Flintlock: Yes, I want to travel the country with a cute magical fox, but…

Do you know why I liked The Last Guardian so much? Sure, the world was nice, the graphics were nice, and the puzzles weren’t too easy, but not hard enough to break the flow. However, I was most enthusiastic about this cuddly hybrid between dog and bird, which followed me everywhere. I would like something like that in real life too. And hey, I always made an extra effort for the super cute fur and feather companion. Not that he has to give me a disappointed dog look…

The fox makes everything better

Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn had a similar feel in the trailer. Foxes are already my favorite animals anyway, so I can’t help but be happy about a new cute animal companion. Of course, the developers also know that they squeeze the dopamine gland in gamers like me and at the end of their trailer they show the squeaking fox curling up next to the protagonist. In my head it was like, “Aaaaaw, how cute! I have to have it!” The trailer did its job.

With his oversized ears he reminds me of a fenneck – a desert fox that makes itself comfortable in North Africa. Luckily it’s not black in the real world (would be unbearable given the heat in the Sahara), but rather beige. Well, and he doesn’t have little croissants either. And fly? This is what Fenneck dreams of at night too.

The contrast between ax and magic

The flintlock fox is kinda from this world – but kinda not. This concept runs throughout the game. At least that’s what the trailer suggests, because you fight with axes, swords and firearms, but also with magic and can apparently even move through the air with the help of the fox. Why choose one when you can have both? So there is potential for a versatile combat system.

The world doesn’t seem that far away from ours either. And yet there are old gods and adversaries and adversaries here that you certainly won’t encounter on planet earth. But you obviously have to raise your arms against ordinary people too. All these worldly components make the game world more tangible for me and could make it feel immersive – or exactly the opposite.

The mix between a blunt ax fight and magical flight with my fox companion leaving a trail of glittering feathers in its wake might also seem a little incoherent. After all, for whatever reason, you’re relying on a small piece of metal when you could cast a spell. Maybe our powers are limited and we resort to simple weapons when charging up our mana? Or does the resistance want to prove that they can also use their human weapons against the gods?

I’m hooked, but the animations need improvement

With a single trailer it is not yet possible to say how and whether my logic gap will be filled here. Basically, I like the concept of the game quite a bit and I’m really looking forward to the first real gameplay trailer. Because even though I’ve fallen in love with the fox a little bit, the fights don’t seem that impressive.

The animations in the trailer were pretty clunky. In order for it to be really fun to take to the skies with the fox, to stir up groups of opponents with a powerful impact and to ram the sword into the mighty gods with great force, there still needs to be improved. The fox can’t remain the only selling point, even if it’s a pretty good one.