Flame Keeper is an action/adventure game that takes players on a journey through a dark and ominous world where they can control the power of FIRE! You control a coal named Ignis. He is the guardian of the Eternal Flame of Orbis. The story begins when an enemy descends upon the land of Orbis and steals the Eternal Flame. After reducing the Eternal Flame to mere embers, they remain and wreak havoc on the remaining creatures of Orbis.
Flame Keeper is easy to get the hang of. The left joystick is used to move Ignis and the right joystick is used for aiming and shooting. Ignis is equipped with various abilities that the player can use to annihilate enemies, as well as common dash and shield abilities. Hitting enemies with special abilities reduces stamina, which recovers over time. There is also a health bar. Killing enemies drops a lot of health, so you usually don’t have to worry too much about this. However, the health bar is also used to restore fire in various lanterns and fires around Orbis in his pit.
To light the fire pits in each area, you will need to collect coal/embers scattered throughout the land. These can be found by shaking trees, moving objects, and killing enemies. Once you’ve collected enough, you can add them to your fire and once fully healed you can move on to the next area. Enemies respawn, so the game gives you what you need.
The fast-paced combat system is really fun. It feels great to run through levels and blast bad guys away. However, there are challenges and obstacles that will test your skills and perseverance. Enemies will respawn as described above and battles may repeat. The first level is fairly easy. However, once you reach enough distance, the difficulty increases a bit. There are also bosses that you need to defeat. They offer welcome variety when it comes to gameplay and combat.
You can visit the hub area between levels. Hub areas are small villages where you can acquire new abilities and upgrades. You can access the skill tree from here. You can upgrade your Ignis using the resources you collect during your travels. Abilities range from stronger physical attacks to elemental spells. Resources include acorns, mushrooms, and seeds. These are obtained when defeating enemies or found while exploring levels.
The world has a dark color palette. However, many enemies are bright and contrast with the dark background. There are many interesting creatures lurking. The aesthetics and shortcut scenes were great. For 24/7 Halloween Town fun, Orbis is the place to go. I would have liked a deeper story. It’s nice to be able to talk straight away without dialogue, but I always feel distanced from the game when I don’t really understand the character or backstory.
Overall, Flame Keeper is a fun, action-packed game. It’s a matter of how much action you can take before feeling “burned out” (I do pretty well with these fire puns). The gameplay is repetitive and doesn’t do much to keep you visually inspired, but kicking ass and running around is satisfying. If you’re looking for a fast-paced combat-based game, definitely check out Flame Keeper please.
