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Flowstone Saga Review (Steam)

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Flowstone Saga Review, Master a totally unique puzzle-battle system in this 16-bit, JRPG-inspired adventure featuring an epic story, charming characters, stunning pixel art, and epic music. Follow a grand story set in the mysterious Ocean’s End islands full of lost memories, ancient ruins, pirates, treasures, and frogs.

Flowstone Saga Review Pros:

  • Charming pixel art graphics.
  • Download size.
  • Steam achievements.
  • Full controller support.
  • Game settings – three difficulties, piece fall speed, text speed, battle text speed, and music volumes.
  • Graphics – resolution and v-sync.
  • 3 save slots.
  • Fast loading times.
  • In-game cutscenes and interactions.
  • Puzzle RPG gameplay.
  • Tutorial pop-ups as you play.
  • Big powerful soundtrack.
  • Heat is where you deal damage and break special blocks. Heat causes you to do more damage for each attack.
  • Combat is played out as a Tetris game, you place blocks and clear lines to do combo attacks.
  • To increase the tension and speed Heat will slowly deplete so you need to be quick.
  • End of battle breakdown and rank.
  • Red tiles can appear that deal bonus damage when cleared.
  • Green tiles heal you when cleared. They appear on the board randomly.
  • You can fight multiple people and the game gives you a button to swap between them.
  • Clear a line with elemental blocks to deal elemental damage to enemies that could be weak to a particular element.
  • Enemies can do charge attacks but luckily you see and hear them charging, hitting them before they cast it stops it.
  • Very addictive.
  • The enemy can send bad tiles to you, take tiles away, and generally give you grief.
  • Puzzle Tetris will happen where you need to place tiles in a particular place to clear it and you only have a set of tiles to use.
  • You can skip cutscenes.
  • With tiles, you can spin them, hold them, fast drop them, etc.
  • You see flame outlines of where the tiles are going to drop.
  • The controls are shown on the pause menu.
  • Earn exp and every even level you up and increase stats, tiered perks start to unlock.
  • Unlock journal entries as you play and interact with new characters and locations.
  • It’s not all Tetris, you have adventure sections where you can freely run around locations and you see enemies, hitting them triggers the fight encounter.
  • It all plays out in a 2D world.
  • It does so many good spins in the Tetris-like formula. You can do things like mining in Tetris where the blocks and mechanics are different but still fundamentally Tetris.
  • The mining has a time-based approach, intermittently they will drop more dirt blocks in, treasure chest blocks that once broken give rewards.
  • Full inventory management and you can equip items in each hand, a ring, and a bracelet.
  • You actually unlock new tile pieces to be used in future battles.
  • Loot chests to find.
  • The game autosaves regularly and shows you on screen, but you can save and continue and save and quit.
  • It’s surprisingly easy to get into and it all flows at a pace that you will like.
  • Every time you level up at odd numbers, you can earn points to upgrade already unlocked perks.
  • I didn’t gel with the story but I liked that I could quickly skip cutscenes and just do the action.
  • Within the town, you have your own house and you can fully decorate it.
  • World map location select.
  • You can re-visit areas at will.
  • The game gives you quests and tries to nudge you along but you do get some openness.
  • Each location has a percentage bar to fill up as you explore and see everything.
  • Gold can be spent in the shop for consumables, rings, gloves, necklaces, weapons, and decor.
  • Weapons and gear can add abilities or change your stats.
  • Great looking locations.

Flowstone Saga Review Cons:

  • You cannot remap the controls.
  • Bare minimum graphics settings and you can only change them on boot up.
  • No voice work.
  • I found I didn’t really get engaged with the story.
  • It can feel a bit chaotic at times.
  • The game is not always great at giving you all the information or where to go within a location.
  • Judging the time you have to counterattack an enemy attack is not as quick and as accessible information as you would want.

Related Post: Deep Beyond Review (PlayStation 5)

Flowstone Saga:

Official website.

Developer: Impact Gameworks

Publisher: Doyoyo Games

Store Links –

Steam

  • 8/10
    Graphics - 8/10
  • 7/10
    Sound - 7/10
  • 8/10
    Accessibility - 8/10
  • 8/10
    Length - 8/10
  • 8/10
    Fun Factor - 8/10
7.8/10

Summary

Flowstone Saga impresses with its charming pixel art graphics and a manageable download size, making it accessible to many players. The game supports Steam achievements and full controller functionality, enhancing the overall experience. Players can adjust various game settings, including three difficulty levels, piece fall speed, text speed, battle text speed, and music volumes, along with graphics settings like resolution and v-sync. The game offers three save slots and boasts fast loading times, ensuring a smooth gaming experience. In-game cutscenes and interactions enrich the narrative, while the puzzle RPG gameplay, complemented by tutorial pop-ups, keeps players engaged. The soundtrack is powerful and immersive, adding to the game’s appeal.

The combat system in Flowstone Saga is unique, blending Tetris mechanics with RPG elements. Players place blocks and clear lines to execute combo attacks, with the “Heat” mechanic adding a layer of strategy. Heat allows players to deal more damage and break special blocks, but it depletes over time, requiring quick thinking and fast actions. The end-of-battle breakdown and ranking system provide a sense of accomplishment. Red tiles deal bonus damage when cleared, while green tiles heal the player, appearing randomly on the board. The game allows for multiple enemy encounters, with a button to swap between them, and elemental blocks can be used to exploit enemy weaknesses. Enemies can charge attacks, but players can interrupt them by attacking first. The game is highly addictive, with enemies capable of sending bad tiles, removing tiles, and generally causing trouble for the player.

Flowstone Saga also features puzzle Tetris challenges, where players must place tiles in specific ways to clear them with a limited set of tiles. Cutscenes can be skipped for those who prefer action over story. Tile manipulation options include spinning, holding, and fast-dropping, with flame outlines indicating where tiles will land. Controls are conveniently displayed in the pause menu. Players earn experience points, leveling up to unlock and upgrade perks. Journal entries unlock as players interact with new characters and locations. The game isn’t solely about Tetris; adventure sections allow players to explore locations and trigger fight encounters by hitting enemies. The 2D world is well-crafted, and the game introduces innovative spins on the Tetris formula, such as mining with time-based mechanics and treasure chest blocks that yield rewards.

Inventory management is comprehensive, allowing players to equip items in each hand, a ring, and a bracelet. New tile pieces can be unlocked for future battles, and loot chests provide additional rewards. The game autosaves regularly but also offers manual save options. It’s easy to get into, with a smooth flow that keeps players engaged. Leveling up at odd numbers grants points to upgrade perks. While the story may not resonate with everyone, the ability to skip cutscenes and focus on action is appreciated. Players can decorate their own houses within the town and select locations from the world map. However, the game has some drawbacks, such as the inability to remap controls, minimal graphics settings that can only be changed at startup, and the absence of voice work. The story can feel chaotic, and the game sometimes lacks clear information on objectives and locations. Timing counterattacks can be challenging due to less accessible information.

In summary, Flowstone Saga offers a unique blend of Tetris mechanics and RPG elements, with charming graphics, a powerful soundtrack, and engaging gameplay. While it has some shortcomings, such as minimal graphics settings and a less engaging story, the game’s innovative features and addictive nature make it a worthwhile experience for puzzle and RPG enthusiasts alike.

Jim Smale

Gaming since the Atari 2600, I enjoy the weirdness in games counting Densha De Go and RC De Go as my favourite titles of all time. I prefer gaming of old where buying games from a shop was a thing, Being social in person was a thing. Join me as I attempt to adapt to this new digital age!