About twenty minutes ago, the headline to this post would have been something along the lines of, “whomever made Flood the Chamber can go f*ck himself and die because he’s a bad person and he caused me emotional pain,” but I’ve since beaten it and have come to terms with the frustration it made me feel. Also, that title is way too long.
Flood the Chamber is a one-screen platformer. You control a tiny-ass rogue in a big-ass chamber which is (as you may have guessed) slowly flooding with water. Hundreds of ridiculously fiendish jumps and timing-based sections stand between you and the exit. If you get killed by anything other than the water, no big deal; you’ll spawn at the last checkpoint. Touch the water, though, and you’ll permanently die and have to start the entire level over again.
Being able to see the entire screen at once simultaneously effects a sense of determination — you can see exactly where the game will end, so every step you make feels like one step closer to that goal — and of hair-pulling tension, once the water starts to rise and you can’t get past these goddamned propellers and why the hell would anyone design a game where you have to learn the timing of all the jumps through trial and error but then also prevent you from taking all the time you need to learn and understand all those jumps what the hell is wrong with you Matt Scorah this is literally sadistic oh great I drowned.
But eventually, you either beat it or give up. Either way, it’s worth a look.
