Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn Review

As a seasoned gamer with over two decades of experience under my belt, I approach each new game with a sense of excitement and anticipation. However, Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn left me feeling somewhat underwhelmed.

When talking about souls-like action RPGs, a common theme emerges: their high level of difficulty. This topic often sparks debates about accessibility in game design, identity, and philosophical implications. For instance, the release of “Shadow of the Erdtree” sparked discussions on how this expansion increases the challenges presented compared to “Elden Ring.” In souls-like games, a significant level of difficulty is almost a given. The community is filled with various viewpoints on how to approach and design these challenges.

One reason I begin this critique discussing the theme of difficulty and entry-level is that A44 Games’ developers initiated the conversation during their unveiling of Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn to critics, like myself. According to the studio’s creative heads, “our goal with Flintlock was to create a fresh, more inviting take on the Souls series.” Aiming to attract newcomers and non-enthusiasts of souls-like games, they designed various elements specifically for those who might not be accustomed or experienced in this genre.

I’m a huge fan of the captivating Flintlock series! In this thrilling world, I follow Nor Vanek, a fearless Coalition warrior with a mercenary spirit. He’s not your average hero; instead, he battles both the undead horrors and the deities who have escaped from “The Great Below” and invaded our reality.

At the beginning of the game, you have the freedom to select among three levels of challenge: Story, Normal, and Possessed. You can change your choice at any point while playing. For those who are accustomed to souls-like games, the Normal level may not pose much resistance. Reflecting A44’s goal of creating an accessible entry in this genre, the Story mode offers a more relaxed experience, complete with an option for Nor to have endless health. The downside is that you cannot achieve accomplishments in this setting. I didn’t delve deeply into it, but the Possessed difficulty seems geared towards veterans of the genre and could provide a more familiar challenge.

Does Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn share similarities with soulslike games? Indeed, the developer openly labels it as such. This is their second production from A44 Games, preceded by Ashen in 2018. Ashen demonstrated clear inspiration from A44’s appreciation for the Souls series. Although I haven’t played Ashen personally, I can infer that both games carry this common influence.

In Flintlock, reputation serves as a substitute for experience points or currency. You earn it by defeating adversaries. With your accumulated reputation, you can invest in various skill sets, granting Nor additional abilities or beneficial perks. Reputation also holds value when shopping for new items, including equipment and costumes. The enemies reappear once you take a break near a campfire. Should you fail in battle against a particular enemy, you have the chance to regain your lost reputation by returning to that very spot promptly. This setup is likely to resonate with seasoned players of this genre.

In Flintlock, one standout feature among standard fundamentals is a system that amplifies Reputation gains through a multiplier. By mixing up the combinations of moves and weapons employed during battles against enemies, this multiplier enhances the base Reputation earned from vanquishing foes. For instance, if you counter an enemy’s attack with a parry, evade their next move, fire a pistol at them, and finally defeat them using an axe combo, the resulting Reputation boost will be more significant than just sticking to an axe-only sequence.

When your multiplier becomes substantial, you have the option to cash in your earned Reputation with that bonus acting as a boost for the upcoming Reputation round. This multiplier mechanism encourages employing diverse combat strategies and utilizing all available resources. Conversely, if you manage to dodge taking damage, your multiplier will remain elevated. Thus, this feature not only motivates strategic gameplay but also rewards players who can keep their health intact. I believe this improvement has proven to be effective.

As a gamer, I’d describe it this way: In contrast to Souls games, Flintlock doesn’t follow the usual formula of numerical levels and inherent stats that can be upgraded on command. Instead, the majority of the game’s figures stem from the gear you acquire and enhance with resources. Unlike many modern titles, there isn’t a stamina gauge in Flintlock, which means I can attack repeatedly without worrying about letting my stamina recharge. Consequently, Flintlock boasts a quicker tempo since I don’t have to pause between assaults to wait for stamina regeneration.

The part of Flintlock that I consider most effective is the enjoyable experience it provides during melee combat. The well-designed animations, smooth camera movements, and authentic sound effects when your axe connects with a target are gratifying. The sensation of weight and the prompt controls add to the realism. Parrying plays a crucial role in the combat system, and fortunately, the generous window for successful parries makes it manageable. Additionally, you can fire your flintlock pistol between melee attacks, which can be extremely beneficial for surprising enemies before delivering a lethal axe combination.

You not only manage Nor’s actions and skills, but you also influence Enki, your cunning fox companion. Although Enki doesn’t inflict harm directly, he imposes detrimental effects on adversaries through curses. These curses weaken the resistance of enemies by reducing their armor strength or attack potency. Additionally, applying curses accumulates a ‘critical hit’ meter. When this meter is full, Nor can unleash an animated, dramatic assault that either deals substantial damage or removes the armor from heavily armored opponents.

The combat in the game is enjoyable, but I was left feeling underwhelmed by the enemy diversity and the overall design of the game world. Neither component is bad, but they don’t stand out in any remarkable way. Most enemies you encounter are humanoid and can be defeated using similar tactics in battle. Even some of the boss battles seem like regular humanoid enemies with larger health pools. While there are monstrous creatures like giant scorpions and large spiders (a warning for arachnophobes), they are few and far between. Enemy behavior is also quite predictable and unrealistic at times. It’s oddly entertaining to shoot down an enemy from a distance, yet the one next to him remains unfazed by his friend’s demise.

In simpler terms, Flintlock doesn’t have an open-world design, but rather two distinct areas. You’ll primarily travel between these zones in a linear fashion, with occasional detours. A key exploration method involves using Enki’s portal-like ability, which can be thought of as magical shortcuts or slingshots scattered throughout the world, allowing you to traverse steep cliffs or chasms. The second area is more complex than the first, featuring increased vertical challenges.

In this game, there are extra missions besides the main storyline, yet most of them seemed commonplace and unmemorable to me. However, one sidequest distinguishes itself by transporting you to a unique area on the map. The rest, unfortunately, lack depth and leave me struggling to find words to describe them, reflecting perhaps their limited impact.

One aspect of Flintlock’s design leaves me perplexed, making me question if I fully grasp its mechanics. You can enhance Nor’s weapons and accessories by investing material resources discovered in the game world. These resources include items like her axe and pistol. However, these materials are scarce and cannot be endlessly obtained. Consequently, choosing how to allocate your limited resources becomes a critical decision. I presume this restriction was implemented to encourage exploration and make discovering a wooden pile worthwhile.

In Flintlock, as you progress through the game, enhancing weapons becomes increasingly costly. You’ll come across various axes and pistols, each with unique combat attributes. However, due to limited resources, you must carefully decide which weapon to invest in, as you won’t have enough materials for more than one. Spending resources on a weapon that turns out to be less effective is essentially a lost investment. The game advises experimenting with different equipment in its tip menus if you’re having trouble, but the design appears to discourage this. In essence, you must commit to a weapon and hope it suits your playstyle before making the investment. It would be helpful if Reputation could be used to purchase materials, although at a higher cost.

Although I’ve devoted two paragraphs to analyzing this component of the material design, I don’t believe it significantly harms the game as a whole. The game itself may not provide sufficient challenge or length for this issue to have a major impact. However, I find this design choice puzzling and there’s potential for improvement in future updates or patches if the developers see fit.

In Flintlock, the settings vary from lush forested areas to barren deserts, murky swamps, and pre-industrial urban landscapes, all visually appealing. Yet, I’ve found that the character designs and facial expressions don’t quite resonate with me. Instead, they inhabit the uncanny valley – they come close to photorealism but still exhibit subtle imperfections that make them seem unsettlingly unreal.

I’ve held off discussing the game’s story in this review as I found it challenging to put into words. The majority of the narrative unfolds through dialogues between Nor and Enki instead of being presented visually to the player. Like many games in its genre, intriguing snippets of world background can be discovered by examining various items scattered around the game world.

Despite my best efforts, I found it hard to become invested in Nor’s predicament or Enki’s role in the story, let alone the overall significance of the game. The narrative didn’t quite resonate with me because it seemed disconnected from the actual gameplay experience. Enki frequently appeared as a source of exposition, explaining the world’s events to Nor and providing him with opponents to fight. However, these interactions felt forced rather than natural, often serving no greater purpose than advancing the plot.

Flintlock seems perfectly suited for renting due to its compact length, estimated to be between 15 and 20 hours or even less if you focus on the main storyline. It could make a great addition to Xbox Game Pass at launch since subscribers and those new to the genre can try it out without financial risk. Moreover, Flintlock is not a high-priced game, with its standard retail cost being approximately $40.

The Siege of Dawn offers engaging combat, but its story fails to leave a lasting impact. The fights are fun, yet enemy types aren’t very diverse. Quests follow familiar patterns, and the tale told is easily forgotten.

7

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2024-07-18 08:26