The Flame in the Flood Review

"Brave the Waves"

Campaign

The Flame in the Flood is a title that first caught my eye during E3 this past year as it featured some lovely unique graphics and went to the extremes to display survival. The game is split into two distinct portions with the first being the campaign and the second being an endless survival area. Both sections throw you out into the cold with experimenting across playthroughs being the best way to get an idea of how to successfully survive.

It's a harsh game that's constantly trying to kill you in so many ways from hunger to poison or even getting eaten by a wolf after being bitten by a snake. It's quite viscous and any moment could truly be your last with it being disheartening to die. The endless mode just goes on as far as you can make it down the river whereas the campaign features a couple checkpoints. It would have been nice to get fixed save points since the regular checkpoints don't appear that often so it can be frustrating. The games are always random with the sections you visit along the river being similar though different in design to keep it fresh.

The goal of the campaign is to complete tasks from small posts on the way and survive through the marked zones. I felt something more of a story would have been better as it doesn't give much background other then what you see across your journeys. It's mostly just working through a number of small building areas, wilderness sections and docking yards which have been decimated by a great flood. You're either attempting to survive against the harsh waves of debris while making stops at these hazardous areas which could have great survival loot or potential death.

Gameplay

The game looks fantastic with a beautiful art style to the world with each area looking detailed and enchanting. I wasn't a huge fan of the music in the background, but it did fit the game to some extent and most likely not for everyone. The controls work well as the character is mostly a passive individual aside from setting the occasional trap.

You'll need to collect a wide range of items in the wilderness from standard plants or even pieces of lumber as it could be important at a later point. There's limited options for storage though you can use your pal dog that follows and points things out or the raft as well if you're near it.

The game also features a wide range of recipes to craft in order to improve your survival chances such as better clothing, snares to catch food or medicine. Water will also need to be filtered and bandages crafted as you never know what could inflict pain upon you. The raft you sail on can also be upgraded through the collection of certain parts so that it may provide a number of helpful bonuses.

The Conclusion

The Flame in the Flood is a beautiful game with a simple, yet charming style of gameplay. The graphics look great with solid performance across the experience. It's interesting to move across the rivers to reach points so you'll need to balance survival items in order to make it. The saving could have been better, but that only built towards creating a harsher survival title.

It really does feel like such a rewarding experience when you get the item to fix the problem you're most likely dying from and even cheerful when you do make it. I was impressed with the level of crafting available and the many things you could do within the game. The Flame in the Flood is a great game filled with memorable locations and harsh survival requiring players to create a sound strategy across their playthroughs.

The Flame in the Flood Review on Xbox One
Review Code Provided by Evolve PR

Rating Overall: 8.5