HomeFeaturesFlintlock: The Siege Of Dawn
Flintlock: The Siege Of Dawn is an exciting action-RPG mix of Elden Ring and God Of WarIt’s looking really, really good
It’s looking really, really good
When action RPGFlintlock: The Siege Of Dawnwas revealed in March, its cinematic trailer struggled to conjure up anything more than a slight tinge of excitement. Then a gameplay reveal arrived later at Summer Geoff Fest and it immediately slid into the “Cor, this game looks a bit good doesn’t it?” category of my brain. Finally, another game befitting A44, the studio behind minimalisticAshenwhichBrendy quite enjoyed.
Colour me excited when I had the chance to see a half-hour presentation of the game in action at this year’s Gamescom, and chat to A44’s CEO Derek Holding at the same time. It was even better than I’d expected, honestly, and I’ve come away with the belief that it may just be one of the best Soulslikes to arrive in quite some time.
Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn – Gameplay RevealWatch on YouTube
Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn – Gameplay Reveal
Defeat enemies with bullets and they’ll drop armour. Conversely, if you defeat enemies with the axe they’ll drop bullets. It’s A44’s way of encouraging you to mix things up in battle.
The Crusader proved a tough – if familiar - fight for Souls likers, as Nor had to flip and dive out of range of his sword, then counterattack with carefully timed parries. All the while, the Reputation meter filled in the top left of the screen, as Nor pulled off bonks and Enki teleported and nipped at many heels. For the most part, combat looked responsive and satisfying. Blows of Nor’s axe felt impactful and the overall presentation mirrored that of God Of War, with cool finisher animations and a general sense of choreographed theatre, as opposed to Souls' snappier patchwork of combos.
Holding says they’re aiming for the game to take roughly 40 hours to complete, but expect it to take much longer if you’re looking to sweep up all the side goodies. Take that 40 hours with a massive grain of salt, though, as development continues and things change.
The caravan we rock up to is a small encampment set along a cliff edge, with a few NPC friends and a cute little campfire. Again, we skipped on any interaction with these folks, but Holding mentioned that it acts not only as a checkpoint, but also a hometown. And as you build your relationship with folks and help people out, “their base becomes bigger and more developed”. You’ll meet other caravans or allies out in the field, who may join your troupe too. It’s a little reminiscent of Vagrant’s Rest, the town in Ashen.
Later in the demo, Holding skipped forwards to a major boss fight against a golden sentinel who was desperate to cleave Nor in two with his enormous greatsword. A fight ensued, in which Nor dodged strikes and gradually chipped his health bar down with axe smacks. There were some bits where Nor had to dodge spectral missiles or hop over magical slashes, and a second phase which was harder, as per. I think Enki flew around and did stuff too, although his impact felt a little like Atreus from God Of War: looked like nothing, but probably did do something.
This isn’t an open world where you can take on the game’s major bosses in any order. There are, however, plenty of side bosses and other things to discover off the beaten path.
Seriously, Flintlock: The Siege Of Dawn really impressed me at Gamescom and I genuinely believe it could be a real hit when it arrives sometime early next year. That’s because it’s a Soulslike that should cater to players who want a more cinematic experience with more of the triple A trappings, while still looking out for Souls veterans who want those tricky encounters.
