The Flame in the Flood is a visually appealing game with gorgeous, mournful music. I really admired its atmospheric tension; the game expertly threads the needle between tentative hope and creeping despair.

However, the extent to which I was forced to micromanage my inventory severely hampered my enjoyment. I understand strict inventory item caps were likely implemented to encourage players to think strategically about what they pick up, but at a certain point inventory management started to swallow the game whole.

The Flame in the Flood also doesn't pause gameplay while you're navigating its menus. This feature in a vacuum isn't a flaw, but it becomes extremely frustrating when combined with a constant need for inventory micromanagement. I died more than once after being attacked by creatures that the inventory menu was blocking me from noticing while I tediously combined item stacks from my backpack with item stacks in my dog companion's inventory.

I think it would have been much better to implement a feature where excessive inventory starts to slows your character (similar to The Long Dark) instead of having strict inventory item caps. This would encourage players to be mindful of what they pick up but in a less frustrating, more immersive manner.