Introduction to flOw
Originally released by Thatgamecompany, flOw is a groundbreaking ambient title that laid the foundation for future masterpieces like Flower and Journey. Set in a hypnotic, multi-layered aquatic biosphere, players guide a organism through various layers of depth, consuming other life forms to grow, evolve, and dive ever deeper into the abyss.
Whether you are playing flOw on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, or PC, this complete guide provides everything you need to master the mechanics, understand every playable organism, and achieve 100% completion.
Understanding the Core Gameplay Loop
The fundamentals of flOw revolve around dynamic difficulty adjustment (DDA) and visual navigation. Rather than relying on traditional health bars or game-over screens, flOw adjusts its challenge based on your layer depth and survival.
- Diving Deeper: To move down into deeper, more hazardous layers, consume the red-centered orb or organism. Deeper layers feature larger, more aggressive creatures but allow your creature to evolve rapidly.
- Floating Upward: To escape danger or move back toward safer waters, consume the blue-centered orb. Floating up moves you to a higher, calmer layer.
- Eating & Evolving: Consuming neutral food particles or aggressive organisms adds segments to your body, increasing your health and overall scale.
- Taking Damage: When hit by an hostile organism, your creature loses body segments. If you lose all segments, you are automatically pushed up one layer rather than dying.
Playable Creatures and Special Abilities
There are six distinct creatures in flOw, each unlocking sequentially as you complete the campaign with the previous organism. Every creature features a unique body structure and a distinct special movement triggered by pressing any face button or trigger.
1. Snake Creature (Ed)
dynamics focus on speed and directional movement. The starting organism is versatile and straightforward.
- Special Ability: Boost. Pressing any action button gives a sudden burst of speed, allowing you to catch quick prey or escape aggressive predators.
- Strategy: Use short bursts to target the glowing centers of enemy organisms before they can turn to attack.
2. Jellyfish Creature
The second creature moves in rhythm with a pulsing motion and focuses on central area control.
- Special Ability: Vortex / Spin. Pressing the action button causes the creature to rotate rapidly, pulling nearby food particles and small organisms toward its mouth.
- Strategy: Activate the vortex in heavily populated clusters to instantly consume multiple particles without needing precise aiming.
3. Speed / Worm Creature
This streamlined organism emphasizes precision strike capabilities and high maneuverability.
- Special Ability: Latch / Dash. Activating the ability charges forward and locks onto enemy target segments automatically.
- Strategy: Aim generally toward hostile cores and activate the ability to tear through large enemies segment by segment.
4. Giant / Shield Creature
A bulky, defensive organism built to withstand high levels of aggression from deeper layer organisms.
- Special Ability: Invulnerability Shield. Activating the ability renders your core completely immune to damage for a short duration while expanding your reach.
- Strategy: Trigger the shield right before colliding head-on with large aggressive predators to damage them without taking counter-hits.
5. Stealth / Parasite Creature
The fifth creature utilizes tactical approaches, allowing you to paralyze or dominate prey before eating.
- Special Ability: Invisibility & Paralysis. Pressing the button turns the creature semi-transparent. Touching an enemy while stealthy stuns them completely.
- Strategy: Go stealthy, drift behind larger organisms, paralyze them, and eat their nodes while they are immobilized.
6. Credits Creature
Unlocked after completing the campaign with all five primary organisms, this final creature allows you to explore the interactive credits level.
Controls & Platform Differences
Depending on the system you use to play flOw, the controls differ slightly:
| Platform | Movement Control | Special Ability Control |
|---|---|---|
| PlayStation 3 / PS4 | Sixaxis Motion Control / Left Analog Stick | Any Face Button / Triggers |
| PlayStation Vita | Gyroscopic Motion / Left Analog Stick | Any Front Button / Rear Touchpad |
| PSP | Analog Stick | Any Action Button |
| PC (Original Flash) | Mouse Pointer | Left Mouse Click |
Tips for 100% Completion and Trophies
Achieving full completion in flOw requires mastering both pacifist and aggressive playstyles. Here are essential strategies for collecting all trophies and achievements:
- Cannibal Trophy: Eat all hostiles in a campaign level without floating up. Take your time on each layer to clear every aggressive organism before touching the red diving orb.
- Pacifism Trophy: Complete an entire creature stage without eating any other organisms except the red diving orbs. Focus purely on avoiding enemies and descending directly to the bottom.
- Giant Creature Growth: Maximize your creature's length by consuming every passive white food particle on the upper layers before descending into combat-heavy zones.
- Friendship Trophy (Local Co-Op): If playing on console versions supporting multiplayer, connect extra controllers to have up to four creatures swimming in the same biosphere simultaneously.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you die in flOw?
No, you cannot permanently die in flOw. If your creature loses all of its body segments due to enemy attacks, you are simply knocked up to the previous, safer depth layer where you can eat passive food to regrow your body.
How long does it take to beat flOw?
A standard playthrough of flOw takes around 1 to 2 hours to see all creature campaigns. Earning 100% trophy completion typically takes between 3 to 5 hours depending on your familiarity with motion controls.
Is flOw connected to Flower or Journey?
While flOw does not share a direct narrative connection with Flower or Journey, it is considered the spiritual first entry in Thatgamecompany's trilogy of minimalist, emotion-driven game designs.
Conclusion
Even years after its initial release, flOw remains a mesmerizing, stress-relieving journey through adaptive game design. By learning the rhythm of each creature and understanding depth mechanics, you can easily guide every organism to the bottom of the ocean and experience everything this indie classic has to offer.
