Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn – The Verdict

by Infinite Umbra

When we first got a glimpse of Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn two years ago (time flies!) I placed this game in my top 3 games shown during Xbox’s showcase. Fast forward to July of 2024, it has now dropped in Game Pass and reviewers have their hands on it leaving a mixed reception. I played the demo for this game on Steam and wasn’t initially wowed but didn’t want to write it off prematurely, so I decided to dive deeper into the game upon release to properly speak on it. I am by no means a professional reviewer, but these are my honest views of this game.

As we start our journey, we’re introduced to the main protagonist Nor Vanek, a so-called Sapper and member of a military outfit whose mission is to save mankind from the undead and the unleashed elder gods. To stave off annihilation we’re equipped with various flintlock firearms and various sharp weapons such as axes or blunt weapons like sledgehammers. In the vein of the beloved Souls style of gameplay, Nor can parry, deflect or dodge incoming enemy attacks even interrupting the un-blockable variety with a well-timed shot from her flintlock pistol.

In attacking enemies, you will fill up their armor bar stunning them, which makes them susceptible to a decently animated attack that usually kills the basic enemies or weakens a boss. We’re also paired with an eloquent speaking fox named Enki, who we can also use to knockdown, disrupt and stun enemies at the press of a button spreading his death curse on the enemy, culminating in a more powerful attack we build as we attack and defeat enemies.

Flintlock is a semi-open world adventure with three distinct regions that offer different levels of verticality and platforming with the help of Enki and his magic to shift us through portals called Rifts. Traveling the roads of these regions you’ll come across hamlets under duress and burning that we can liberate by killing the enemies and its mini boss which will be inhabited by the former community including what the game calls a Coffee Shop. Speaking to the host of the shop will most often unlock side quests, grant you more health potions and at times new weapons or armor. Exploring the world, you’ll eventually meet some old friends who will join your fight, showing up at a roving base-like hub where we can rest to heal and replenish potions and ammo as well as upgrade our weapons and armor.

I want to be clear that this game is not without its flaws and jank so I wouldn’t fault anyone who will be put off by it initially. Flintlock, a game made by A44 (the creators behind 2019’s Ashen) is a not-so-soulslike-soulslite in actuality, much closer to an actioner like God of War than any Souls game though it has some clear inspiration from the latter. The combat will at first likely frustrate you as it’s limited when we begin this tale, which in my view makes it feel shallow.

Part of the jank I mentioned above comes in the form of at times poor hit boxes that will have you missing enemies you will no doubt feel you should’ve hit as well as an odd i-frame (short for “invincibility frame”) system which will have you being hit despite you likely feeling you dodged or rolled out of the way on time. In my experience, the more you play and build on the skills and magic Nor and her partner in arms in Enki have at their disposal the better the combat starts to feel. The only way to improve on said skills is to spend the game’s currency in the form of Reputation, which not only funds the skills but upgrades for weaponry, bombs and armor you can equip Nor with.

The game features a risk/reward system that allows you to build on the Reputation earned in battle with multipliers and stack them up until you earn a hefty sum, or bank them at your leisure. The risk being that if you don’t bank them and get hit you lose all of it, which I can tell you from experience is frustrating as all hell so be mindful of that.

As an aside, Flintlock also has an oddly poor UI be it playing Sebo (the game’s in-world boardgame that also grants Reputation) in the menus, the map in where when you move the cursor over a fast travel spot or item in Nor’s inventory it doesn’t quite notice it as it’s offset. You have to sort of roam around it, usually above and somewhat off of it and it’ll then notice. Very odd and something that should’ve been addressed before launch in my opinion. Other things I felt could’ve been so much better was the general sound of the game in which it will be weirdly low in certain dialogue or cutscenes when Nor or Enki speak or where you’ll hear NPC’s in the distance fighting but they’ll sound like they’re right next to you. I’ve also had barrel explosions that made no sound. The secondary rifle is also muffled and sounds weak offering weak feedback when you shoot enemies with it. I’m a big fan of great stories and storytelling and part of that in games comes with cutscenes and unfortunately the cutscenes feel a bit too lackluster ultimately. Hell, the ending cutscene was so oddly anticlimactic I was sure I must’ve accidentally interrupted it.

While Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn isn’t revolutionary or a new take in the Action/Adventure RPG genre it is a fun, engaging, at times gorgeous game with flaws that hold it back from being great. The beautiful thing is that this roughly 15-20+ hour game (depending on if you’re a completionist like me) is in Xbox Game Pass as well as can be bought for $40 on various platforms and in my opinion is worth the time if you can stomach the initial frustrations.

I give Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn a …

7.5 out of 10