Flintlock: The Siege of Dawnis an open-world RPG based around “Flintlock Fantasy,” the idea that guns and magic are of equal strength, and it’s coming to Xbox Game Pass day one in July 2024. It’s a great addition for Soulslike fans on Xbox, perhaps even as a break fromElden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, because the game is described as a Souls-lite. In other words, it has all the trappings of the Soulslike genre, but it is a little more fast and loose with them than other games.
That doesn’t mean players shouldn’t expect a challenge, however. Game Rant played a brief demo ofFlintlock: The Siege of Dawnafter the Xbox Games Showcase ended, and our hubris got the best of us at one point. The developers had started us off on a lower difficulty where our Soulslike experience could easily carry us, but after the devs raised it for us, it became clear that we had to slow down and play it like a genuine Soulslike game instead of rushing in. Luckily, that higher difficulty is there for someone looking for a challenge, but the lower difficulty is there for those who want to enjoy the story.
Due to the brief nature of this demo, we didn’t get much time to take in theworld ofFlintlock: The Siege of Dawn. The flintlock fantasy approach here felt very akin toGreedFall’s worldbuilding, however, and history fans may enjoy how real-world designs were translated into the game’s art. We also didn’t get to check out any open-world activities or get treated to much story, either, but luckily we were pretty familiar with the protagonist, Nor, and her fox-like companion Enki. This demo put us somewhere on the main path, and we followed it through a horde of enemies.
Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn Combat
At the start of the demo, we took a few moments to orient ourselves in the game. We had a melee attack, we could swap between ranged weapons, and aside from those, we also had a quick shot designed to parry enemies. We could double jump, which we figured out how to extend into an offensive triple jump by firing our pistol as well, and of course, we could dodge. All the trappings of a Soulslike game were there, with some added maneuvering and platforming-like gameplay. Enki can also be ordered around in combat. They’ll attack an enemy, building up a meter that’s effective for getting through armored enemies. Attacking as the protagonist also helps that meter once it’s started, and once the two have maxed it out, Nor can deliver a flashy, cinematic finishing move. Depending on the enemy’s armor, it’s possible to finish them off without attacking as Nor beforehand too.
Once we got into the flow of it, thecore combat loop ofFlintlock: The Siege of Dawntested our knowledge thoroughly. We used ranged weapons to initiate combat, sometimes drawing out an individual from a wider group, and quickly defeating them with our melee abilities. If the enemy was armored, we’d initiate combat with Enki and attempt to max out that meter as quickly as possible. If an enemy got close to us, it was pop the pistol to parry, and it was much more forgiving than Bloodborne’s parry, although much simpler too. Our favorite way to initiate combat was to double jump into the enemy’s range and perform the pistol shot/triple jump maneuver that would briefly stun them and let us position ourselves for the attack. However, it’s worth noting that even on this easier difficulty, enemy groups were the most dangerous things we encountered. It was never impossible, but the pressure of enemies coming from multiple angles, some special enemies teleporting around the field, and others doing ranged attacks is a lot to keep up with.
Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn does have the Soulslike “campfire” feature that allows players to level up and rest. Like soulslike games, it also respawns enemies.
Upping the Souls-Lite Difficulty
Once the developer raised the difficulty, that’s whenFlintlock: The Siege of Dawn’s Soulslike gameplayreally came into its own. We had to be slower and more methodical, being more careful about which enemies we drew aggro on. We’d pull them from groups, get enough distance, and fight them, but it was twice as challenging as before. We even died once or twice acclimating to the difficulty when that wasn’t a real threat before. Another death was the result of an enemy ambushing us from behind, but we kept the location in mind, fought our way back, and took out this enemy. Some Soulslike games are “easier” when the map and enemy spawns have been, more or less, memorized, and that seems to be the case here as well.
The difficulty spike immediately changed the way we played. While we were foolhardy and basically rushed the first few enemies to learn the combat system, the increased difficulty forced us to slow down. We were already pulling enemies away from crowds, but getting the attention of other enemies on the higher difficulty was basically asking to die. Playing on the lower difficulty was like playing any standard action RPG, while the higher difficulty felt like abonafide Soulslike game.
The good news is that, if anyone thinks Souls-lite meanseasyDark Soulsmode, it doesn’t. It seems to mean that the approach to combat, at least, is more accessible, so anyone who prefers Soulslike gameplay (of any difficulty) is able to check out this game. At least based on this demo,Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn’s Souls-lite approach seems engineered to make core Soulslike gameplay more accessible in terms of difficulty, but it remains to be seen if the full game adopts this approach as thoroughly.
Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn
WHERE TO PLAY
From games studio A44, makers of Ashen, comes an explosive Souls-lite, where Gods and guns collide in a battle for the future of humanity.The Door to the Great Below has been opened unleashing the Gods and their armies of the Dead. The lands of Kian are besieged, the city of Dawn is on the brink of destruction. It’s time for the Coalition army to fight back. Embrace vengeance, gunpowder and magic as you embark on an epic journey to defeat the Gods, close the door and retake the world.Kill all gods.Your battle begins now.
