Gods and Guns—Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn Stakes Its Territory

Old-school weaponry goes up against ancient deities in this beautifully imagined open-world RPG adventure from New Zealand-based studio A44 Games. Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn takes you to the lands of Kian, where years ago the door to the “Great Below” opened, and the gods of this nether world and their legions of undead poured through. You play as Nor Vanek, an elite member of the coalition army of Kian who has suffered terrible loss and is fixated on vengeance. Your task—and you are very willing to accept it—is to cut a swathe through the supernatural hordes with an ax, a flintlock pistol, and some magic. Joining you on your quest is the mysterious fox-like Enki, a wise and very well-informed guide. We caught up with Simon Dasan, creative director of Flintlock, and Hayden Asplet, technical director on the title, who offered to guide us through the realm of Kian, at least until Enki could take over. Here’s what they told us.

Soul to Soul

A44’s first title was 2018’s Ashen, a soulslike RPG about a world brought back into the light after decades of darkness. Ashen was widely acclaimed and drew calls for a sequel, but the team at A44 decided to forge a slightly different path, and made Flintlock their next project. “Flintlock builds on our experience with Ashen. While it retains elements of the souls genre, it infuses it with rapid mobility, creating a rhythmic combat dance reminiscent of more action-oriented gameplay styles. You can weave in flintlock weapons, ax combat, and magic to chain combos together, while using jumps and dodge abilities to quickly get to safety. You’ve also got your formidable companion, Enki, who can aid you in combat in various ways, be it offensively or defensively. We like to call this style of gameplay ‘Soulslite’.”

The design echoes this experimentation, with inspiration coming from across the globe, and across time. “Fashion souls”, or outfit-conscious players, are going to have a field day with the post-apocalyptic frock coat and epaulets aesthetic. The game looks good, the characters look good, and it feels good to play. “One of the things we love to do is take very different reference points and smash them together to create a wholly unique experience,” the team reports. “Visually we took inspiration from Mesopotamia, ancient Egypt, and even our home country of New Zealand—all combined with the Flintlock fantasy wrapper with Napoleonic style armies going up against timeless, ancient gods. Gameplay wise, we’ve learned a lot from Ashen, but [we] also looked towards games like Bloodborne, and Sekiro, and fused [this influence] with action RPG gameplay with awesome finishing moves.”

What to Expect from the Unexpected

We asked Dasan and Asplet what players have to look forward to, and they managed to narrow it down for us. “We really pushed ourselves with the story and cinematic experiences with Flintlock. The relationship between Nor and Enki, Enki and the other Gods, Nor and her sapper comrades … the world of Kian is deep and meaningful. On the other side players can expect fluid, fast combat where you can play up close and personal, from range, and of course unleashing epic glory kills or god magic upon your foes.”

The relationship between Nor and the enigmatic Enki is at the heart of the story, but they don’t always travel alone. Flintlock utilizes what the team calls the Caravan system. You find and recruit “sappers” (the name originally given to soldiers that dug trenches or undermined fortifications) who accompany you through the game, via the Caravan system. “As you progress through the game you’ll find and reunite your band of Sappers, and as you do that your Caravan will grow. As your Caravan site grows, you’ll be able to upgrade your gear, undertake special quests, and learn more about your comrades.”

Perfect Timing

Where does Intel come into all this? We’ll let the A44 team explain: “Flintlock’s combat system is all about timing and rhythm. High PC performance allows players to engage with that gameplay in the smoothest possible way. Enabling Nor and Enki to chain abilities together in quick succession, weaving them in to strike at critical moments. The best way to play the game is to strike a balance between frame-rate and fidelity; this is where Intel^Ⓡ X^e Super Sampling (X^eSS) shined for us. Working with Intel, we integrated X^eSS into Flintlock, which was essential to providing users an excellent AI-enhanced upscaling method that would work across a wide array of hardware. This enables these players to boost the fidelity and frame-rate performance of the game significantly.”  

They’re at the Door

The undead legions are massing in the Great Below; make sure your powder is dry and your ax sharp because the wait is nearly over—Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn is out on July 18th. But what are the team most looking forward to? “We can’t wait to see what types of builds players will come up with in their quest against the gods. Whether it be gunpowder, melee, or magic, Flintlock is built for player choice. We can’t wait to see everyone dive in and experience the world of Kian!”

Find Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn on Steam