The Flame in the Flood

I’ve tried this game a few times since its release in 2015, attempting to get into it. Every single attempt had me got incredibly bored and annoyed which resulted me closing it. I thought I’d give it another go in 2026 thinking that perhaps the things that bothered me back then might not bother me now, but to my surprise this game’s design is timeless and truly awful. You're playing with your dog on a raft drifting down a river, visiting areas you come across to gather raw materials, crafting items with them and trying to survive. The current sometimes intensifies and at other times it simply carries you along gently. In the sections where we’re being swept along violently, we can make "quick dashes" to the right or left, but I can’t begin to describe how badly this manoeuvre works. If the current wants to drag you in a certain direction no matter how hard or quick you press that space button, IT WILL DRAG YOU TO THAT DIRECTION (and if you spam it, you’ll use up all your stamina before the animation or effect even happens). You do your best to head right but the game drags you left and makes you crash into an obstacle. You want to spend the night in a quiet area and in the morning hop onto the raft and sail on in peace, but the moment morning comes and you board your raft, it’s night again. You’re constantly battling this "artificial difficulty". There’s no chance to plan your strategy in advance. And if you’re unlucky, you’re done for. If you can’t find cat’s tail for 10 areas in a row, you can’t even craft anything you need. I made the mistake of trying to craft insulated boots and for the next 10 areas I couldn’t find any cat’s tail and suffered terribly. Because no cat tail = No rope = No snares, food, bows, clothing... The game’s concept, atmosphere and art design aren’t half bad. The execution is rubbish.

You reach the point where you think wow I have never gone so far, made it so long and been through so much. Shall I stop before I inevitably perish?

Having wolves and hogs spawn too early in the game is just frustrating. Was turning around, changing my mind, then I died of a stupid snake bite, didn't have dry lumber to start a fire with my stove to make dandelion, and LITERALLY had all different meds!! WAY TOO punishing for what it is, I know snake bites kill irl, but, surprise, it is NOT fun in a video game. At least give me more time to deal with.

Игра на любителя, но меня завлекла. Приятный геймплей, визуал, атмосфера. Увлекательный крафт. Жаль, что игра пролетела мимо радаров массового потребителя, самое простое достижение (СКРАФТИТЬ КОСТЁР) получили лишь 25% игроков. В игре чувствуется душевность. Если вы фанат жанра и вам интересна эта задумка, то я советую её попробовать

非常精致的游戏，新手有兜底，大胆地试错，最后杀熊了

I enjoyed the art style just didn't like the gameplay loop too much. It is felt like a decently easy survival game compared to more modern ones. Couple of tips, sleep when it gets dark and just leave if there are harmful animals at a location, as there are plenty of other locations to go to.

初见是小学看的血舞的实况，算是小学除了mc外最想在电脑上我玩的游戏 有电脑后在游侠网上圆梦（byd还有360全家桶） 3DM版爽玩二十多个小时，模仿主播自言自语，撞船时想象有人看自己的操作捧腹大笑，被狼偷袭时夸张地大叫....steam版的无尽模式满足了我对屯资源的爽感追求（？ 他是一款我心中独一无二的佳作，把我拉进对单机游戏圈，促使我邂逅了那些可歌可泣的虚拟人物 但我很难给出推荐他的理由，他带给一个只会玩王者，cfm的孩子的震撼让我充满了对他的赞叹，哪怕是饱受诟病的操控系统我也依旧甚是喜爱，残疾般的操作手感无论是给当年屏幕前的小孩还是如今的我都带来了相当多的欢乐 the Flame in the Flood the only Key of game for me

Like others have said has plenty of charm, but there are so many frustrating things in this game beyond your control that it feels like an exercise in masochism. Sometimes the rivers current is so strong the raft becomes almost uncontrollable and you will have to tank multiple hits. The current gives no clear indication that this is about to happen mind you, so you just have to be 100% locked in while on the raft, lest you die and be sent back not to just the most resent save point, but back to the most recent "checkpoint" which usually means about 30 to 60 minutes ago. Which is so far back that it almost feels like an entirely different save file because very few things in your inventory will be the same, and you will frequently lose the crucial raft upgrades that you spent and hour rummaging around for. The thermometer you use to know if you need to have more or less warm clothes on is so unintuitive that I took off layers when I should have put on more and got hypothermia during a sunny day, and died within 45 seconds and got sent back an hour... As far as I got in this game the "story" is having short cryptic conversations with a one npc on a few islands who tells you tutorial tips. If you simply get unlucky and don't find what you need you might need to grind for an hour or more and have a good chance of dying in the meantime and be sent back an hour. You cannot edit any key bindings, so if you dislike the default controls, to bad. This game would be awesome with some rebalance and some quality of life mods. But as it stands I can't recommend anyone this game. If this genre interests you PLEASE look at the game "THE LONG DARK"