Flintlock: Is the open-world soulslike a case for the Steam wishlist?

You might know the New Zealand development studio A44 Games from the action role-playing game Ashen, which is graphically idiosyncratic but well rated on the PC. Its course should now from Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn be continued – but without the simple graphic style of the forerunner and with an open high-fantasy game world. Just like Ashen, Flintlock also belongs to the genre of Soulslike games, but doesn’t turn the brightness control down quite as much as the heavyweight Japanese model. According to the trailer, the focus seems to be on the blade and black powder-heavy fights against undead creatures on the one hand, and on exploring the supposedly huge open world on the other. The release of the title is currently not in sight, but it can be on Steam be added to your personal wish list.

Flintlock: Pummeling on the ground and in the air

In Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn, players take control of Nor Vanek, a powerful heroine with an undercut and rasta braids. At her side, the cute companion animal Enki, who could easily have emerged from the love of a fox and a velociraptor, beats her. According to A44, the duo is said to have magical powers, but the trailer largely keeps this to themselves, at least in the context of fights. Thus, opponents such as skeletonized swordsmen and spider-like humanoids are mainly filleted with different blades, or heavily riddled with antiquated guns. In the style of Devil May Cry, the dynamic battles can also sometimes be carried into the air, whereby the said “flight mechanics” (with the help of which Nor shoots towards yellow triangle-shaped targets) also seem to be useful when exploring the withered game world.

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How much space the story will take up in the visually appealing events cannot be said at the moment. The only thing that seems certain is that A44 Games didn’t do any experiments on the storyboard. Because in Flintlock, the gate to the afterlife was opened, allowing the undead army of the “old god” to escape, leaving mortals on the brink of extinction. It’s not just about reclaiming the world, but also about Nor Vanek’s personal vendetta against the gods. It remains to be seen whether such a story can still be exciting in 2022. Chances are, though, that Flintlock will be well entertained in the area of ​​skirmishes as well as exploration. This is exactly where the strengths of the predecessor Ashen, which was released in 2018 for Windows computers, Playstation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, lay. The developers have not yet revealed whether Flintlock will be available for both the PC and common consoles.

Source: Kepler Interactive via Steam