Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn Review – A great time, lovingly made

Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn is some of the most fun I've had playing a new title in years. Why? Because for every second I spent in this game, I could feel the love that went into creating it.

Gameplay

As it touts itself as the new kid on the block in the Soulslike 'genre', how does Flintlock measure up to some of the competition out there? I'm happy to report that it does just fine. Within the tutorial section you get introduced to the basics, how to hit, how to heal, and then how to shoot.

It was when I was informed on how to correctly gun parry that I knew Flintlock would be a bloody good time, and it most certainly was. Combat is weighty and well animated, albeit perhaps a little sluggish at times. Movement is also very well done, and actually plays a far bigger role in the game at large than I first thought.

Powdered Mobility is a game changer, enabling you to double jump and double dash (with some great animations and sound design) whilst also serving as more than a simple mobility gimmick. It offers up your single best tool for controlling your fights, as you use it to escape from large groups of hostiles, get off special attacks (such as the Ground Slam or Jump Attack skills), and of course panic dodge when the going gets tough.

Enki, your Fox-ish companion and resident Deity, also has a big impact on gameplay, as he provides the magic to your metal. You use Enki (in tandem with your attacks) to seamlessly apply 'Curse' to your targets, which acts similarly to something like a bleed proc in Elden Ring. Once the bar is filled all the way, you'll be able to perform a sort of 'crit' on your target, which can strip them of their armour, or even kill them outright (with a fancy kill animation to boot.)

So the bones are strong as is, but it's all aided by a world filled with activities to do. Enemy camps, hamlets to liberate, and side quests out the wazoo all come together to give you plenty of reason to use your kit whilst taking your time to explore some very well crafted world spaces.

Speaking of kit, Flintlock also has a great gear system, with a shocking amount of weapon and armor variety, and options to suit a bunch of playstyles. You'd be forgiven for thinking you'll be stuck with just an axe and a flintlock, but no, you later gain access to hammers, swords, a blunderbuss, and even a flamethrower.

And finally there's the skills on offer, which are properly well designed, balanced, and implemented. Very few that are simple stat improvements, as virtually every skill (besides one or two) has a very tangible impact on your gameplay. Dodge attacks, the ability to parry unblockable attacks with your gun, having Enki levitate enemies to keep 'em off your back, and plenty more is on offer.

All in all, the gameplay here is tons of fun, and kept me coming back for more.

Score - 4.5/5

Story

The story here is nothing groundbreaking, but it's certainly solid, with you being assigned to kill all of the Gods that moseyed their way on through the gate to the realm of the Gods after you rather cockily shoot a big glowing wall. You'll travel through various areas in which they've taken residence to cause havoc, meeting allies new and old, and returning to where you began for the final confrontation against Uru, the Ravager. This is rather predictable for a game of this genre; it also feels rather... short, and like it's in a hurry to be over, with the game coming to a pretty quick close shortly after only the second major story boss. But, with that being said, this game has something no other games do: Nor and Enki.

You play as Nor Vanek the 'Sapper', a frontline trench fighter who specializes in the use of 'Black Powder'. Sappers are a hard people, and Nor is no exception, and her desire to see the hordes of the undead pushed back for good result in her making a little bit of a boo boo, as she unleashes some rather wrathful Gods upon the mortal planes. Enki is someone you'll meet soon after you make this grave error, and reveals that he himself is a God. However, he wants to help you put things right, and so you venture off on your quest to (as the games tagline says) kill all Gods.

I cannot overstate just how exceptionally written and portrayed Nor and Enki are (Olive Gray blew me away with their performance of Nor here), and just how brightly they make this game shine. Nor is an incredibly strong willed yet wonderfully sensitive human being, who carries the weight of the world on her shoulders and very rarely stops to consider her own feelings, concerned only with the well being of others. She's also just so... human. She makes dumb jokes and laughs at them, mocks voices, makes off hand comments about the things around her. Nor glows with personality, and it never feels forced.

The same goes for Enki. Their mutual distrust of one another turns to a shaky alliance, and evolves over time. Enki picks up Nor's vernacular, and has these moments of genuine attempts at humanity. He gets better at it over time, but has these blips in which the façade cracks and the God beneath reveals itself once more. And then, he shocks you, with moments of genuine vulnerability, in which he shows fear, and his desires to be free of the shackles of Godhood. (He's also... painfully cute.)

Alone these are both great characters, but together they elevate what would be otherwise a pretty so-so (and short) fantasy narrative into a story of the growth of a genuine and believable friendship.

Score - 4/5

Bosses

It wouldn't be a Soulslike if I didn't discuss this, and sadly, this is where Flintlock drops the ball a little. This game has a sort of... Dark Souls 2 problem. Three of the major bosses (e.g. Rammuha) just feel like people with armor and a cool weapon, and whilst visually stunning, they don't really offer much in the way of a mix up of gameplay with the exception of the final boss. Of course, this is partly to be expected of a game with such a hard set gameplay loop, but it's still a bit of a shame there weren't more bosses that really 'wowed' me.

Part of the issue is this game does have some great unique bosses. One in the second major area is a boss that is a copy of you, which means it can do everything you can! You have to really take your time with this fight, and it didn't just end up being a parry and gun break fest like a lot of the others did. The final boss too really mixes it up, specifically in the second phase in which all of your Enki abilities are stripped from you and you're left with just your Powder and Steel.

Flintlock shows that it can mix things up, but sadly it doesn't quite as much as I'd like it to.

Score - 3/5

Final Verdict

Overall, Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn was an absolutely great time. There was never a moment in which I wasn't having a total blast, and that's all thanks to some brilliantly fun core gameplay mechanics, two of the best written main characters I've seen in a long time, and some beautiful world spaces with a host of activities to chase down. However, it loses some points with some rather plain boss encounters, which don't really push the envelope in letting you flex your skill set and gear, and with a main story that feels a little tired and rushed at times.

[Disclosure: A free copy of the game was provided to PGG for review purposes.]

If you've enjoyed this review, and are looking for more Soulslike content, check out Soulslikes Tier List – All Soulslikes, Ranked here on Pro Game Guides.