The end of days has come. The world is a cruel wasteland where
death stalks. Wild animals, virulent diseases ... what to do in the face of
such a catastrophe? Unlike other survival adventures, The Molasses Flood video
game drags us through the waters of an endless river in the hope of finding a
better place to live. It does not look like much, but in this analysis of The
Flame in the Flood we discover why it matters so much in a game of the most
special.
It seems instinctive.
Before the threat of death, to protect ourselves from the many dangers faced by
survival adventures, we tend to become strong in a fixed position; we build
impregnable bastions from which to fight against any creature that approaches our
domains. However, what if this does not work? What if you just need to move on?
Go forward without looking back in the hope of finding a better place far, far
away from that vast infernal wilderness in which the world has become because
of a great cataclysm that has flooded the Earth. It does not seem like a big
change, and yet it is everything in The Flame in the Flood, as they already had
the opportunity to check the players of Xbox One, PC and more recently, those
of PS4.
On board a ramshackle
barge that barely keeps afloat you let yourself be carried by the torrential
waters of a river knowing that this act of faith may be the last thing you do
in life, but also understanding that it is your only chance of survival. At
least there are no bloodthirsty wolves, no dangerous rattlesnakes, no
relentless bears lurking in the darkness. Just you and the river. A detail that
may sound minor, but that, however, endows this adventure with a special aura,
endows it with a distinctive character, with which it is difficult not to
enjoy. That is why I am glad to see that the video game of The Molasses Flood
has not only been adapted to Nintendo Switch but in this platform has become a
resounding success of sales. He has also achieved with the improved version of the
original that brings slight changes in its playable base, allows you to choose
a new pet, and adds a more interesting "Comments of the Director," so
that as you fight for your life, you also understand how it has developed the
play.
Journey of no return
If you are left alone
with the part where a young girl and her dog are dedicated to collecting
resources and making objects on land, yes, The Flame in the Flood is a manual
survival adventure. In it, you will find everything that has made the genre so popular
in recent years, although from a somewhat friendlier perspective in the sense
that there are so many recipes to learn and many raw materials to try. However,
there is the river and that need for constant progress to give something spark
to the matter.
Staying in the same area
for a long time has only one end: death. And not just for lack of food, of
course. Wildlife, diseases, the absence of a safe place to shelter ... there
are so many dangers and so few resources available; you will practically live
up to this hard adventure. Looting everything in your path and moving forward;
that is the road to survival. One plagued with obstacles.
Guided by the course of
the river you will have to visit different locations such as farms, churches,
urban areas, industrial, forests, and others, in each of which you will find
different types of resource. The grace? Since you cannot go back because the
force of the current is overwhelming, in many cases you will have to decide one
way or another: will you explore a farm in search of food, or take a look at
the church to see if there are materials needed to treat wounds?
On paper, it may sound
like a simple decision, but when the stomach roars, and you also suffer a
serious illness, it becomes quite serious. Moreover, that's where The Flame in
the Flood shows its best face. You must prioritize your actions. Decide in a
matter of seconds, what it will take to pass long from one of these zones if
you want to go in one direction or another. Moreover, that creates much tension.
At least in the early stages of the adventure, survival can become a real
challenge: there is little inventory space, few resources and the worst tools
to work with.
Do not be fooled by that
beautiful but disturbing cartoon appearance that defines the work. The Flame in
the Flood is a difficult video game that does not forgive errors. Enter into an
area protected by wolves without a torch with which to chase them away and in a
matter of seconds you will be dying on the ground with a pair of claws on the
back. Alternatively, run without paying attention to where you walk to see how
fast snakes poison you, slowing your health slowly but steadily. Although in
your journey you can meet some other survivor, in this adventure you have no
friends to draw on the margin of that endearing dog that will guide by marking
with their barking the position of objects of interest or, of course, dangers.
How to defend against these threats?
Away from the
"warmongering" of other games of the style, there are many options
that will tell you when it comes to ending wildlife. A rudimentary bow,
poisoned flesh and a couple of traps is the only thing that will keep you away
from the jaws of these creatures. Well, all this and the torch, which as I
said, will drive away most beasts, but it will also attract snakes. That is
another detail that I love. Have you no arrows or a trap with which to defend
you from the onslaught of a boar? Make a snake bite him and end his life.
These kinds of
situations are fantastic, although not as many as I would have liked. I said it
before. The Flame in the Flood offers fewer survival options than those seen in
other titles of the style, with a scarce variety of raw materials, tools, food
or weapons in general. Nor are they small, but after hours, when you have
discovered everything, the action becomes relatively easy; you have everything,
and you can defend yourself from any danger. What it does not remove so that at
any moment, for a look-out or whatever, you end up biting the dust.
The excuse to reach a
safe place at the end of the journey is attractive enough to keep you close to
the game for about ten hours, which is how long it will take to complete your
story mode. In this sense, there is an interesting storyline and several levels
with special objectives that help to give something more variety to the action,
although certainly lack more content of the style. However colorful the action
is, and no matter how satisfying it may be for us to travel through this
torrential river, the silent protagonist of the play, it is difficult not to be
left with the feeling that the game has been somewhat short on options.
The tortuous journey
proposed by The Flame in the Flood is a good example of not all being invented
in the framework of extreme survival adventures. Its playable bases are the
same as those of other games of the style, but that concept of going forward
without looking back, being carried away by the torrential waters of a river
that does not seem to have an end, is what makes it a title so special. It may
be short on medium-term options, but it will be hours before you get tired of
exploring this dangerous but beautiful post-apocalyptic world.
-Zardoz-
Developer: The Molasses FloodPublisher: The Molasses Flood
Genre: Survival, adventure, indie
Release Date: 10h of September 2017
Pro
A classic survival experience that feels fresh at the same time
Artistically, it's great. The scenarios, the use of color, the wild fauna ....
The soundtrack is one more protagonist in the adventure
Con
It lacks somewhat more playable depth and more variety in its action
Inventory management and the interface in general is somewhat cumbersome
7.5
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