Set in perhaps the underused ‘Flintlock fantasy’ sub-genre, as you may have managed to deduce from the name alone, Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn set out in this more novel area, but with some well recognised mechanics after touting itself as a Souls-lite. However, will adding some olde worlde guns be enough to give this game solid footing in a busy section of the games world?
The first time I actively remember seeing guns in a fantasy video game was in the ‘Fable’ series – my teenage self was delighted in being able to twirl about with an axe whilst firing off a rifle/musket single-handedly into the horde of whatever creatures I was fighting at the time. However, the novelty wore off fast enough and left me with a game that felt a little stale once I’d gotten past this and the happy inclusion of British voices like Stephen Fry tucked away quietly in the character voices. So, with Flintlock: Siege of Dawn trying to breathe a little life into the often overlooked section of fantasy, I step into the boots of Nor Vavek – ready to start checks notes killing the old Gods.
The game starts off in too linear of a manner for this reviewer not to be concerned that I’m heading down a ‘Final Fantasy 12’ corridor, but this opening section is thankfully much shorter before putting us out into the wider, but not quite open world. Accompanied by a fox spirit (and also a God) named Enki, Nor traipses off in search of the perhaps the most common reason of all game characters – revenge.
Already a competent soldier as part of her not at all generic backstory, Nor starts to gain more abilities as per the well-known and well-worn RPG formula. Add in a firearm with limited ammo, as this is relatively novel technology here I suppose, one that also happens to maybe, sort of recharge its own ammo as you fight and you’ve got a newish formula within the existing framework.
For all the above grumbling and perhaps audible eye-rolling, the combat is very fun. You can feel each hit connect, regardless of what axe or sword you’re swinging, and grenades as well as firearms are a good addition that keep enough variety that you can flexibly alter your build to suit your own style. Not being hemmed in to a build is a great thing to borrow from the ‘Souls’ family (namely ‘Dark Souls’, ‘Bloodborne’ etc) and you won’t be expected to deal with the same deaths again and again, unless you want to, thanks to three different difficulties.
Special moves from Enki and a host of executions and guard break-esque attacks give enough brutality to help keep this engaging without feeling too much like a ‘Devil May Cry’ slasher – despite stealing their Experience Points modifier to encourage flowing combat.
The not quite open world here is also something to be lauded. Not being stuffed full of meaningless fetch quests and some clever navigational tools in the form of warps and ‘rifts’ means you can zip about without either a long, dull journey OR just fast travelling and staring at loading screens. Whilst it can be nice to revisit areas with new tricks unlocked to find some health or other bonuses, like in ‘God of War’, the side quests do fall short where they are present. Whilst not meaningless they do feel just a tad boring – none of which are memorable.
The main thing holding Flintlock back is the weight of its own ideas. It’s borrowed plenty of promising things from plenty of good games, but bolting these together under a mediocre story only serves to weigh it down into something good, but not special.
For this reviewer, it’s largely the narrative that’s letting it down. Prone to falling into the same tropes as many other ‘God Killer’ games such as ‘God of War’, which has clearly influenced a lot of Flintlock’s development, it might have some new mechanics but the story isn’t particularly new to anyone.
Flintlock isn’t a bad game by any metric, if you’re itching for something akin to ‘Dark Souls’ to satisfy your want for some decent combat that feels more visceral, and don’t want the endless deaths that come with it, you may have a winner in Flintlock. However, other God-killing games are available for less, and with more satisfaction included.
Author: Tom, Cardiff Store
