As it becomes increasingly popular, the Soulslike genre continues to pump out new games for players who enjoy a decent challenge, and it doesn’t seem its popularity will wane anytime soon. Developed byindie gamedeveloper A44 Games and published by Kepler Interactive,Flintlock: The Siege of Dawnis an upcoming game soon to be added to the genre’s growing library. However, it is technically classified as a Souls-lite due to its higher accessibility than most Soulslike titles.Flintlockputs players in control of Nor Vanek, an elite member of a Coalition army formed to save humanity from extinction, as the Door to the Great Below has been opened and granted the Gods and their armies of the Dead free rein over the lands of Kian.
Based on our brief time with the game,Flintlock: The Siege of Dawnis aunique Souls-lite game, combining diverse features and mechanics from games even beyond the Soulslike genre for a set-apart experience. While it’s fairly easy to pick up onFlintlock’s many influences, that doesn’t stop it from offering features that most other traditional Soulslike titles can’t without risking unfaithfulness to the well-established formula.Flintlock’s combat and traversal mechanics already appear to be its bread and butter, and it is within these bounds it takes liberties to craft an experience unfamiliar to the genre it claims.
Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn’s Story
Soulslike games likeElden RingandDark Soulsare generally very lore-heavy, with an extensive and often surprising amount of history behind each game’s many characters and locations. There’s a chanceFlintlock: The Siege of Dawncould be similar in that respect, as there are bits and pieces of lore scattered here and there that seem to indicate a much larger world than the preview let on. Still, there is a story to write home about here, although only a small portion of it is revealed during the preview.
InFlintlock: The Siege of Dawn’s story, the Door to the Great Below has been opened, unleashing the horrors behind it to wreak havoc upon the lands of Kian. Players are one of the Coalition’s elite members, Nor Vanek, who has been sent to the Door to repel the Dead bursting out of it. Unfortunately, something goes wrong and Nor is separated from her group, only to be greeted by a mysterious fox-like creature named Enki, who is also a god. From there, Enki acts as a guide for Nor and partners with her to stop Uru, a god who plans to bring an end to humanity and the world as they know it. It’s a familiarvideo game trope, but it effectively moves things forward and gives Nor and Enki purpose.
Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn’s Gameplay
Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn’s Combat Is God of War Meets Dark Souls
Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn’s gameplay is unique because it borrows features from both Soulslike and non-Soulslike games for an original experience.Flintlock’s combat is the height of its action, but fans of traditionalSoulslike combatwill find it to be a bit of an adjustment. Specifically,Flintlock’s combat feels likeGod of Warin a lot of ways, albeit a slower, moreDark Souls-combatGod of War. The best way to describe it is as a dance, as players will spend the majority of their time in combat combining appropriately timed pistol shots, parries, dodges, and melee attacks. As its name suggests, the star ofFlintlock’s combat is Nor’s Flintlock pistol.
The Flintlock pistol inFlintlock: The Siege of Dawnis not used for damaging enemies as much as it is for interrupting attacks, which makes this particular Soulslike highly distinct from others. It almost feels likeBloodbornein this regard, but not quite the same either. Players will find attempting to take out an enemy from range with the pistol to be an unsuccessful venture, as it doesn’t deal much damage. Instead, enemies will occasionally attack players with an attack that cannot be parried with Nor’s melee weapon but can be interrupted with her pistol. When an enemy is interrupted in this way, they are briefly stunned and left vulnerable to attack. Despite the pistol’s inability to deal with enemies from range, players will unlock more ranged weapons as they progress, which will even allow them to perform critical headshots on enemies.
Flintlockalso has aparry system likeGod of War, in which players can perform perfect parries and then follow up with a counter-attack to inflict even greater damage than a normal attack. Armored enemies inFlintlock, who are resistant to damage, can have their armor broken once players perform a perfect parry counter-attack on them, adding an entirely new layer of challenge to combat.
Once players meet up with Enki shortly afterFlintlock’s prologue, they’ll gain access to a new magical combat system that they can use against enemies. The system in question is called “priming,” in which players can build up an enemy’s priming gauge by commanding Enki to attack them. Once their priming gauge is full, players can inflict a powerful critical attack on them. Additionally, commanding Enki to attack an enemy inflicts them with the “curse of death,” which then allows regular melee attacks to fill the priming gauge.
Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn’s Traversal Mechanics Mirror Forspoken
Flintlockcould also be justifiably compared toForspoken, at least when it comes to its traversal mechanics. Nor ends up paired with Enki, a magical being who can speak to her in her head, much likeForspoken’s Cuff. He also provides her with magical traversal abilities like Cuff does Frey inForspoken, andFlintlock’s traversal mechanics haveForspokenwritten all over them.
With Enki, players can fly through Rifts in the air using Rift Travel, which acts as a method for quickly getting from one location to another or for reaching otherwise inaccessible places. Players have special platforming skills provided by Enki, allowing them to double-jump either vertically or horizontally. Enki’s powers also help Nor evade attacks much easier by allowing her to utilize special dodges. This emphasis on traversal is nottraditional for a Soulslike, so it helpsFlintlockstand out in the crowd.
Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn’s Progression System Is Dark Souls With an Upgrade
Flintlock: The Siege of Dawnutilizes standardSoulslike progressionbut with a twist. As players defeat enemies, they gainFlintlock’s version of Souls, Reputation, which can then be used at camps to unlock skills and upgrade weapons. Players can also use Reputation to purchase new clothing for Nor, although it is purely cosmetic. Despite following the traditional rules of Soulslike progression,Flintlockadds a multiplier to Reputation earnings. With it, players can gain increased Reputation as they defeat enemies, but the multiplier will reset once they are hit.
As per usual withSoulslike games, players will drop any Reputation they’ve acquired upon being defeated and must retrieve it before being defeated again. The main appeal of gaining Reputation is to unlock more melee, range, and magic skills when visiting a camp or one of the game’s fast-travel points, a Lodestone.
Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn’s Exploration Combines Elden Ring With Far Cry
Flintlock: The Siege of Dawnhas plenty of worthwhile exploration opportunities, encouraging players to veer off the beaten path from time to time without ever directly leading them there. It’s surprising to see what initially seems to be a fruitless venture turn into an entirely new explorable area, and it is here thatFlintlock’sElden RingandFar Cryinfluences come out to play. Much like inElden Ring’s open world, players can find plenty of secrets behind every corner and are rarely driven to these areas by the game itself. Instead, most of what players will find inFlintlockwill be because of their curiosity leading them there.
As players progress throughFlintlock’s open-world areas, they will discover Hamlets, which function similarly toFar Cry’s enemy outposts. InFlintlock, these Hamlets have been taken over by the enemy and must be liberated by defeating a leader. Once the leader is defeated, villagers return to the Hamlet and players can utilize its newly-opened Coffee Shop to purchase new outfits for Nor, rest, and pick up side quests.
Despite taking some familiar features from plenty of other games,Flintlock: The Siege of Dawnis already shaping up to be a unique and original experience for fans of many different genres. Combining elements ofGod of War,Elden Ring,Forspoken, and evenFar Cry,Flintlock: The Siege of Dawnappears to have a lot more in store beyond the opening hours of the game.
Flintlock: The Siege of Dawnreleases on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S on July 31, 2025.
