The Flame in the Flood delivers a brilliant twist on the survival genre. The inability to linger in one place makes the game feel like a proper adventure with some additional survival trappings.

The Flame in the Flood is a grim game that challenges players not only with gameplay, but also with subtle ideas about life and humankind. Yet, despite how literary the game can be, it's a deeply enjoyable experience that scratches the primal itch of surviving in the wild.

It may take you a few attempts to get a handle on the game’s ecosystem and pace, to unlearn what you have learnt from the countless other survival games out there. But once you have, you will find a game that opens up the survival genre for those looking for a more short paced fix.

There are times that The Flame in the Flood feels like the world is against you. And it is. But that’s the mechanic you are dealing with here. You will die, a lot. If that runs counter to what you find fun, this game might not be for you. But if you’d like to try something entirely unique, look no further.

There is a bit too much repetition in the experience. It's a good game, but lacks staying power.

The Flame in the Flood is a challenging survival game, full of risks and choices accompanied by an excellent soundtrack and beautiful artwork.

It's beautiful to explore, its mechanics are easy to grasp, and before long, you'll find yourself pushing harder to make it just one more camp, just one more night and just one more week. Provided you can stave off the wolves.

Still, The Flame in the Flood offers a genuinely new variation on the survival game theme, tuned, focused and confident in its execution.

As well rounded as unforgiving and visually engaging. The Flame in the Flood almost becomes an outstanding game, but some minor flaws prevent that.

The Flame in the Flood is a challenging game, but the kind that will likely have you trying again, rather than throwing things across the room.

The Flame in the Flood will impress players during the first few hours with its style and the way its survival mechanics interact with one another, but the game will likely only keep fans of the rogue genre engaged in the long term.

The Flame in the Flood encourages you to put long-term goals aside and live in the moment, to make choices and overcome short-term problems with risky but satisfying spontaneity. Despite the awkward menu system, it’s an absorbing game that lets you experience a journey in the present, and fully appreciate the sights, sounds, and joys of floating down the river in its alluring world.

The Flame in the Flood is a rogue-like survival game with great attention for exploration and inventory management.

The Flame in the Flood offers up a sometimes overly-difficult survival adventure, but the fantastic visuals and tense gameplay provide plenty of reasons to keep going.

Thrilling survival game that uses great atmosphere and smart ideas for a well done twist in the rogue-like genre.

The Flame in the Flood is an aesthetically stunning piece of survival Americana with strong art direction, held back only by its clunky game mechanics. [Apr 2016]

On the surface, it appears to be a charming, survival title. That’s merely a ruse, as The Flame in the Flood is ruthless in difficulty, at least for the first few hours. Overall, it’s a great, enjoyable game, though the experience can wear a little thin after a while.

In The Flame in the Flood you have to deal with a long, tempestuous river. Whenever possible, you check out islands for food or drinks. As survival game The Flame in the Flood is very impressive, but after six hours you will probably have experienced all there is to this game.

An impressive shake-up of survival tropes - but dedicated fans of the genre may be left wanting. [Apr 2016, p.74]

Even with its flaws, The Flame in the Flood remains an engaging and challenging survival game.

The Flame in the Flood is a challenging survival game with a marvelous river as main actor into the shadows.

Flame in the Flood doesn’t burden player with too many details: there simply was a flood, and now a brave girl and her dog are trying to get as far as possible downstream. Good Samaritans are all but non-existent, waters are rough and shores are rougher, so survival isn’t going to be pretty. [Issue#208, p.56]

The Flame in the Flood is a beautiful procedurally generated survival sim that gains a welcome sense of momentum from the need to stay on the move. Its unwieldy menus and tendency to crash ruins some of the fun, unfortunately, but not enough to diminish the strength of the hopeful, riverbound journey at its core.

The general gameplay is a bit simplistic but your actions result in high-stakes scenarios that make you immersed in the world and the experience which is a hallmark positive in any survival game.

A strong game in many respects, but also lacking in a few key areas to put it over the top.

Its view of America is simple, but simplicity keeps the game focused on survival in a wilderness that refuses to be tamed.

The Flame in The Flood can be seen as a novel of formation nestled in a methapore that turns life into a river. Unfortunately Molasses Flood's first work tries to transmit a deep and manifold message with a not so deep and manifold messenger.

Lovely and challenging with enjoyable crafting and survival elements, but poor river controls make it harsher than it should be.

Overall, I’d recommend The Flame in the Flood for those looking for a new type of survival game, and those patient enough to deal with the interface.

An experienced traveler will deal with the campaign in 2 hours tops, but gathering experience in a series of adventures in a randomly generated world is the most enjoyable thing here. The moments of triumph and fear that you will experience along the way are reasons enough to give this game a chance despite its many (but not severe) technical issues. [05/2016, p.42]

A fresh take on survival, but narrower in scope than it should be. [Issue#249, p.61]

The Flame in the Flood offers a lot of interesting ideas, but not all of them are properly developed - it seems as if the game was released too early. With more items, enemies and locations, it could compete with Don't Starve, but all we get is few hours of beautiful and interesting gameplay that ultimately leaves you wanting more.

Beautifully done battle with nature, which relies primarily on audio-visual aspect and a realistic setting. Grab your axe, food for three days and get downstream.

Whether it be from lack of supplies or enemies after your sweet juicy flesh; there is always something guaranteed to go badly each game.

It is a functional roguelike that has the added benefit of depicting a nice looking American countryside environment. Although it could last you for hours, the lack of variety in looting, crafting, and different areas hurt the overall experience in the long term.

This is no quaint river rafting trip where you can sense the spirit of Huckleberry Finn. This is a relentless beast that let’s you die without warning. But even once you got the basics covered this is not as engrossing as Don’t Starve – even though artdesign and music are top notch.

The Flame in the Flood is ultimately a melting pot of wasted opportunities that seems to be neither a survival rich with content, nor unforgettable auteur film. It is a real pity if we consider the fascinating structure supporting the game.

Very original and uncompromising variation on survival game attracts with untamed river and a robust crafting system you have no chance to survive without. It suffers from several issues that still need some fine-tuning. [Issue#262]

While there are some technical difficulties that need to be worked out, The Flame in the Flood is still moderately enjoyable.

I didn't love it as a survival experience—maybe I couldn't have—but I enjoyed The Flame in the Flood as a tour of a drowning America.

The Flame in the Flood dares to be a different survival game. Instead of focusing on killing zombies, the goal is to survive by eating, drinking, and sleeping. Sadly, there's not much more to it than that. Being different alone does not make a game great, and this is no exception.

The Flame in the Flood squanders a novel idea and fantastic aesthetic with mind-numbing repetition and a broken sense of progression.

Overall, the experience of playing The Flame in The Flood is more frustrating than nerve-wracking. I get that survival games won't be easy, but their systems should feel balanced, not bullshit. And the nodal method of traveling down river can feel futile in its own way. There's a big, bad wolf between me and any desire to play this further.