Summary

• Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn offers a unique blend of melee combat, gunplay, and magic in a semi-open-world setting.
• The game focuses on freedom of movement and exploration with verticality, removing stamina bars for a more accessible experience.
• A44 Games' decision to prioritize content density over a massive map ensures a consistent and engaging 14 to 20-hour campaign.

After some delay, A44 Games' new Soulslite RPG, Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn, has been released, letting players dive into a new fantastical setting with a Steampunk aesthetic and use a blend of melee combat, gunplay, and magic as they fight off mystical creatures and undead forces. The lands of Kian already look like a vibrant and interesting world with its own rich lore that players will likely want to explore more of between battles.

Whether a title in the Soulslite and Soulslike genre is open-world, semi-open-world, or linear is a major point of consideration among players, and this is no different for games like Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn. After all, while Dark Souls has a generally tighter level design, FromSoftware's more recent Elden Ring has an absolutely huge open world map that works across multiple levels and grew even bigger with Shadow of the Erdtree's Shadow Realm.

Flintlock: The Siege Of Dawn Is A Semi-Open-World Title

But A44 Games Has Made It Extremely Accessible

Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn falls somewhere in-between and is a semi-open-world title, and has been described as a "wide linear" game by its developers in an interview with WCCFtech, offering a more focused and content-dense world rather than a gigantic map that could run the risk of being largely empty and a chore to traverse. While players are guided through the main path of the game, there is plenty of side content for players to explore across three different distinct zones, and players can go back and pick up any of the side activities - which are called "Rumors" - at any point.

There is currently no New Game Plus mode in Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn - although this is something that has reportedly been considered - and after beating the final boss of the game, players will be transported to before the final mission to give them the chance to revisit any missed side activities, much like Cyberpunk 2077 did.

Instead, Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn focused on freedom of movement as a major factor for its level design. As part of A44's intent to provide players with a more accessible and easier Soulslike, the studio focused on making exploration fun with plenty of verticality on the map. Unlike other Soulslike games, Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn doesn't have a stamina bar, which makes exploration far more freeing, even in a smaller map, as players can reach new heights using the black powder double jump and double dodge at any time to survey the land and reach new objectives and other activities without cooldowns or resource costs. This freedom of exploration is certainly appreciated as it's worth searching every crevasse in each area, as this is the only way players will be able to unlock everything the game has to offer in of weaponry or armor, despite the main story giving players some items to begin with.

While Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn may not have a massive open-world map, A44's approach to its world certainly works for this game, making 100% completion more achievable around the main 14 to 20-hour campaign (depending on difficulty). While providing enough exploration to dive into its worldbuilding and learn more about its citizens, this decision ensures the game keeps up a consistent pace that doesn't drag too much like other open-world titles can when players find they have very little to do between objectives and are just wandering across empty plains.

Source: WCCFtech