Title: fLOw
Genre: Life Simulation
Developer: Thatgamecompany & SuperVillain Studios
Original Platforms: Adobe Flash, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable (PSP), PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita
Original Release Date: April 14, 2006
Date Started: February 20, 2017
Date Finished: February 20, 2017
Play Duration: 1 day
I know I said I wasn’t going to post a review, but I remembered that you can review on Grouvee, wrote something up, and figured I might as well share it with all you fine people.
This game really wasn’t for me, so I’m not going to rate it (or I wouldn’t have on Grouvee if the site didn’t force you to in order to write a review *grumble*). One of the main issues I had with it stems from my horrible sense of direction. You have to guide your little creature by tilting the controller this way and that, and I’m not good at that, and I had so many problems avoiding the “bad” microbes, which would send your little creature back one level. I was just never able to get the mechanics of that down (you should see how I use a mouse), and this of course was quite detrimental to my playing.
I have a huge issue with rating games that are either not my preferred genre (like FPS) or games that I didn’t enjoy because of my own deficiency (direction). Just because something isn’t for me doesn’t mean it isn’t valid and worthwhile. This is why I won’t rate games that are in a genre/sub-genre that I don’t enjoy, since my rating/assessment would be negatively biased from the get-go. From what I played, I thought fLOw was well done and interesting, and I would be more than willing to watch a LP of it in order to formulate an opinion of what the game was trying to express.
It’s made by the same people who brought us Journey (which I’m currently playing) and Flower (which I’d like to play), and holy shit, the name of one of the designers is Jenova D: *flees in terror* no wonder the game deals with alien looking cells o.O
I’m certain those who do not lack direction and were able to play it to completion would have a much better insight than I could ever give, so I shall defer to them henceforth.
The Shameful Narcissist Speaks 
I share your distaste for scores and reviewing games that are of genres I’m not a fan of. I don’t want to give a negative review just because I didn’t care for the game, especially if my lack of enjoyment stems from my own tastes rather than the quality of the title.
Honesty. It’s a refreshing thing to see!
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Exactly! To me it’s not fair to judge a game based on it being in a genre I don’t like/play. I feel the same way about books or any media. Just because something is in a genre I don’t really enjoy, it doesn’t mean it’s not valid. I don’t really like football or any sports, but that doesn’t mean they’re not a valuable and viable form of entertainment. I really wish other people understood this! It would save a lot of pain and it would be the right reviewers in the right place.
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Tilting the controller? As in motion controls? *shudder*
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Yes! Ugh…utterly terrible for a directionally challenged individual like me. I’m glad Journey isn’t like that.
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game looks cool, i may pick it up sometime, I would recommend Abzu if you like games from these guys, especially since you’re playing Journey and assuming you like it, i wrote a review recently if you want some background of it, if you like Journey you’ll more or less like Abzu
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I have ABZU on my backlog! I liked the idea of fLOw, but the controls just didn’t work out for me. I really like Journey though and plan to finish it tonight! The controls are much easier to handle, and the game is just beautiful.
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Journeys great, I loved the ending, such a beautiful game
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It’s so lovely! I can’t wait to write my interpretation of it 🙂
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A game designed by Jenova? Uh, no thanks 🙂
I don’t like assigning numbered scores at all. My opinions are just my personal ramblings on something. I don’t think a number or quantity of random object (such as a star) can explain why I liked/hated it.
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I was just replying to the Well Red Mage’s post about this! I’ll assign numbers, but I usually explain why I gave that rating, because a 9 rating for one game isn’t the same as a 9 rating for another. Something might have brought it down and something else brought it up. Like if I were rating FFVII, I’d obviously give it a 10 (goes without saying), but obviously no game is perfect, but any flaws it might have are well overrriden by everything else. But I’m also probably going to give Journey a 10, and I can’t name a flaw in that. However, I still love FFVII more than Journey and would rate it higher if I could.
I think number or star ratings are good for a quick assessment, but they need to come with an explanation. Especially if you’re giving a low rating. I can’t imagine ranking something 1 or 2 stars without explaining WHY I rated it so low.
I can’t believe that’s their name D: D: D:
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FFXIII gets a 20 out of 10 on my biased rating scale 🙂
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I’d expect no less!
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Haha, I love that you noticed Jenova D! I can see Jenova programming this strange alien cell game! As someone who played the three games from thatgamecompany, I liked fl0w the least. It wasn’t for me either. It was their first of the three, I believe, which means they only improved from there.
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Right?! Omg it’s already invaded the planet and it’s mimicking/posing as some human D: D: D: This is going to be our only warning…
This seems to be the consensus. I think they realized the motion controls really weren’t the way to go and improved from there. I like to see that a company improves, and considering that fLOw isn’t a terrible start. It’s like a rough draft!
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