Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn Hands-on Preview – Enjoyable Soulslite Action

Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn, the next game from New Zealand developer Aurora44 (the same studio behind Ashen), finally got its release date announcement during yesterday's Xbox Game Showcase: the game is slated to launch on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S|X on July 18.

With only a month and a week left before the release date, we were able to get our hands on a demo of the game that goes live today on Steam Next Fest. Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn definitely shares quite a few similarities with the studio's previous work, being a Souls-lite action RPG with adventure elements.

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However, the setting is certainly unique. This is a fantasy world where magic and the gods are very much real; in fact, the so-called Gods of the Great Below assault the living world with their armies of undead. This is when the demo and, indeed, the whole game begins.

Protagonist Nor Vanek (played by Olive Gray) is an orphan adopted into the Coalition Army, the defensive force that fights desperately against the invasion of the Gods. She was trained as a Sapper from a young age under the tutelage of Baz, a grizzled war veteran who is essentially her adoptive father. At the very beginning of the game, Baz (played by Elias Toufexis of Deus Ex fame) goes with a couple of squad members on a nearly suicidal mission to try and bomb the gate of the dead once and for all. Nor is initially left behind but quickly joins the group when she learns of their arduous task. A big creature eventually ambushes the party and, in the hectic fight, Nor does something to the gate that actually makes things worse for everyone.

However, shortly afterward, she gains a companion in Enki, a fox-like creature who turns out to be a minor god himself. Enki (played by Alistair Petrie) warns Nor of the dire situation the whole world is in and offers his help in defeating the other gods. Enki's powers include