In
many
ways,
Flintlock:
Siege
of
Dawn
lives
up
to
its
namesake.
A
flintlock
s
a
beautiful
weapon
but
also
an
inconsistent
and
often
unreliable
one,
just
as
likely
hit
the
target
as
it
is
to
miss
or
fail
completely.
As
a
follow-up
to
the
impressive
Ashen,
Flintlock:
Siege
of
Dawn
is
A44
attempting
to
enter
the
double-A
gaming
market
with
a
cinematic
10-15
hour
adventure
that’s
worth
playing
thanks
to
being
on
Game
Pass,
but
struggles
to
justify
itself
outside
of
that.

Flintlock’s
world
and
story
immediately
grabbed
my
attention.
You
play
as
Nor,
a
sapper
in
a
world
of
black
powder
and
knights
and
trench
warfare.
An
army
is
currently
barely
holding
off
a
never-ending
tide
of
the
dead
pouring
out
of
a
fortress
where
a
strange
portal
has
opened
up.
The
world
is
under
siege,
and
based
on
the
deep
trenches,
sandbags
and
devastation,
it’s
obvious
this
fight
has
been
going
non-stop
for
quite
some
time.
Nor’s
father
figure
has
gone
on
a
suicide
mission
to
blow
the
portal
up,
so
she
persuades
her
commander
to
let
her
give
chase.

Available
On:
Xbox
Series
S/X,
PS5,
PC
Reviewed
On:
PC
Developed
by:
A44
Published
by:
Kepler
Interactive
Price:
$39.99/£34.99

Really,
it’s
the
world
and
its
massive
potential
that
speaks
to
me
the
most
strongly.
Flintlock:
The
Siege
of
Dawn’s
mixture
of
black
powder
weapons,
swords,
magic,
fantasy
and
more
reminds
me
a
little
of
Brian
McClellan’s

Powder
Mage
trilogy,
a
series
of
books
where
people
were
able
to
use
black
powder
to
fuel
their
magic.
There
are
a
lot
of
cool
elements
mixed
in
this
game
and
while
that
can
sometimes
lead
to
a
slightly
muddled
visual
style,
it’s
a
world
I
think
has
oodles
of
potential
for
great
storytelling.

Unfortunately,
Flintlock:
The
Siege
of
Dawn’s
storytelling
isn’t
great.
It
has
its
moments,
including
some
genuinely
good
interactions
between
Nor
and
Enki,
but
overall
the
plot
is
barebones
and
the
writing
often
trips
over
itself.
Nor’s
hatred
of
the
Gods
and
her
motivation
to
kill
them
all
is
barely
explored,
nor
are
the
companions
she
gathers
along
the
way,
despite
the
game
repeatedly
telling
us
she
is
close
to
them.
Her
feelings
toward
Enki
seem
to
fluctuate
wildly
between
cutscenes
and
in-game
banter,
too,
which
really
doesn’t
help
the
development
of
their
relationship
which
should
be
the
central
pillar
of
the
whole
story.

As
for
Nor,
there
are
a
few
moments
where
she
shines
as
a
character,
but
mostly
she’s
another
forgettable
lead
character
that
doesn’t
have
an
effective
or
engaging
arc.
And
it’s
a
real
shame
that
A44
never
plays
into
her
military
role
as
a
sapper,
which
historically
is
someone
who
focuses
on
things
like
demolitions,
breaching
fortifications
and
clearing
minefields.
Instead,
she’s
just
a
generic
soldier
who
hits
things
with
her
axe.

The
developers
describe
Flintlock
as
a
“souls-lite”
in
the
game’s
official
blurb.
It’s
easy
to
see
why:
your
resources
are
lost
upon
death
and
must
be
collected,
there
are
bonfires
where
you
can
stop
to
rest
(which
respawns
enemies)
and
you
even
have
a
healing
flask
with
limited
uses.
I
admit
that
when
I
realised
it
was
taking
inspiration
from
the
Souls
genre,
I
let
out
a
sigh
and
exclaimed
“Oh
God,
not
another
one.”
Truthfully
though,
Flintlock
is
only
a
Souls-like
in
the
vaguest
of
terms,
barely
grazing
the
idea,
almost
as
if
it
just
wants
to
be
able
to
lay
claim
to
the
term
for
marketing
reasons.
The
bigger
hallmarks
of
the
Souls
genre,
such
as
difficulty
and
depth
of
builds
are
missing
entirely.

I’d
argue
Flintlock
takes
more
inspiration
from
something
like
the
modern
God
of
War
games.
The
over-the-shoulder
camera,
the
semi-open
environments,
the
combat
and
a
lot
more
remind
me
of
Kratos’
journeys
than
Dark
Souls
or
Elden
Ring.
Another
useful
point
of
comparison
is
the
recent

Banishers:
Ghosts
of
New
Eden
which
was
also
a
double-A
game
trying
to
punch
above
its
weight.

Nor’s
main
weapon
is
her
axe
which
she
swings
with
a
tap
of
the
shoulder
button,
but
she
can
also
unload
her
black
powder
pistol
which
is
the
only
way
of
interrupting
enemy
attacks
when
they
flash
red.
Getting
black
powder
charges
back
can
only
be
done
by
smacking
the
enemy
with
the
axe,
for
some
inexplicable
reason,
while
regular
attacks
can
be
dodged,
blocked
or
parried
if
you’re
feeling
fancy.
Enki
also
plays
a
role
in
combat
by
dashing
in
for
quick
attacks
at
your
command
which
builds
up
a
special
meter
that
stuns
foes,
leaving
them
open
to
an
arse-kicking.
He
can
also
unleash
some
God
powers
to
help
turn
the
tide
of
battle.

Of
course,
there’s
a
bit
more
to
the
combat
than
what
I’m
describing,
but
overall
it’s
a
simple
fighting
system
that
feels
quite
decent,
especially
when
you
get
the
hang
of
the
slightly
odd
parry
timing,
but
doesn’t
grow
much
across
the
game
short
runtime.
The
general
pace
of
fights
does
speak
to
that
whole
Souls-lite
thing,
encouraging
you
to
wade
in
for
a
hit
or
two
before
backing
out
again,
and
I
found
the
idea
of
interrupting
opponents
with
a
black
powder
blast
to
the
face
satisfying.
That
said,
I
wish
the
camera
would
pull
back
a
little
when
the
game
decides
to
throw
a
lot
of
enemies
on
the
screen
at
once,
especially
since
the
combat
system
does
not
feel
great
when
fighting
a
lot
of
foes.

There’s
a
reasonable
amount
of
platforming
in
Flintlock,
and
to
the
developer’s
credit,
they
really
let
you
use
Nor’s
double-jump
and
air-dash
to
get
around
the
environments.
But
its
during
the
leaps
and
bounds
that
Nor’s
floaty
physics
comes
into
play,
giving
it
a
sense
of
weightlessness.
It
doesn’t
help
that
sometimes
she’ll
bump
into
a
ledge
and
turn
sideways
instead
of
immediately
grabbing
on,
which
does
admittedly
look
hilarious.
Sometimes
though,
she
doesn’t
grab
on
at
all,
which
is
considerably
less
hilarious.

Enki
helps
out
with
the
platforming
by
occasionally
being
able
to
open
purple
portals
in
the
air
which
he
and
Nor
can
traverse.
It’s
a
cool
idea
but
its
primary
function
is
to
form
shortcuts
and
is
otherwise
rarely
ever
used.

There
are
a
lot
of
hints
that
Flintlock
was
intended
to
be
even
more
ambitious
than
it
is.
For
example,
there
are
random
villages
you
can
enter
where
the
goal
becomes
to
fight
and
defeat
the
leader,
at
which
point
the
village
is
freed
and
all
the
people
will
magically
move
back
in
like
nothing
ever
happened.
A
coffee
shop
opens
up
as
a
reward,
giving
you
an
extra
use
of
your
healing
flask,
some
nice
new
cosmetics
and
maybe
a
side
quest
or
two.
Liberating
these
towns
is
kind
of
fun,
but
it’s
a
gameplay
mechanic
that
also
feels
entirely
separate
from
the
rest
of
the
game.
It
doesn’t
really
fit
in
with
anything
else.

Then
there’s
Sebo,
a
coin-based
mini-game
that
Nor
can
play
with
random
people
she
encounters.
And
I
really
do
mean
random
people
–
you’ll
find
Sebo
players
in
the
strangest
locations,
including
in
rooms
where
you
just
wiped
out
a
bunch
of
enemies.
I
guess
the
idea
was
to
mimic
the
success
of
Gwent
in
The
Witcher
3
but
instead
of
putting
Sebo
players
in
sensible
locations
they
just
put
them
wherever.
These
Sebo
players
are
also
the
only
NPCs
who
will
actually
react
to
your
presence
because
all
the
rest
will
ignore
you
and
your
antics.
Even
if
you
swing
your
axe
in
a
village,
you
can’t
smash
anything
and
nobody
will
comment
on
your
poor
manners.

Like
a
flintlock
pistol,
the
shots
that
Siege
of
Dawn
fires
don’t
always
hit
the
mark.
Its
combat
is
fun
but
simplistic,
its
world
is
beautiful
and
vast
but
has
very
little
in
and
is
largely
static,
its
story
is
brimming
with
potential
that
it
never
fully
taps
into,
and
its
platforming
is
too
floaty.
Each
element
it
brings
to
the
table
needs
a
more
fine
tuning.

Flintlock:
The
Siege
of
Dawn
isn’t
a
bad
game,
but
it
does
feel
more
like
a
proof-of-concept
for
a
much
better
idea,
which
is
why
I’d
love
to
see
a
sequel,
although
the
early
player
numbers
make
me
worried
that
it
will
never
happen.
Given
the
ending,
it
seems
like
A44
are
intending
on
there
being
more
to
this
world.

If
you
have
Game
Pass
it’s
absolutely
worth
checking
it
out.
On
a
personal
level,
I
actually
had
a
lot
of
fun
with
it,
but
on
a
more
critical
level,
the
whole
game
needed
more
time
in
the
oven.