Flame Over finally arrives on PS4, and right from the start I can tell you this is not a straight up port from the PlayStation Vita release we’ve enjoyed before. The home console release for Flame Over kicks things off by including two new tutorial rooms that you can play to your heart’s content to practice your firefighting skills before trying out the real thing. ON top of that, there are now hidden collectible coins and the loading times are almost completely gone. There’s more stuff that is new to the PS4 version, but first let me talk a bit more about the game itself.

Flame Over is a top down pyroguelike, and there’s definitely no other title out there quite like Flame Over. The game features procedurally generated locations, so no two stages are ever the same. You will die very frequently, especially early on in the game when you have little or no upgrades to help you progress further. In Flame Over you take control of Blaze Carruthers as he goes through a 16 story burning building trying to saving all people and cats he can.

The building is split into four sections: the Office, The Executive, The Labs and The Factory. Each section has four stages, and the difficulty, fire aggressiveness, risks, and hazards increase the further you go. The game might seem frustrating at first, but all it takes is some time and a lot of practice. If you stick to it, you will prevail!

 

When you start a game, you are given five minutes to put out the fires and save everybody. But do not panic, it is very doable with lots of practice, and once you start to purchase upgrades, you’ll do better. You can also buy extra time from the greedy expensive caretaker. Word of warning, though: like all the floors in the game the items in the caretaker’s shop are all random, so each visit always has different stock! It really does spice up the game a bit, which is what I love about it.

If you fail to save a worker or a cat, you will lose ten seconds on the clock unless you can revive them. So get in quick and save them before they die! If you manage to save a worker and guide them safely to the exit you earn one minute of extra time, and if you save a cat – and it makes it to the exit – you will be rewarded with an extra heart.

Flame Over has some extra missions for you to complete as well, and Miss Ion won’t leave until you find things she asks for! When you complete her missions she rewards you with an extra minute of time and an upgrade token, so she is pretty valuable to you. She appears every couple of floors, so be ready!

And speaking of time, what happens if you let the timer run out and the red numbers changes to purple? Well, you will then have to hurry before the Grim Reaper appears to finish you off! If the Grim Reaper touches you, it’s Game Over!

 

Upon dying the only things you get to keep are your tokens and your upgrades, and you’ll lose everything else. Depending on if you unlocked other floors besides the offices, you can you can restart from the first stage of which ever floor you unlocked. The roguelike elements are very fair but still poses quite a challenge.

Flame Over on PS4 is a fluid 1080p/60fps release. Comparing both versions, as I played the Vita version when it came out earlier this year, I can say that I enjoyed playing both immensely, but I must mention that the graphics look so much better on the PS4! Now, don’t get me wrong, the Vita version is beautiful on the 5-inch OLED screen, but the game looks much more vibrant and colorful on the big screen.

I must say I have been very impressed with the PS4 version. I was worried it was going to be a straight up port from the vita version but I was very wrong about that! The PS4 version is fantastic, gorgeous and miles better on the big screen. Laughing Jackal have clearly worked hard on the PS4 edition and they have outdone themselves. But because Flame Over on PS Vita and PS4 are different (and feature different price points), there is no cross-buy – but the trophy lists on both versions are completely identical.

[review pros=”Highly addictive gameplay.
New features and content.” cons= “No complaints.” score=90]

Disclaimer

This review is based on a digital copy of Flame Over provided by Laughing Jackal