happily have given up the extra inventory space in exchange for no dog, One last gripe: by the time you get to the point where you can actually craft the items necessary to fight the higher level enemies (bears), you have reached the end of the game. I found myself constantly leaving areas because I simply couldn't fight the enemies. All I could do was run away.
    In short, I would not recommend this game. It is short, the menu is unwieldy and the dog is an awful, useless addition.    … Expand
  8. fbk2l2q
    Aug 11, 2019
    9
    This is a grindy horror/survival game. It is challenging, fun puzzles and music. The art is not my style but I can look past it because it is really well made. My wife and I had a blast playing this. Well worth the money and a must for your your switch collection. These guys need to make a part II.
  9. bobbykjack
    Apr 30, 2019
    6
    An absorbing game which represents value for money, marred by bugs and flawed mechanics

    At its heart lies a very well-balanced game. I really like playing this game. I like that sleep is required, that fires offer several different benefits, that rain is present and annoying, but shelter is readily available. It feels realistic. And, yet, balance can only achieve so much. In the    An absorbing game which represents value for money, marred by bugs and flawed mechanics

    At its heart lies a very well-balanced game. I really like playing this game. I like that sleep is required, that fires offer several different benefits, that rain is present and annoying, but shelter is readily available. It feels realistic. And, yet, balance can only achieve so much. In the long-run, TFITF suffers from another problem often faced by survival games: how to maintain the challenge. Survival games are, at their heart, all about coping with various threats, and learning how to prepare for them. Once the player gets reasonably experienced, threats are all but eliminated.

    The Flame in the Flood still has several standout aspects, most of all the stunning soundtrack which really helps to evoke the solitary, tragic world the player is thrust into. The resource gathering and crafting is enjoyable, and the sense of place is greatly enhanced by unusually detailed references to nature: parasites, ants, aloe, dandelions … seriously, this must be the only game in existence that features sumac, a plant I’d previously never even heard of!

    Ultimately, my biggest issue with TFITF is its ending. I’ve certainly got value for money out of the game, but I feel I was ‘lucky’ not to crack the formula earlier. Actually, the very fact that I perceive a ‘formula’ and I now feel like I could easily beat the game every time is a problem in itself. I want to keep playing the game, because its core gameplay is actually so enjoyable, but now I’ve peeked behind the curtain, I can’t quite get enthused enough to do so.    … Expand
  10. NightGeisha
    Jan 19, 2019
    8
    The Flame in the Flood was a pleasant surprise. This survival adventure has an interesting base idea executed brilliantly.

    With a very unique and interesting art style the game can be simple and relaxed, even with all the tension of a survival game. The game mechanics are simple and easy to understand and the craft system is also very simple to pick up and use. I really highlight the    The Flame in the Flood was a pleasant surprise. This survival adventure has an interesting base idea executed brilliantly.

    With a very unique and interesting art style the game can be simple and relaxed, even with all the tension of a survival game. The game mechanics are simple and easy to understand and the craft system is also very simple to pick up and use.
    I really highlight the soundtrack, since it fits like a glove in the art style of the game.

    Fully recommend it, hope you enjoy it. I will keep it installed and continue to play it whenever possible.    … Expand
  11. EnriqueAcevedo
    Nov 22, 2018
    8
    A very interesting game... very enjoyable even though it has a very complex learning curve... you are going to die a lot before understanding how the game works
  12. AllySky
    Aug 31, 2018
    3
    While not my cup of tea, it is a pretty in depth survival game with the option to make the rogue-like/lite aspect of the game to take it easier on you, if you're more interested in the campaign.
  13. Zeriel
    Jun 14, 2018
    8
    The music alone is worth the price of the game!
    Fun little survival rouge-like, so be prepared for randomness and death witch is kinda the point. People who complain probably never played a rogue-like before.
  14. BlakedAlaska
    Mar 1, 2018
    9
    The pacing of this game is fast compared to most in the survival-crafting genre. Traveling via raft and deciding what islands to loot is an interesting aspect, as well as how your character progresses from island to island. You may be running from a wolf or boar on one island, and the next you are ready to kill with a trap. In terms of difficulty, the game gives you good options for howThe pacing of this game is fast compared to most in the survival-crafting genre. Traveling via raft and deciding what islands to loot is an interesting aspect, as well as how your character progresses from island to island. You may be running from a wolf or boar on one island, and the next you are ready to kill with a trap. In terms of difficulty, the game gives you good options for how you want to play. I personally like the permadeath mode; however, if you want an easier game, there is an easier mode. Overall, I like the artwork, the traveling, the mechanics, and the survival aspects of this game. 9/10… Expand
  15. Voodooseeker
    Dec 25, 2017
    8
    This game got so much atmosphere - I really love the sound/music + how the day changes inkl. weather. I don't think it's an easy game - actually I find it pretty challening - but you'll learn in time. If you like survial games where you need to do everything all over again because your fails mean a sudden death - this is for you. Perfect for the sweet Nintendo Switch!
  16. busternuck
    Oct 22, 2017
    8
    Challenging. After the first few early deaths, you will learn quickly and prioritise your inventory building - including getting round the unwieldy crafting system : do most of your crafting at the dock when you have yours, Aesop's and the rafts inventory at your disposal. There's always an element of luck (or rather bad luck) that will result in quick deaths - but that is what survivalChallenging. After the first few early deaths, you will learn quickly and prioritise your inventory building - including getting round the unwieldy crafting system : do most of your crafting at the dock when you have yours, Aesop's and the rafts inventory at your disposal. There's always an element of luck (or rather bad luck) that will result in quick deaths - but that is what survival is all about - you have to roll with the punches and make do on the fly. it's telling that the programmers didn't want a formulaic game where a player can linearly fashion his inventories to see the game out to the ending. You won't find that here. If you can respawn at your last checkpoint before death with inventories intact - then the challenge of the game is lost. Incredible value for USD15.00.… Expand
  17. Poincare
    Oct 14, 2017
    3
    I thought I'd roll the dice and try out The Flame in the Flood since it just arrived on the Nintendo Switch. The game is priced reasonably and this review accounts for 12 hours of gameplay on the traveler setting with Aesop and the dog.

    The blunt: I'm disappointed with this purchase and overall gameplay. Your character dies way too much and forces you to restart at UNSTRATEGIC    I thought I'd roll the dice and try out The Flame in the Flood since it just arrived on the Nintendo Switch. The game is priced reasonably and this review accounts for 12 hours of gameplay on the traveler setting with Aesop and the dog.

    The blunt: I'm disappointed with this purchase and overall gameplay. Your character dies way too much and forces you to restart at UNSTRATEGIC checkpoints or the very beginning of the game. Supplies are nowhere. Really, even when the dock you've landed on seems to give a hint of perhaps some supplies. Nope. It's nothing useful or practical. That means, when your hunger or thirst level is at 20%, prepare to die 50 times until you can locate some consumables to give you just +5 nutrition. Really! Repeat this process across 10+ hours of gameplay and it is not enjoyable and extremely limits the value and playability of this title. Also, forget about upgrading your raft to something useful that doesn't cause you to drown another 60 times while trying to find supplies. Since upgrade supplies are either largely missing and non-existent, your overall excitement and engagement with the title dwindles quickly. Additionally, the menu system is overly cumbersome and a real pain in the butt to navigate around.

    The good: Music is unique and sets the context for this title. Art direction is clean but extremely limiting when the game experiences night time. Controls are best engaged with the Nintendo Switch's Pro Controller.

    Final thoughts: Skip it and spend on another title.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

85
#85 Best Switch Game of 2017
69
#69 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2017
81
#81 Most Shared Switch Game of 2017

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. Nintendo Force Magazine
    Jan 7, 2018
    60
    A fascinating but flawed journey down a roaring river. [Issue #31 – January/February 2018, p. 23M]
  2. FNintendo
    Nov 3, 2017
    60
    The Flame in the Flood's survival mechanics are worthy of praise. The game has a very well-made background world and an interesting crafting system that puts the players in the middle of the game's concept. However not all of the game's elements are as outstanding and it often feels that it doesn't fully live up to its potential. Nevertheless, dedicated players will be closely around The Flame in the Flood for a long time.
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  3. Switch Player
    Oct 26, 2017
    70
    The Flame in the Flood comes to fill the survival genre gap on Switch. With a unique and enjoyable art style and soundtrack, it is a very brutal experience, that may not hit the target due to a cluttered inventory and crafting systems, but still delivers a poignant adventure.
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