At gamescom 2022, numerous new games were presented and exclusive first insights into the upcoming titles were given. MeinMMO editor Benedict Grothaus was able to see Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn in gameplay and sees it as the ideal game for anyone who needs new content after Elden Ring.
What is Flintlock? At the beginning of 2022, the new action RPG in the Dark Souls style was introduced. In Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn, you play as the soldier Nor Vanek, who tries to protect the remnants of humanity as part of the army.
Because the undead are flooding into the world after the Ancient Gods have returned and opened the gates to the underworld. With axe, pistol, and a cute, magic-endowed companion, you face undead foot soldiers, mini-bosses, and the gods themselves.
When the first gameplay was shown at the Xbox & Bethesda Showcase, I was immediately excited about Flintlock and took a closer look at it again at gamescom 2022.
The developers showed a live walkthrough with several battles and answered some questions I had about the game and the world. We have the latest trailer with gameplay from gamescom here for you:
The gameplay looks promising, the world absolutely crazy
This is what I saw in gameplay: In the short hands-off session, the developers showed me the combat system and the world of Flintlock. From the gameplay perspective, the game strongly resembles the genre-defining Soulsborne games.
With axe and pistol, one of the two developers carves his way through enemies and faces elite opponents and later even one of the ancient gods. He showcases variations of melee and ranged combat, as well as magic and dodge jumps to master the fights.
The setting is more oriented towards the early 19th century, using gunpowder and flintlock pistols as special gameplay elements. However, Flintlock is packed with many fantasy elements and features completely crazy characters, as you might know from Dark Souls.
As an example, the developers show me an undead that consists entirely of hands. Undead engage in the activities they enjoyed in life. These hands are obsessed with offering good coffee and have therefore opened “Coffee Shops,” which serve as fast travel points.
Unfortunately, the story is currently not dubbed in German, but only in English with German subtitles. However, the developers do not want to rule out that a voiced synchronization might come later.
How much “Souls” is in Flintlock? Flintlock features many functions familiar to veterans of the Soulsborne games. Thus, parrying, ambushes, and various attack combos are part of the gameplay.
An interesting twist: Depending on how you attack, you receive different loot from enemies. If you kill them with the pistol, you receive armor. If you kill them with the axe, you receive ammunition. Magic is used for support to weaken or stun enemies.
There will also be a skill system that we have not yet seen live. However, you will be able to build various builds with different focuses such as dark magic, axe and armor, or pistols and explosives.
Flintlock, however, takes an approach that leans more towards adventure and arcade styles. It is possible to jump properly and even necessary. In the shown boss fight, several attacks occurred that could only be avoided with timely jumps.
Travel skills such as double jumps and short flights with your fox are also necessary to discover secret paths. Flintlock mixes several genres here.
A Soulslike “between God of War and Elden Ring”
In response to the question of where the developers see themselves between Dark Souls and Horizon: Zero Dawn, the answer was: “Interesting comparison. We would rather say, in the middle between Elden Ring and God of War.”
The focus of the game is on Nor’s narrative and communication with her environment. The universe should feel alive and grand, the story profound. It feels as if a film and a game have been made at the same time.
What particularly excited me was the language of the gods. This is not just gibberish, but actually a language developed with the help of linguists, according to the developers.
At the same time, Flintlock aims to be a Soulslike at heart and comes with an appropriate challenge – and a controversial feature: difficulty levels. Something that is generally frowned upon in the Souls genre. The chief states:
The community wants to know that they have mastered a game that challenges them. […] The difficulty was that you can’t just introduce difficulty levels to make the game easier. Because the heart of the game is this fine line that you always need to feel. […] If you play in hard mode, then you always have this fine line and get the full Soulslike experience. […] If you play in story mode, then you get the deep story in full.
It should be noted that the entire story should also be easily accessible, without having to dig through countless wiki articles, as is often the case in the original Soulsborne games.
The closeness to Elden Ring is also evident through optional bosses in Flintlock that can be completed in the open world in any order for additional rewards.
Flintlock will be released in early 2023, but without coop
When and where will Flintlock be released? The new action RPG is set to be released in the first quarter of 2023 for PlayStation, Xbox, and PC (Steam and Epic). However, we still do not know how much it will cost.
Is there multiplayer? No. As the developers explained to me, they wanted to focus entirely on the story with Flintlock. There will be neither a coop nor a PvP mode, as one might know from invasions.
However, more games in the universe are planned. The plan is to expand Flintlock with other games. Since Ashen, the studio’s predecessor game, already had a coop mode, it is possible that later titles will support multiplayer.
In the video, we present our highlights from gamescom 2022:
My impression of Flintlock is overwhelmingly positive. Even at the replacement shows of E3 2022, the game was one of my highlights, especially since rarely used settings like the era of flintlock pistols excite me immensely.
Although I generally struggle in Soulslike games, I am looking forward to Flintlock, especially since it could hit my niche with the story mode and the somewhat adventure-like game mechanics. At the same time, the hard mode should be ideal for anyone who is slowly running out of things to do in Elden Ring and waiting for the next Soulslike.
Unfortunately, Flintlock will be a single-player game, but a bit of relaxation without voices in your ear is certainly a pleasant change. And for those who do need coop in their games, The Last Oricru is coming:
New coop secret tip on Steam is coming in 2022 – aiming to mix Gothic and Soulslike.
