When action-RPG Flintlock: The Siege Of Dawn was unveiled in March, the cinematic trailer struggled to evoke anything more than a dash of excitement. Then later a gameplay reveal arrived at Summer Geoff Fest and it immediately slipped into the “Cor, this game looks kinda good, doesn’t it?” category of my brain. Finally another game that fits A44, the studio behind minimalist Ashen that Brendy really enjoyed.
Color me excited when I got the chance to see a half-hour presentation of the game in action at this year’s Gamescom, while also talking to A44’s CEO Derek Holding. It was even better than I expected, honestly, and I’ve come away with the belief that it might be one of the best Soulslikes to arrive in quite some time.
There’s no denying Flintlock: The Siege Of Dawn’s Souls-esque references. It is terribly looks a lot like a soul, and has all the hallmarks of one: you build a currency (reputation) while defeating monsters, lose everything when you die, and recover it when you take the pot from where you died; there are intense one-on-one duels; and as for the story? The door to the afterlife has been opened and the undead army of the Old Gods has risen, so you must put an end to that by killing all the undead gods to make them even more dead.
Except Flintlock doesn’t seem to fall into the trap that many of his soul mates do, which is to go so deep into battle that it leaves an otherwise shallow pool of water for the world’s story, inhabitants and character (Thymesia isn’t terrible , but is a good example of this). Flintlock seems to combine the grandeur of, say, God Of War with the sensibilities of a Souls game to produce an action RPG closer to your triple-A rate. I mean, Holding himself said that a good way to conceptualize the game would be to think of it as “somewhere in the middle” of God Of War and Elden Ring.
While you might be thinking, “Elden Ring is already a luxury Souls game, so why do we need Flintlock?”, keep in mind that while Elden Ring may be more approachable than its predecessors, it’s still a blunt and punishing FromSoftware connection. is . Flintlock is clear in his instructions and lavish in his presentation, first demonstrated to me in a hamlet liberation mission. Neither Vanek, accompanied by her ghost horn Enki, would defeat a handful of possessed knights, with a Crusader with a large red health bar and a large ancient shield.
The Crusader proved to be a tough – albeit familiar – fight for Souls aficionados, as Nor had to flip and dive out of reach of his sword, then counter-attack with carefully timed parries. All the while, the Reputation Meter was filling up in the top left corner of the screen, as Nor lashed out bonks and Enki teleported and nibbled on many heels. For the most part, the combat looked responsive and satisfying. Blows of Nor’s ax felt impressive and the overall presentation mirrored that of God Of War, with cool finisher animations and an overall sense of choreographed theater as opposed to Souls’ smoother patchwork of combos.
Once the hamlet was liberated, Nor wandered into a dimly lit hut to discover a Foreigner, a stately creature made up of many arms whose face was a tribal mask held up by a pair of hands. It asked Nor to get her some coffee, because undead creatures that have been brought back to life are often “obsessed with one thing,” Holding tells me. But more than that, they tell us “rumours about the world and places to explore”. And while we didn’t pursue what I thought might be a small side mission, Holding gave us a look at caravans, which he describes as “[Dark Souls] bonfires, essentially”.
The caravan we rock to is a small encampment along a cliff, with a few NPC friends and a cute little campfire. Again, we skipped any interaction with these people, but Holding said it acts not only as a checkpoint, but also as a birthplace. And as you build your relationship with people and help people, “their base gets bigger and more developed”. You will meet other caravans or allies in the field, who can also join your party. It is a bit reminiscent of Vagrant’s Rest, the town in Ashen.
Later in the demo, Holding jumped forward into a big boss fight against a golden sentry who desperately wanted to split Nor in two with his massive big sword. A fight ensued, during which Nor dodged attacks and gradually broke his health bar down with ax blows. There were a few bits where Nor had to dodge spectral missiles or jump magic slashes, and a second phase that was more difficult, as indicated. I think Enki was flying around and doing stuff too, although his impact felt a bit like Atreus from God Of War: it looked like nothing, but probably did something.
Despite all the talk about boss fights and Soulslikes, A44 wants Flintlock to be approachable for everyone. You can increase the difficulty to “Possessed Mode” to make it extremely punishing, or balance it by reducing it, if you like. Holding also expands a bit on the skill trees, which are “really wide” and either let you dive deep into magic by powering up Enki, go all in on blackpowder and your weapons, or pour it all into swinging your axe . There are also ways to “bypass things around the world,” Holding says, whether that’s using your squad of Napoleonic-era military sappers to “blow up targets and change the shape of the world,” or Enki, which has these magic triangles that “magically propell you through the world”. And also in Nor himself, who is able to platform across different levels and use environmental things like explosive barrels to gain the advantage in combat.
Seriously, Flintlock: The Siege Of Dawn really impressed me at Gamescom and I honestly believe it could be a real hit when it arrives sometime early next year. That’s because it’s a Soulslike that should suit players who want a more cinematic experience with more of the triple A attributes, while still looking out for Souls veterans who want those tricky encounters.
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