Flame Over is a roguelike built on some interesting ideas, but its intuitive gameplay is in someway ruined and made harder by its technical carelessness.
A charming and well-constructed take on the twin stick shooter, Flame Over endears itself greatly with easy to play, yet difficult to master mechanics which neatly avoid the frustration usually associated with roguelike titles.
Flame Over is never going to set the world on fire, but it's a deceptively enjoyable roguelike with a wholly original spin. It's a shame that the transition to the PS4 hasn't delivered a better learning curve, but this is still the same good game from the Vita – only it looks much better now. Take a bit of time to learn its systems, and this will grow...
The lack of true variety from floor to floor makes it suffer, and the true randomness found in all the best roguelikes feels a bit weakened as fire is the only foe to be tackled throughout. It is an enjoyable distraction, but is nowhere near as insanely addictive as The Binding of Isaac or Spelunky. Flame Over is a fairly enjoyable distraction, but...
Flame Over shows that the world of fire fighting can make for a very good game. It piles on the panic of battling a fire, but keeps it fun for all thanks to its style and presentation. If you have been wanting to attempt a roguelike game, you consider yourself a veteran or you just want to put out some fires and save some cats, then Flame Over is well...
