Nuclear Blaze

Video games have always represented a fertile arena for the human imagination and over the years have taken us to places we never thought we would play with characters from the world of fantasy and dreams. Nuclear Blaze continues the dreamy journey of this beloved hobby, allowing us to adventure, this time with a firefighter at the heart of an unknown government facility that has collapsed. A mysterious incident occurred and the fire spread throughout the town. We have completed this wondrous experience and are now reviewing it.

Game Design and Development

This game is by Stephen Benard, the same designer who worked as lead designer on the masterpiece Dead Cells. Stephen worked on this game alone in his own company, which only he belongs to, Deepnight Games, and marked his first independent project under this company. He started working on it in 2019 and finished it in approximately less than two years . The designer’s talent seems very evident in this game, which he designed entirely, but it also limits the experience, and perhaps the game’s low price actually points to this limitation.

Graphics and Gameplay

The game is 2D, with a pixel graphics style and a similar graphics style to the Celeste game (not 8-bit or 16-bit), but more closely resembles the appearance of some other old gaming devices that are spreading in the European market. The basic idea of ​​the game is to put out fires throughout the levels by controlling a firefighter and spraying water on the flames. The adventure takes place in the corridors of a secret government facility. Designer Stephen Benard’s experience is clearly visible in the game, as the progression process is always interesting and he knows very well how to add new elements to maintain the player’s interest and avoid a feeling of repetition, in addition to constantly delivering interesting ones narrative information.

Gameplay Mechanics

The basic gameplay can be viewed as a puzzle-solving experience. The player must find the appropriate way to put out all the fires in the location and then move to another location in the heart of the nuclear facility. For this the player is faced with various obstacles and sometimes keys have to be collected or… valves to activate automatic sprinklers and put them back into operation. The basic gameplay is fun and as the game progresses the player gains more abilities such as: Such as the increase in size of the water pump, allowing for larger sections of higher difficulty, and the ability to roll to avoid collapses while pumping water while hanging on the stairs. Water is automatically refilled as you approach certain points, and this is the case. There are many points in the stages.

Shortcomings and Hidden Cats

The gameplay is entertaining and fun and not difficult at all. The surprising thing is actually that it also contains an action aspect that appears at the end of the game, but the problem is that the game is very short, and in fact the experience ends before reaching the maximum level that it could have reached can if you feel… The real game is about to begin as the player’s skills develop and more ideas emerge. The game surprises you with the end screen and that was really frustrating! In the game’s interconnected phases, there is a sub-goal that involves rescuing cats stuck in place. Each room/challenge has a cat you can save. These cats are well hidden and it won’t be easy to find them. In total there are 14 hidden cats in the game.

Visuals and Conclusion

Nuclear Blaze is a complex game that was developed with the greatest care by its developer. It is characterized by a clear skill in creating rhythm and control over all game elements, as well as skillful narrative and musical direction. The difficulty level is very balanced, although it tends to be easy, and that is true there are options that make the game easier for those who want it. Plus, the game ends when things get really interesting and the experience can be completed in 2 to 3 hours. Nuclear Blaze made us feel like it was just a test run for something that could have been much longer and better.

We tested the game on PC after receiving it from the publisher