The Flame in the Flood Review
The Flame in the Flood was a very refreshing take on the “survival” genre that has seen a recent flood of games. This is the first game released by The Molasses Flood, a very promising develpment team made up of former Bioshock, Halo, and many other AAA game developers. Great detail in the environment, a perfectly fitting soundtrack, as well as challenging (but equally rewarding) gameplay made our time in The Flame in the Flood very well spent.
You play the part of a young girl named Scout who must travel many miles down a treacherous river to find the source of a mysterious radio signal. This journey is begun by a dog bringing you a backpack bearing a strange emblem and a radio emitting a very faint signal. A long this journey the player faces many unique challenges such as sickness, wildlife, hunger, thirst, storms, and a number of other perils. Each of which will need to be tackled in its own way.
Gameplay is split between two main forms of exploration. Time spent on the raft and time spent on shore. While on the raft you move downstream avoiding all sorts of wreckage from some sort of unknown disaster. You will need to traverse swift rapids and stagnant marshes as you travel, all along the way watching for places to land on shore. This was a very unique mechanic that fit the atmosphere of the game perfectly.
Time spent on the shoreline of the river was even more enjoyable. As I moved from place to place looting old buildings and scavenging the environment to fulfill the basic needs of life I was faced time and time again with meaningful gameplay decisions that could easily spell out my survival or lack thereof. Multiple uses for each of the many materials to be found made these decisions increasingly difficult as time went on. For example, one such challenge I faced quite often was dealing with Cattails (a riverside plant) which could be eaten on its own for basic nutritional value, made into rope to build traps for small animals, or tinder to build a fire. All three of these options proved useful in my survival, but as my Cattails were limited I had to really think out my decisions carefully, any improper use of a Cattail could very well be my last. Decisions like this were common and rooted deep into the very thought provoking gameplay.
Being a fan of this genre I was pleasantly surprised to find a very well written story as I travelled along. Subtle story telling was very prevalent as I often found myself examining the environment trying to piece the puzzle of what happened to the now desolate place. With there being very limited contact with other humans in the game as well I always went out of my way to find and talk to them and see what light they could shed on this mystery.
Whether I was scavenging on shore or riding my makeshift raft downstream, every minute of my adventure was accompanied by a great soundtrack that could not have fit the game environment any better. The soundtrack to the game is written and performed by country-rock artist Chuck Ragan and really drove home the country wilderness feel of the game through and through.
When it was all finished and I had completed my journey downstream I found myself wanting to immediately fire up a new campaign and do it all over again. The procedurally generated game world and constant challenge drove me to play the game again and again. We hit just a few minor bugs in our playthroughs that were not game breaking by any means but did happen often enough and regularly enough to keep the game from being a perfect 10. However, as it stands, the game is one worth definitely purchasing at its current $20 price. Let us know your thoughts on the game in the comments below!
