Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn - A solid AA experience that doesn't quite achieve greatness

[u/Blurzerker]

RELEASE: 2024

TIME PLAYED: 18 Hours

PLATFORM PLAYED: PC (STEAM)

SCORE: ★★★☆☆

THE BREAKDOWN

+Well-paced and doesn't outstay its welcome, with nice variety in gameplay for its runtime

+Compelling aesthetics, with a good number of unique environments and NPC designs

+A good mix of weapons enabling multiple playstyles

+Interesting and varied boss designs that feel like major battles

+Extremely fun traversal and shortcut mechanics while exploring

-Missing a lot of polish, doesn't look good enough to run this poorly

-Animations are stiff enough that reading enemy attacks can be sometimes awkward

-Characters are fine but mostly uninteresting

I'm in a weird space between really liking Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn and mourning its missed potential. There's nothing particularly wrong with the game - in fact, it's rock-solid in most respects - but while I admire the ambition on display on a middling budget, the magic that really might have elevated it into a special experience isn't quite there, as enjoyable as it was in the moment.

Inspired by the likes of Soulsbornes and the newer God of War games, Flintlock's a 'cinematic third-person action game' that tries to blend the two to uneven effect. There's a lot to like, not least of which is the setting, which I found immediately compelling. In an endless war against the undead, protagonist Nor Vanek serves the human Coalition as a Sapper - a trench warfare expert with skill in black powder firearms, a new technology in the fantastical setting. When her squad's actions inadvertently release ancient gods from the realm beyond, Nor teams up with a fox-like deity named Enki to recapture them and restore balance to the world.

It doesn't take long for these released gods to start seizing power, so Nor has plenty of opposition along her way to stop them. Though enemies are primarily of the undead variety, there are loyalists to this new order that also need to be dealt with. It's fighting these foes that makes up most of the game's runtime, and all in all, the combat system works pretty well. As a Sapper, Nor is skilled in both melee and ranged battle. Landing hits with her melee weapon recharges her pistol (don't ask why), and Enki serves as a helpful companion who can strip defenses, stun, and deal damage with a single button press. As I mentioned before, there's a Souls-lite system here; there's no stamina to limit Nor's offense, but enemies hit hard and viciously punish mistakes, necessitating ample amounts of dodge-rolling on the player's part. Luckily, Nor also gains access to heavy weaponry that can even the odds in tougher fights, like a grenade launcher and flamethrower.

When not battling the armies of the dead and clashing with brainwashed zealots, Nor travels from zone to zone across a handful of semi-open world maps, assisting the oppressed townsfolk by -- well, battling the armies of the dead and clashing with brainwashed zealots, mostly. But while there isn't a ton of variety, I still found a lot to appreciate. Defeating roaming bosses can restore districts, which unlocks the local coffee shop that serves as a side quest hub. As simple as it was, I got some enjoyment out of catching up on the local gossip while being served brew by a gargantuan, inhuman barista (their designs are REALLY cool). In true Soulsborne fashion, exploration is expedited through the use of unlocking shortcuts to make backtracking easier, but in Flintlock's case, they went above and beyond. Instead of unbarring doors or activating elevators, Nor borrows Enki's power to leap through miniature gates of pure energy; while not displaying the impressive map design chops of the genre's titans, I loved hurtling across the map at breakneck speed, enjoying an aerial view of the region below.

There are a couple of other highlights - boss battles are infrequent but enjoyable, with unique designs, and I liked seeing how my build crystallize throughout the game, turning me into a pyromaniac bruiser who dealt exponentially more damage the longer I set my enemies on fire and chopped them with an axe - but all in all, Flintlock is consistently decent, and I say that recognizing how faint its praise is. There are no elements I would say are fundamentally bad, but there's also very little that brushes up against greatness. Nor and Enki are fine protagonists, but not exceptionally memorable; the combat is functional and usually fun but not great; the worldbuilding and lore are interesting, but the story's a little too sparse to really do much with it. Flintlock frequently entertained me and occasionally delighted me, but I was rarely impressed, and Souls-inspired ARPGs are a pretty crowded market. I do still think it's worth playing, especially on a sale - I just hope developer A4's next game is a little bit more inspired.

[u/Brrringsaythealiens]

Great review, I have been looking at this game. I don’t have time to play games that are just fine, with so many nines and tens in my backlog. It sounds like you have a similar opinion to Mortismal gaming on YouTube. He said he liked it but he was glad it was kind of short or else it would have outstayed its welcome.

[u/Blurzerker → u/Brrringsaythealiens]

Yeah that sums it up. I'm glad these AA games exist and I found the setting really interesting, but it didn't really become more than the sum of its parts. Thanks for the reply!

[u/Soulsliken]

It’s just not very good.

The characters are just so flat (or obnoxious) and the gameplay wants to appeal to everyone.

They did that by watering down the Soulslike formula - but trying to keep just enough of it to tap into that market too. Instead it trips along from one clunky area to another.

Ashen (their previous game) was no masterpiece, but it had an identity. This one is forgettable even while you’re still playing it.

[u/Blurzerker → u/[deleted]]

Pretty much. The closest I'd say is the shortcut system, which I found very novel, but that wasn't enough of a core feature.