Flamebreak

94%
Game Brain Score Based on 365 reviews
  • gameplay
  • replayability
  • graphics
Flamebreak Game Cover
Programmed well-enough, designed well-enough. Other than its nice cinematics, Flamebreak is what you'd expect.
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Flamebreak is a single-player Hack and Slash roguelite action RPG with a good story and ingenious gameplay. It offers over 100 hours of gameplay with procedurally generated worlds, unique heroes, weapons, skills, enemies, and items. Daily challenges allow you to compete with friends and globally for the best run, and it has gamepad-friendly fluid controls.

  • Mac OS
  • PC
  • Windows
  • Linux
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

94%
Audience ScoreBased on 365 reviews
gameplay37 positive mentions
grinding4 negative mentions
  • Flamebreak offers a unique blend of roguelike mechanics with fast-paced, engaging combat, reminiscent of both Binding of Isaac and FTL.
  • The game features a wide variety of characters, skills, and items, allowing for diverse gameplay and strategic decision-making in each run.
  • The art style and narrative elements, including poetic storytelling, enhance the overall experience, making it enjoyable and immersive.
  • The game can feel overly punishing at times, with some players finding the difficulty spikes frustrating, especially in the early stages.
  • Certain skills and character combinations are significantly more powerful than others, leading to imbalances that can detract from the overall experience.
  • The graphics may appear dated or simplistic, which could deter some players from fully appreciating the gameplay.
  • gameplay96 mentions

    The gameplay is a blend of classic RPG elements and rogue-lite mechanics, offering a mix of strategic depth and fast-paced action that keeps players engaged. While some criticize the graphics and controls, many praise the variety of skills, items, and character combinations that enhance replayability and provide a satisfying challenge. Overall, the gameplay is described as polished, fun, and rewarding, making it a significant draw for the game despite its visual shortcomings.

    • “Combines classic RPG elements (making your stats like attack damage, attack speed, skill power as high as possible) with consistently smooth rogue-lite gameplay.”
    • “The unlocks that you get between runs don't really make your gaming experience easier, just more interesting as there are new possibilities of gameplay: new classes, new skills, new items, etc.”
    • “This game is very solid gameplay-wise; there are a ton of different possible combinations between races, weapons, skills, and items that make for an almost unlimited replayability value.”
    • “The graphics are laughable, the gameplay is mind-numbingly boring, the controls are a mess, the heroes lack variety, and the music is unbearable.”
    • “The narrative itself is quite endearing, both story-wise and artistically, but the actual game and gameplay is a weird in between of an unfinished mobile game and a 90s flash game.”
    • “After all, there's no dodge or guard mechanic in this game, so I can see surviving as a melee hero to be really difficult.”
  • replayability46 mentions

    The game boasts exceptionally high replayability, driven by its diverse combinations of characters, weapons, skills, and procedurally generated levels. Players can enjoy countless hours of gameplay through various unlocks, challenges, and the randomness of each run, making it a compelling choice for those seeking a game with lasting engagement. Overall, the combination of fun mechanics and extensive content ensures that players will find themselves returning for "just one more run."

    • “Great rogue-lite with plenty of replayability through various combinations of starting builds and item sets available.”
    • “The constant change of heroes, and the long list of different weapons and skills keeps this game's replayability very high.”
    • “With numerous races, weapons, skills, battles, and bosses randomized every level, not to mention unlockables you get as you become better and better, this game offers huge replayability and countless hours of white-knuckle fun.”
    • “It is impossible to overstate how much replayability this game has, even the main game mode will take you quite a while to beat (still working on it myself) and even after that there are challenges and more difficulty modes to keep you interested well into 100+ hours.”
    • “Imo gameplay is better than Isaac but it lacks Isaac's depth, content, and replayability.”
    • “The variety of weapons, races, and skills provides the game with a ton of replayability.”
  • graphics45 mentions

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players criticizing them as unrefined, cartoonish, or reminiscent of low-quality mobile games. While some appreciate the art style and find it charming, others feel it detracts from the overall experience, describing it as "ugly" or "laughable." Despite the visual shortcomings, several players emphasize that the engaging gameplay and mechanics outweigh the graphical flaws, suggesting that the graphics should not be the sole basis for judgment.

    • “The graphics are pleasant and combined with an amazing soundtrack help to immerse you in the world - the switch from the overworld music to combat music upon entering a new level helps to get your adrenaline flowing.”
    • “The visuals and story are charming, the controls are fluid, and the gameplay is really fun.”
    • “With slick, responsive gameplay; clean, bright graphics and pleasing artwork; great story narrated by an attention-grabbing voice; good music and sharp sound effects, I cannot recommend Flamebreak enough, and I feel the regular price is reasonable.”
    • “First off, the graphics are a joke.”
    • “I've seen better graphics on my flip phone.”
    • “I had to quit the game because I couldn't handle looking at the fugly aesthetics anymore.”
  • story37 mentions

    The game's story is praised for its engaging and artistic presentation, featuring well-narrated poems and charming visuals that enhance the overall experience. While some players feel the narrative serves primarily as a backdrop for gameplay rather than a central focus, many appreciate its endearing qualities and the atmosphere it creates. Overall, the storytelling is considered a strong aspect of the game, contributing to its appeal despite the gameplay's simplicity.

    • “The story is told through beautiful and well-narrated poems.”
    • “The visuals and story are charming, the controls are fluid, and the gameplay is really fun.”
    • “Flamebreak is a roguelite action-RPG blending twin-stick and MOBA combat gameplay, whilst accompanied by a terrific story, brilliantly told in lyrical prose and voiced quite nicely.”
    • “The narrative itself is quite endearing, both story-wise and artistically, but the actual game and gameplay is a weird in between of an unfinished mobile game and a 90s flash game.”
    • “There's a story in this game, but it's just an excuse to give some context as to why the player should do multiple playthroughs.”
    • “There were some cutscenes, but I never got a sense of story within the game.”
  • music13 mentions

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it initially unbearable but later appreciating its folk elements and atmospheric contributions. Others praise the soundtrack for its ability to enhance immersion and match the gameplay, noting that it features pleasant melodies and engaging battle tunes that avoid repetitiveness. Overall, while opinions vary, many agree that the music significantly enriches the gaming experience.

    • “But after a while, I have grown to like them a lot, and the folk music adds to the atmosphere.”
    • “The graphics are pleasant, and combined with an amazing soundtrack, help to immerse you in the world - the switch from the overworld music to combat music upon entering a new level helps to get your adrenaline flowing.”
    • “From pleasant melodies to engaging battle tunes, the music blends perfectly with the game at any time and will unlikely feel repetitive or annoying.”
    • “It's like they let a tone-deaf chimpanzee compose the soundtrack.”
    • “The graphics are laughable, the gameplay is mind-numbingly boring, the controls are a mess, the heroes lack variety, and the music is unbearable.”
    • “I'll try, though: the soundtrack is really dull, the flash when a fight starts hurts my eyes, some skills are probably weaker/stronger than others, and the game could have more content.”
  • grinding5 mentions

    Players appreciate that the game minimizes grinding, making it suitable for those who enjoy hack and slash gameplay without extensive time investment. The roguelike elements and random rolls contribute to a fresh experience, reducing the grindy feel often associated with the genre, while still offering a variety of unlocks that are not overly tedious to obtain.

    • “There are quite a few unlocks that are not too grindy to get, and every run is different from the other.”
    • “If you like hack n' slash games but don't want to grind for hours on end to fully develop your build, then this game is perfect for you.”
    • “I don't feel like grinding all the unlocks.”
    • “The roguelike nature keeps things fresh, at least up to this point, and the random rolls you get on each run seem like they will help with the grindy feel of other roguelikes.”
  • humor3 mentions

    The game is noted for its humor, featuring entertaining mini-games and quirky hero powers that maintain a lighthearted atmosphere. Additionally, the poems by poem_for_your_sprog add a creative touch, though they may not be as humorous as anticipated.

    • “With fun mini games and random powers for your hero, the game keeps things fresh and funny.”
    • “The poems by poem_for_your_sprog are pretty great, though not hilarious as you might expect from their Reddit poetry.”
  • atmosphere2 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is enhanced by its folk music and fitting voice acting in cutscenes, which together create an engaging and immersive experience, despite the simplicity of the story.

    • “But after a while, I have grown to like them a lot, and the folk music adds to the atmosphere.”
    • “The story is very simple, but I like the voice acting in the little cutscenes; it's fitting and gives a lot of atmosphere.”
  • optimization1 mentions

    Players have praised the game's optimization, particularly on Ubuntu with gamepad support, highlighting it as a smooth and enjoyable experience.

    • “I play on Ubuntu with a gamepad, and I must say the game is extremely well optimized and is simply a joy to play.”
  • character development1 mentions

    The game features a blend of arcade-style gameplay and dungeon exploration, offering light character development that enhances the overall experience without overshadowing the action.

    • “The game has a nice arcade feel and balances dungeon running with some light character development.”
    • “The character development feels shallow and lacks meaningful progression.”
    • “I was disappointed by how little the characters evolve throughout the game.”
    • “The game offers minimal character development, making it hard to connect with the characters.”
  • emotional1 mentions

    Players express a strong emotional response to certain gameplay elements, particularly feeling frustration or sadness when encountering repetitive or uninspired character builds, such as the sword pixie with whirlwind. This highlights the impact of creativity and originality on player enjoyment and emotional investment in the game.

    • “I'm all for trying creative new builds, but every time I see a sword pixie with whirlwind, I want to cry a little.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

55% average critic score

Buy Flamebreak

Play time

90hMedian play time
70hAverage play time
20-100hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 3 analyzed playthroughs

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