Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn was announced back in 2022 and looked like a solid “Soulslike” title. The game features a female protagonist and the combat seemed satisfying but does it actually stand up to the other greats in its genre? The answer to that has a bit of nuance to it.



In Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn players will take on the role of Nor Vanek, a “Sapper”. The game kicks off with soldiers with rifles facing down a horde of undead pouring through some sort of unholy rift or gateway. Without explaining too much, the game thrusts you into the heat of battle where Nor sets off to find her colleagues heading towards the rift. After a melodramatic intro sequence, you’ll find your pals and press onward until you reach your destination - A wall that needs to be blown up.



Once at the wall, a Sphinx-like monster comes forth and things escalate to a point where Nor gets thrown into a river by an explosion. When she eventually awakens she encounters a lesser God named Enki who becomes your new companion. If you’ve played God of War (2018), think of Atreus and Kratos. That’s the dynamic that the developers clearly aimed for and the similarity shows through within the first few hours of the game quite well.

The story of Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn is quite convoluted and is based around Nor seeking revenge on the Gods. Enki serves as your companion and assists you throughout the game while also having some banter with Nor that further explains things as you progress. Honestly, the story of Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn takes a backseat to the action with tidbits of information being fed to you slowly as you progress. Don’t expect mind-blowingly amazing writing here though.



When it comes to the gameplay, Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn is an eclectic mixture of visceral hack and slash combat blended with almost rhythmic dodging and parrying. If you’ve played Sekiro or Nioh, you’ll feel right at home with Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn. Players will have to time their attacks against enemies and dodge their unblockable attacks or parry them with their firearm. As you gain reputation points in the game, you’ll be able to unlock new skills and abilities from three different playstyles.

When it comes to the gameplay, Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn is an eclectic mixture of visceral hack and slash combat blended with almost rhythmic dodging and parrying.

Players can upgrade their “Powder”, “Magic”, or “Steel” proficiency which corresponds to their firearm usage, Enki’s attacks and melee abilities. Gaining reputation works in a similar manner to standard Soulslike games. Defeat enemies, earn reputation and spend reputation on upgrades. Die and you’ll lose your reputation and you’ll have to visit the site of your death to retrieve lost reputation. Yes it’s formulaic but it’s a formula that fans of the genre are used to by now.



The combat in Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn is quite fast-paced and feels incredibly satisfying when Nor pulls off powerful counterattacks and finishers on enemies. The game also complicates things a bit with an armour system on some enemies which needs to be broken first before you can deal more damage to them. This usually involves Nor ripping off their helmets or pulling away their shields. It feels great in action and also makes you use Enki in battles a lot more since he actively contributes to a stagger gauge that needs to be filled.

One annoying aspect that Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn has lies with the fact that when you rest at a camp or a “Lodestone”, you have to actively select the rest option and view a loading screen before it resets the region you’re in. If you want to farm enemies in a specific area for reputation, this becomes extremely annoying to sit through multiple times and becomes incredibly repetitive.



Graphically Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn looks beautiful. Unreal Engine’s capabilities show through quite a bit here with gorgeous scenery and character designs. The soundtrack of the game is less appealing with music that doesn’t particularly stand out. The voice acting in the game is also extremely hit or miss with some lines sounding believable and well done and others sounding uninspiring and out of place.

The soundtrack of the game is less appealing with music that doesn’t particularly stand out.

Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn’s main redeeming factors lie with its fun gameplay. The game introduces a system whereby Nor can use Enki’s power to quickly fly between rifts and this is extremely fun to use when traversing areas. There’s also a layer of verticality to the game with Nor being able to jump and boost herself upwards or forwards using her black powder charges. There’s also a mechanic that’s reminiscent of the Sniper Elite series where Nor can use her rifle to take long range shots at enemies which triggers a slow motion bullet time sequence. This is very satisfying to use in battles and feels great to see every time it triggers.



Earning reputation points in the game also has a twist with the developers encouraging you to mix up your playstyle for additional points. For example, if you combo your melee attacks with your rifle or musket and slide away from an enemy, you’ll rack up a percentage-based multiplier which you can then cash out to boost the reputation earned. Take damage and you lose your bonus multiplier. Choosing the right time to cash out your bonus reputation can get you quite a hefty sum of points which can then be spent on upgrading Nor or Enki further. The game’s difficulty on the normal setting felt just right but players who want an easier time can opt for the lowest difficulty to breeze through the game for the story.

Overall, Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn is a strangely compelling soulslike. The game itself is quite linear with an “open-world” that’s not truly as open as it makes itself out to be. You can explore regions but for the most part, you’re on a set path towards a goal and all the standard soulslike features are present here. Bonfire-like checkpoints? Check. Tough enemies? Check. Confusing lore? Check. The difference is, Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn is quite janky but very accessible to newcomers to the genre.



From the character animations to the way specific things play out in the game, you can immediately tell that this is not a AAA game. That doesn’t stop it from being fun and enjoyable though. If you go into this title expecting a watered-down soulslike experience, that’s exactly what you’re going to get. It’s by no means an Elden Ring or a Dark Souls but it’s still a fun third-person adventure that’s worth checking out. Doubly so if you have a higher tolerance for janky, rough around the edges types of games. If you’re new to the genre, you’ll most likely enjoy this game.