The Flame In The Flood

I came back to see the reviews here are 'mostly positive'. No, sorry this deserves more.

I won't go in to it because I haven't played for years, but I still think of the game now and then. It's a beautiful meditative game and you should play it. Above all the soundtrack is outstanding! (I am listening to it now, as I often do even years later)

I have many hours unaccounted for on the Switch from 2017.
This is a game I regularly come back to for its Endless mode.
For a playthrough of the Story: Lovely ♥
A bleak & empty world yet eerily cozy for this reason with a unique & almost word-less story-telling.

I had a hard time warming up to this gem. But once I understood the assignment, I was all in. Kudos to the creators and developers. Quite the unique experience.

The art direction is charmingly crooked with incredible theme thanks to soundtrack crafted by Chuck Ragan of "Hot Water Music" that helps immerse you in old Americana. The strong art style + sound carries it far to set it apart but the gameplay itself is classic survival.
The controls take getting used to, somewhere between odd and annoying to plain frustrating. There are still occasional bug and glitches. Boars are the bane of my existence.
The worst part of all, a bug that sometimes stops music from playing entirely with no real solution except wait or turn the game on and off. Takes away a lot of the atmosphere.
I still enjoyed the game despite its flaws.

The Flame in the Flood throws you into a hauntingly beautiful, procedurally generated river odyssey through post-societal America. As a survival rogue-like, it nails atmosphere: the art direction (courtesy of a BioShock veteran) is stunning, with a melancholic soundtrack that perfectly complements the desolate landscapes. Gameplay revolves around tense resource management – foraging, crafting tools, treating afflictions, and evading wildlife while racing against the rain. The river journey by raft and foot feels unique and immersive.
Performance notes: Played smoothly on both my Steam Deck OLED (Linux SteamOS, High settings) and Lenovo ThinkPad T480 (Windows 11, Low settings). The game installed on MicroSD card on both devices with zero issues – great optimization.
Why I recommend it despite stopping: The core loop is compelling, and the world is incredibly crafted. However, it's undeniably difficult. The survival mechanics are punishing, and rogue-like progression demands patience. While I respect its design and atmosphere deeply, the challenge curve eventually outpaced my personal preference for more forgiving exploration. I lost interest before finishing, but not due to quality.
Verdict: If you crave a challenging, atmospheric survival experience with unique river-based exploration and stellar art/sound, this is a gem. Just be prepared for a steep climb. It's a demanding journey, but a memorable one for the right player.

I actually backed this game in 2014 on Kickstarter. I remember being excited for it's release in 2016. I would play it a bit here and there and generally die, then sit it aside for other titles. As of writing, November 17 2024, I finally completed the game. I'm not sure what made me pick it up this time but I played through completely on my Steam Deck, even though it says it's unsupported it worked fine for me.
It's a great attempt at the survival genera, but it does fall a little flat and the pacing can be ROUGH. Such as finding a lot of things at the end of the game, that you really can't use at the end of the game. Like crafting materials for your boat, when your boat has been completely upgraded since mid-game.
The game can be punishingly hard, but once you get the hang of it you're good to go. People complain about piloting the raft, but it's all about learning how to use the dodge and upgrade the ship asap.
The game looks great. I love this art style, I just wish there was more to it. Your character never changes outfits even after crafting new gear, so nothing really ever changes and it just feels like a number changed somewhere rather than seeing your hard work paid off.
Sadly the game really does end up lacking pretty hard in story and game play. The game play gets repetitive near instantly. Enemy AI is extremely predictable meaning if you have the right tools you know exactly how to deal with each enemy type every time. You just do the same thing over and over until you die or you make it to the end of the game. At one point I was so over powered with items I started ignoring the stops and just kept going. I had so much food and water I was good to go through at least two zones of the game.
The story is fairly non-existent. There is some flavor text whenever you find a quilt, but it really never ended up meaning anything to the story.
I really would have loved to see a sequel or some sort of iteration on this game. I feel like there are good bones there, but it just needs a little more work to make it a truly good game.
With all those complaints out of the way, I'm still glad I backed it and I'm glad I finally actually played it. It's not a perfect game by any means, but the art, vibes, and sountrack are worth ~$5 - $10 to me. Get it on sale and check it out if you like inventory management / survival management.

Great game.
Light survival : If standard survival games are too much for you, but you still want to play survival game, this could be a good pick.
Sometimes lacks depth : Some mechanics like crafting and boat upgrading may seems too simple for some people, but if you don't go into it expecting AAA title, then you will be fine. I actually don't mind it to be simple.
Generally, expect more indie game vibe than something bigger.