Incredible, incredible game! Not only do you get to play as a brave firefighter fighting a forest fire, you'll also get to travel through a hastily evacuated and seemingly abandoned "nuclear" facility as you track down the source of said fire while fighting fires all the way. The firefighter you're playing in this game is nothing but dutiful, and that in of itself is impressive!

The gameplay here is amazing as well. Water management is key here since you don't want to find yourself in a situation where the fire is blazing all around you and you've realized that your water tank is running empty, but I've found that the water refill stations are very well-placed throughout the levels, allowing you to easily get a refill - your tank refills pretty fast - when needed. There are some tricky spots in the later levels, but generally, the stations should be enough to get you through to the next level.

As you progress, you'll also get to unlock new abilities which will allow you to extinguish fires in places you might not be able to previously, or allow you to have a nice upgrade like a bigger water tank. There are some puzzle elements to each level too. I've noticed this during a level where, after dying for the umpteenth time, I realized that maybe I should have tried going the -other- way instead. Sometimes, the valves you get aren't enough to turn on all the sprinklers so you'll have to just make do with what you have.

Nuclear Blaze rewards people who are curious as well. You see, there might be a secret room on the level you're on where you get to rescue a little kitty. Sometimes, you can also uncover an extra memo containing more story snippets. Since I didn't find all 14 kitties, I can't tell for sure if every level has a secret room. You'll just have to look harder ;)

That being said, maybe I've missed some notes or maybe I've skimmed the notes I've found too quickly, or maybe it's something else entirely, but I don't understand how the final boss is the way it is (no spoilers!). It's just rather odd... still, the boss fight was thrilling and after dying yet a gazillion time, I've finally made it to the credits. Whew!

P/S: After completing the boss fight, I almost jumped over the edge of the platform I was on because the darkness looked enticing (I actually thought there might be some secret there), and the game jokingly told me off by making the firefighter say "I've no plan to jump to my death after surviving all this". That made me chuckled out loud :P The dev should have turned this into an achievement and named it "Hello Darkness My Old Friend".

Completed the full run at around 2 and a half hours. Ignore the time tracked by Steam here since I've had the game on pause for some time while I grab some dinner and some rest.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNfJzlRw-S0

+ A moderately challenging 2D platformer that a midcore gamer can reasonably complete on Normal mode
+ Incredible storytelling! Lots of mystery that gets unraveled as you progress and there's a fun twist at the end.
+ Has a kid mode, which I assume drastically lower the difficulty so a child can enjoy playing as a firefighter and also the story.
+ Love the gorgeous pixel art
+ Reasonably placed checkpoints for you to return to after death
+ The price tag is IMHO worth it, despite the short-ish playtime. However, you can easily increase it's value by replaying the game just to find all the secret kitties and unlock all the achievements. The game would also make for a great "speedrun game" if you're into that sort of thing.
+ Bonus points for the game considering its humble origins as a "game jam" game.

- I, like many of the reviewers here, wanted more. A sequel perhaps? :D

I think the game is best played using the controllers. I often find myself accidentally rolling twice (and ending up in the flames) or jumping twice when I held the roll or jump key a tad bit longer. This might not be the case if controllers were used.

If you like this review and would like to follow me for more, please feel free to drop by my curator page: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33780629-The-Midcore-Gamer/

Incredible, incredible game! Not only do you get to play as a brave firefighter fighting a forest fire, you'll also get to travel through a hastily evacuated and seemingly abandoned "nuclear" facility as you track down the source of said fire while fighting fires all the way. The firefighter you're playing in this game is nothing but dutiful, and that in of itself is impressive! The gameplay here is amazing as well. Water management is key here since you don't want to find yourself in a situation where the fire is blazing all around you and you've realized that your water tank is running empty, but I've found that the water refill stations are very well-placed throughout the levels, allowing you to easily get a refill - your tank refills pretty fast - when needed. There are some tricky spots in the later levels, but generally, the stations should be enough to get you through to the next level. As you progress, you'll also get to unlock new abilities which will allow you to extinguish fires in places you might not be able to previously, or allow you to have a nice upgrade like a bigger water tank. There are some puzzle elements to each level too. I've noticed this during a level where, after dying for the umpteenth time, I realized that maybe I should have tried going the -other- way instead. Sometimes, the valves you get aren't enough to turn on all the sprinklers so you'll have to just make do with what you have. Nuclear Blaze rewards people who are curious as well. You see, there might be a secret room on the level you're on where you get to rescue a little kitty. Sometimes, you can also uncover an extra memo containing more story snippets. Since I didn't find all 14 kitties, I can't tell for sure if every level has a secret room. You'll just have to look harder ;) That being said, maybe I've missed some notes or maybe I've skimmed the notes I've found too quickly, or maybe it's something else entirely, but I don't understand how the final boss is the way it is (no spoilers!). It's just rather odd... still, the boss fight was thrilling and after dying yet a gazillion time, I've finally made it to the credits. Whew! P/S: After completing the boss fight, I almost jumped over the edge of the platform I was on because the darkness looked enticing (I actually thought there might be some secret there), and the game jokingly told me off by making the firefighter say "I've no plan to jump to my death after surviving all this". That made me chuckled out loud :P The dev should have turned this into an achievement and named it "Hello Darkness My Old Friend". [h1]Watch me play![/h1] Completed the full run at around 2 and a half hours. Ignore the time tracked by Steam here since I've had the game on pause for some time while I grab some dinner and some rest. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNfJzlRw-S0 [h1]Pros[/h1] + A moderately challenging 2D platformer that a midcore gamer can reasonably complete on Normal mode + Incredible storytelling! Lots of mystery that gets unraveled as you progress and there's a fun twist at the end. + Has a kid mode, which I assume drastically lower the difficulty so a child can enjoy playing as a firefighter and also the story. + Love the gorgeous pixel art + Reasonably placed checkpoints for you to return to after death + The price tag is IMHO worth it, despite the short-ish playtime. However, you can easily increase it's value by replaying the game just to find all the secret kitties and unlock all the achievements. The game would also make for a great "speedrun game" if you're into that sort of thing. + Bonus points for the game considering its humble origins as a "game jam" game. [h1]Cons/Feedback[/h1] - I, like many of the reviewers here, wanted more. A sequel perhaps? :D [h1]Tips[/h1] I think the game is best played using the controllers. I often find myself accidentally rolling twice (and ending up in the flames) or jumping twice when I held the roll or jump key a tad bit longer. This might not be the case if controllers were used. [h1]Side Note[/h1] [quote]If you like this review and would like to follow me for more, please feel free to drop by my curator page: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33780629-The-Midcore-Gamer/[/quote]