Nuclear Blaze Review

In Nuclear Blaze, you play as a firefighter. This caught my eye in particular because of several reasons. One of them being the absolutely gigantic amount of admiration I have for firefighters. Another reason was the fact that the game was created for Ludum Dare #48 by Dead Cells developers. Expectations built up, what could someone that built such an iconic roguelike do in a weekend?

Your journey toward the blazes begins airborne, in a helicopter where you are told what will transpire. Next, you are dropped into the middle of a forest, where you proceed through the flames heading east, eventually finding the mysterious base. As any self-respecting fireman would do, the protagonist charges deep into the dangers where his comms begin losing connection, and he is left alone to fend for himself.

The story barely progresses henceforth. There are some more things, but given the game’s length I would rather not focus too much on it so as not to spoil it for anyone that might want to play the game. However, the entire story is told through notes that you find both in secret areas and scattered through the facility.

It was at around this time in the game that I opened the menu and got caught by surprise by the capability to edit your own game. With options ranging from how strong your hose is, how fast fires spread, and how many hits your main character can take, you can truly make this game as hard or as easy as you might want.

Naturally, I tried on the hardest difficulty. That meant I would get one-shot and fires were spreading at an alarmingly rapid paces. However, soon I got stuck. Not because of the one-shot mechanic that I’d burdened myself with, but rather because of how fast the fires were spreading and I was not adept enough to undertake this challenge. I raised my white flag on the option for the aggressively fast spreading fires - for now.

After taking off the setting, the game became rather easy. Despite all of the different options that are meant to allow you to make the game easier, it never felt like a challenge - apart from the times where I’d play like a buffoon - I breezed through the game in just under two hours.

Although the experience was incredibly short, I can’t say I didn’t enjoy my time with it. Throughout your journey you unlock new skills to apply to your firefighting, things like spraying your water whilst hanging from ladders to a dodge roll mechanic that makes you invulnerable ao that you are able to pass through hazards. The gameplay - although simplistic - was enjoyable.

As a game about firefighting, Nuclear Blaze has you turning off fires while having to meet certain requirements, for example turning off a fire on a particularly dangerous area that will blow up if you are not swift enough, forcing you to strategically select your path as to how you will get to them. My only disappointment with the game was its lack of difficulty, despite the faster spreading fires option.

I’d like to mention that throughout the game there are cats on every level, however they were always hidden behind invisible walls that had me jumping against them hoping to be able to find them. It was a nice addition - granted the deep connection firefighters have with cats - but not implemented so well that it deserves a huge amount of praise.

The greatest props I have to give to the game are for its graphical feats. In the Ludum Dare release, Nuclear Blaze earned itself 5th place on graphical design and it isn’t puzzling as to why. The game is an absolute graphical feast, with beautiful colours that truly popped on my OLED display. With reds simulating the hot and intense feel of being overwhelmed by fire, and the cool blues that signified safety, Nuclear Blaze truly has gorgeous graphics.

The audio design felt rather lacking, and although some tracks I did notice were quite enjoyable, they were nothing to write home about.

After finishing my Nuclear Blaze journeys throughout its short ~2 hour campaign, I decided to delve into the Kid mode. Being aimed at much younger played, there isn’t much to say about the mode, you are immune to damage, every button sprays an auto-aimed hose, and your character automatically jumps for you. It took me around 10 minutes to be able to finish it, and it’s certainly a nice addition that I am very grateful for the developers to have implemented, but nothing that will truly impact the adults interested in the game.

Nuclear Blaze is a fun enough game. The difficulty felt a bit disappointing, but its greatest downfall was the two hour playtime. With a price tag of $9.99/£7.22, you can make your decision whether the experience is worth your money or not.