Flintlock The Siege of Dawn – A Soulslite for the ages

A charming game with plenty of optical flair .

come from New Zealand - based indie studio A44 , Flintlock : The Siege of Dawn will be only the second secret plan in their portfolio after the release of Ashen , a co - op - ground Soulslite , back in 2019 . firelock : The Siege of Dawn is a the right way playfulness romp through an accursed state , with uncanny umber shop possessor and gun smoke smell fatheaded in the air .

Some deucedly strong core combat mechanics , a fascinating assumption , a fantastical main character , and a disgustingly cute Canis familiaris / fox / God companion to reboot all make this one something to dip your teeth into and revel .

The Gate Guardian intro boss in Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn.

An Introduction to the World of Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn

KILL . ALL . GODS .

That ’s one of the first thing you see upon check the storage Thomas Nelson Page for Flintlock : The Siege of Dawn , and the game quickly shows you incisively why that ’s so . legion of the dead spill out from ' The Door ' , and Nor Vanek ( Olive Gray ) must dog down her adoptive father Baz ( Elias Toufexis ) , who has run off into it on a number of a suicide mission .

You make your way through the trenches to track him down , and finally , you do . You bear on on with your comrades before meeting a foe none of you could possibly even hope to good , the ' Gate Guardian ' , and you are unceremoniously nail into the land and lick away into the glum water below .

Intro cutscene in Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn.

Screenshot by Pro Game Guides

finally , you awake , albeit in an unfamiliar place , and it is here you meet ' Enki ' ( Alistair Petrie ) , who introduces himself as a lesser God and wants your assist killing the rest of them .

That ’s where I ’ll leave the general story account for now , but what I ’d wish to highlight is the really keen innovation discussion section . Already Flintlock : The Siege of Dawn has ground a compelling earth frame-up and showcased some prodigious artistic production direction . The wonderful mixture of early twentieth century trench war , combined with radical war garb and weaponry , along with the eerie monsters and magics makes for a gripping first few minutes that left me want to uphold on immediately .

Live by the Axe, Die by the Axe (and gun)

Gameplay wise , Flintlock : The Siege of Dawn does n’t let down either . The trenches section act as the first real tutorial , and you ’re introduced to all of those great Soulsborne - like ( what a word ) trademarks : yep , you may hit , shoot , cylinder block , parry , and rejoin .

Melee fighting is quick and responsive and feelsverynice and weighty ( as it should when you ’re exert an axe ) , and gun combat is treated both as a public utility company and a defense , with a arrangement of gas pedal parrying consanguineous to Bloodborne . Whilst youcandodge , it is n’t your primary DoD as it would be in a traditional psyche game , as the accent is very much on parries and gun falling out . And honestly , I found that to be a with child alteration . firelock : The Siege of Dawn contract the elements that work from its inspirations ( which it proudly wears on its sleeve ) but makes them process in new ways to catch even the most seasoned players off guard .

So , already , armed combat is strong enough to take the game as is , but then you meet Enki , and it only gets better . Enki leads us to a strange place — a bright purple ignitor desegregate with acerate leaf of stone suspend in the air . Enki asks for some gunpowder , which you provide , and he gives you your first major ability : small-grained mobility .

The gate and first boss arena in Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn.

Screenshot by Pro Game Guides

There ’s no other way to describe this power other than that it absolutely rocks . It permit treble jump and mid - air dash , as well as the ability to delete fall price , but also offers plenty of combat applications for aeriform dominance and tactical location .

In addition to this , there ’s another band of ability you get shortly thereafter , these ones focus on Enki and how he can aid you in fighting . Enki can " mark " enemies for end , which allows you to build up a commission when you assault them further , and when it ’s full , you could perfectly rag someone about for some vast damage . He also grants you " Withering , " a sort of ultimate power that can instantaneously kill a group of enemy or bequeath some considerable St. Mark buildup on the ones that keep kicking .

Your Reputation Precedes You

A lot of the Souls game influences of Flintlock : The Siege of Dawn show themselves in other ways , like the circumscribed healing resource and highly punishing death scenario . Progression , however , differs greatly , as your primary improvement imagination is a kind of XP known as " repute , " which is make through fighting and killing enemies , albeit with a great braid .

Reputation is gained through the act of combat itself as opposed to just stamp out , and perform certain actions grant multipliers to your repute increase . As opposed to the typical stat - based equalization of Souls game , reputation is spent on weapon acclivity or skills , which will be discussed later .

Another crucial aspect of Reputation is the " banking " system : you will go on to gain multiplier factor , and increase reputation until you take a hit , in which case any reputation you ’ve racked up will be take , and any multiplier will be turn a loss . This leads to an invigorating risk / reward system , with you require to carefully quantify your own abilities to lie with if you ’ve set about a chance to get the greatest returns .

The Gate Guardian intro boss in Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn.

Screenshot by Pro Game Guides

In Flintlock : The Siege of Dawn , there are three distinctive skill tree to spend your repute on . First there is the ' Path of Powder ' , which is dedicate to your use of ignominious powder in fighting . This tree focuses on heavy weapon flak and some hefty modifiers to your melee , with skills such as charged gunshot and aerial slam attacks being two of the first you ’ll grab .

The ' Path of Magic ' focalise on Enki and how he interacts in combat . This tree will yield him the power to passively taunt enemies , as well as hold them in stead . There are more options , but these were two of the standouts in my playtime .

Finally , there is the ' Path of Steel ' tree , which focuses on your melee and defensive power . Here , you ’ll gain contrivance flack and the ability to retort range attacks , both of which are essential skills for prolonged armed combat encounters .

Being finished by the intro boss in Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn.

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The Wonderful World of Kian

Exploration is a further fundamental element of Flintlock : The Siege of Dawn . Once the biz afford up a bit after the instauration section , you ’ll have a surprising amount of freedom to swan around semi - open region . Doing so is important too , as you ’ll be able to find oneself materials for upgrading your weapons , secrets for upgrading some of your core kit ( such as Enki Feathers ) , special combat encounters , and some chances to realize extra reputation via a very addicting little minigame known as " Sebo " ( in which you move tokens to form a pattern , or prevent your opposite forming one themselves ) , or " Elders , " strange arid corpses scatter around , who hold pickups that can advance your reputation gain .

Optional dungeon encounters also appear , with one showing up right before a major area I had to progress through . Flintlock : The Siege of Dawn manages to strike a really peachy balance between challenge and advantage here , as the donjon was pretty short but plenty tough , and rewarded me with a Modern arm for getting all the mode to the final stage .

Room for improvement?

Flintlock : The Siege of Dawn is off to a fantastic start , and in regards to points of advance I do struggle to think of anything of any major significance .

functioning when first loading in can be quite jerky , as the game may be compiling shaders upon booting up when first playing or loading back in , so an selection to pre - compile would be great ( take up this is the case of course of action ) . Around these load in times , I ’d get anywhere between 30 - 45 Frames Per Second , with mass of stuttering .

However , even then , it levels out fairly promptly , returning to a solid 60 Frames Per Second for the huge majority of my playthrough , and it ’s significant to note that any issues face in my preview playthrough may be patched by the full release . ( The newspaper publisher has noted more optimisation is come ) .

A parry/riposte finisher in Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn.

Screenshot by Pro Game Guides

I play this secret plan on controller as per the recommendation of the developers ( as tends to be the norm for Soulslikes ) so I can not speak to how this biz plays on Mouse and Keyboard . However , irrespective of what is recommend , feat should always be made to make the game as playable as potential regardless of peripherals . So if melioration to M+K can be made , I ’d very much like to see it happen .

There were also a few instances of some wonky pip detecting on my end as well as the enemies ' . That is to to say , there were times I think I was guaranteed to get a hit ( especially with jump attack ) , only to follow my axe phase through my objective . This pass to enemies too , as sometimes seemingly push powerful up against them prevents their attacks from landing correctly .

These are all pretty minor tip though , and very seldom did they touch on my enjoyment of the game at great .

Enki in Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn

Screenshot by Pro Game Guides

Final Thoughts

firelock : The Siege of Dawn really surprise me from start to finish up in the limited slice I was capable to live , and I am genuinely excited to return upon full release on the18th of Julythis yr .

Flintlock : The Siege of Dawn is special because above all thing , it feels like it was made with some genuine heart . There is an implausibly entertaining core combat arrangement , with hatful of upgrade voltage and multifariousness to go along with mint of foe type and some well design political boss meeting . You ’ve got an eerie yet oddly charming setting , with plenty of visual style and corking historical brainchild to add to a new magical reality filled with threat here - to - unknown , a world which you have plenty of opportunity to search to find crucial upgrades and secrets .

And Nor , the gal you ’ve come ta slog through it all with is a really wizardly booster , who is strong willed , sometimes rash , and yet still emotionally vulnerable and venerating of the people around her ; voiced by actor Olive Gray , who has prove themselves to have a remarkable natural endowment for the craft . And not to note Enki , who is by all odds genteel , loveable , and does n’t become a taxing companion at any point thus far .

A powder jump in Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn.

Screenshot by Pro Game Guides

I personally can not wait to get back into this game upon acquittance , and hope many others share my love for this exciting new title of respect !

If you ’re see for some more Souls or Soulslike content from us here at Pro Game Guides , check out our list of theBest Soulslike Games to act after Elden Ring , or if you ca n’t just hold back for Shadow of the Erdtree like me , control outour countdown !

A powder dash in Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn.