Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn

Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn is an excellent start to what could be a very popular franchise for A44 Games. While the narrative is lackluster and borderline dull, the combat, exploration, and art direction are all top-notch and help to make what could have been another Dark Souls imitator stand out from the crowd. There's a lot to love about it, especially for those who've been put off the Soulslike genre and want to finally dip their toes in with an accessible, fun starting point - though veterans of the genre may want to be wary of what could be another Steelrising difficulty level experience.

Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn is an approachable action RPG with satisfying combat but a narrative that unfortunately left little impression on me. While combat itself is enjoyable, battle variety is somewhat lacking, quests feel typical, and the narrative is forgettable.

Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn is a fun little title for fans of Action-RPGs with not much roleplaying to speak of. It’s far from perfect, but with a runtime of 15 to 20 hours, being a pleasant diversion is enough to earn its keep.

A well designed game with satisfying mechanics that is brought down by performance issues and some lack in enemy variety.

Flintlock is an explosive Soulslite that throws lots of weapons your way. The pacing may not be great, but that can be looked over thanks to the gameplay itself.

Flintlock The Siege of Dawn epitomises the 7/10. Sporadic performance snags aside, it’s the ideal summer game – approachable and fun. It’s the sort of thing you’ll play once. Inessential but still worth your time.

Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn is an action-RPG that delivers on most of its promises, along with some solid side content that is well worth indulging in – even if the full game isn't anything particularly remarkable.

It’s still a serviceable enough story to keep you invested until the credits roll though, and while some twists and turns may not be as impactful as you’d like them to be, Flintlock is still definitely worth playing for its combat and focus on exploration. I had a blast, and while it’s not as polished as other soulslikes, it deserves to sit up there with the likes of Nioh and Lies of P as valiant attempts that just fall short of FromSoftware’s masterpieces.

While its general lack of depth may be off-putting to some, there's no denying the worldbuilding around its meager plot or the fun found in its Flintlock fantasy approach to combat.

Flintlock is not the kind of game where you're going to see a ton of build variety. It's a stripped-back action RPG, sprinkling in a few souls-like elements to a broth whose dominant flavor is hyper-mobile combat and traversal that's never too punishing. It has its faults, from failing to expand on a setting that's only interesting on paper to featuring a prohibitive weapon upgrade system and some imprecision in its combat. It might not sit at the forefront of your mind for long after the credits have rolled, but in the moment, Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn is a rip-roaring good time that's likely to appeal to both newcomers and hardened Souls' fans alike. Hopefully more games take some cues from its uncommon approach.

Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn is a sublime semi-open world that champions quality over quantity, but unrefined combat puts a damper on A44's original gunpowder fantasy.

Although far from perfect, Flintlock is an explosively fun experience that beautifully blends the action-adventure and Soulslike genres—all while dabbling with a bit of 3D platforming. It will appeal to those who love going the extra mile to see what hidden items they can find in hard-to-reach nooks and crannies. If you can wade through Flintlock’s performance issues, you’re in for a gorgeous ride.

A Soulslike that flows like water, ends too fast, and is erased from the memory as soon as it ends.

Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn is an enjoyable experience, but may struggle to stick in the memory. There are some interesting ideas at play, but the execution just always leaves a little bit to be desired. While it never perhaps hits the same heights as other titles, it maintains a solid baseline that successfully holds interest for its playtime.

Battles are challenging but never reach the nerve-wrecking tension of a proper FromSoftware title, though boss fights do come close later in the game.

It’s only around 14-20 hours from go to final blow, depending on how frequently you need to repeat boss battles, and that feels about right. Flintlock isn’t a majestic epic in the vein of Elden Ring, and nor did it need to be. This is a nicely streamlined, elegant, and focused Soulslike, with an interesting setting to explore and some excellent, refined combat. This is a tough genre to get right, and the developers, in realising their limitations, have not over-extended themselves. The result is very playable and enjoyable.

Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn doesn't quite do enough to make it stand out in a crowded genre.

A serviceable slice of Soulslike fantasy that doesn’t do enough to stand out from an overcrowded genre.