The Flame in the Flood is a refreshingly ambitious game that I gravitated toward for its art and sound direction - two developmental aspects that can sell me on the idea of a game, even if the gameplay doesnt necessarily take me to the places that Id like to go, and TFitF sold me high in those areas. That said, my rating here misrepresents my initial feeling for the game with regard to some of the gameplay mechanics for which Im still trying to come to some kind of conclusion.
The Flame in the Flood is a great game and deserves high marks, but I did find its unruly, randomized quality and steep learning curve prohibitively difficult and frustrating in the context of playing its campaign mode. While unexpected challenges in games like TFitF make for a fun and replayable experience overall that keeps you guessing about what you should do, how you need to compromise, and what you could change or bring with you for the next playthrough (not unlike FTL), its been pretty maddening so far, not really being able to fully enjoy what I imagine is a basic storyline thrown over with fun mystery and atmosphere.
And all of this might boil down to some kind of anterior randomness that clumps up playthroughs somewhere along the process of playing. I found myself in the middle of few playthroughs on the easiest setting relatively prepared but ultimately out of luck with regard to the resources, essentially trapped watching myself starve to death or pass out from exhaustion floating down the river because, hey, thats just how that particular game disproportionately shook out. Maybe there wasnt enough food. Maybe you couldnt find building supplies. Hell, maybe there were just too many wolves and warthogs. Frankly, the normal game is so difficult, its hard for me to imagine the harder difficulty to be all that playable.
All of that said, the game is refreshingly ambitious and cinematic. The art direction is strong, offering a brightly visual look at a game world that is honest and vaguely literary. The sound design also hits hard, helping to generate expansive environments that play with your sense of safety and alarm. Even the games overall difficulty, which can certainly be prohibitive, seems to take on a charming quality, part of a larger, wild idea, a force with a real soul to it and not entirely unlike the wolves that threaten to tear you down.
Great game, great courage in development, and a fun experience for more hardy gamers.
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