Comparing games against each other is the most natural thing in the world but also unfair, especially before release. Especially when a new game is announced, the phrase is like xxx is a handy abbreviation to give potentially interested parties a quick idea of ​​the gameplay and atmosphere. At the same time, however, this also raises certain expectations that the finished game may later disappoint.

So the following description of Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn, please don't weigh it too heavily. First, we haven't played the awesome new open-world role-playing game from the Ashen makers; we just watched it, and secondly, comparisons are sometimes brutally unfair.

Doom Eternal ?! Yes, Doom Eternal. But what we've seen so far and what developer A44 told us about his game in an interview sounds damn like a mix of the open world of Elden Ring (but with more story), the fluid battles of Batman: Arkham City ( but more challenging), a bit of The Witcher 3 and a touch of…

The nice thing about Flintlock: So far, everything looks like the action-heavy role-playing game can stand on its own two feet apart from these templates.

In our big plus preview, I'll tell you why I'm very optimistic that the open-world title could be one of the biggest positive surprises of the gaming year 2023!

Storytelling is frowned upon by From Software.
Dark Souls (insert comparison here) has a problem. Suppose you like good stories while gaming. It would help if you found them yourself in From Software's masterpieces. If that frustrates you, Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn might be for you. Because in terms of storytelling, A44 is more based on The Witcher.

The story begins with heroine Nor Vanek preparing an attack on the city of Dawn as part of the coalition human army. The undead has handled the walls there ever since the gods rose from the afterlife and left the gates open for the souls of the dead. Now those evil gods and their undead spawn are terrorizing the land; the nightmare will end only when the gates to the underworld are closed again in Dawn.

A44 relies on classic storytelling with cutscenes and multiple-choice dialogues in which you get to know the other members of your fighting force. Then you immediately lose some of them because the attack on Dawn fails terribly, and one of the gods kills part of the troop. Nor swears revenge and subsequently has a personal reason for chasing the supernatural beings out of her world.

The warrior is assisted by the mysterious being Enki, a kind of flying fox that can also teleport over short distances. Enki can talk, and after the prologue, he will accompany you for the rest of the game. But his true motives remain obscure. Again and again, the heroine and sidekick should have automatic conversations while you travel through the world in search of the power to conquer the gods.

The world has become big and open.
The game covers three large continents. Similar to GTA, these are gradually unlocked. This world is Flintlock's big selling point and has so far been sold well below the value in the trailers. However, it's not a bridge under construction that blocks your way up to a certain point in the story, and you have to find a ship that will take you across the sea.

Initially, your freedom of movement is mainly restricted by the fact that Nor first has to diligently knock down enemies and collect experience points to unlock new skills. Some of these are also tied to plot progressions, such as the double jump or double dodge roll and the ability to trigger a black powder explosion in mid-air to catapult Nor even higher or sideways. Similar to a Metroidvania, this gradually opens up more possibilities to get to places that previously seemed inaccessible.

Little Helper Enki is beneficial for getting around quickly, as the creature can teleport Hero Nor a short distance when golden triangles are floating around in the air. You unlock these anchor points by finding certain bones in the game world - this is how a highway should gradually be created, a close-meshed network of teleportation points until, according to A44 Managing Director and Creative Director Derek Bradley, you can fly halfway across the continent without to touch the ground once.

In first playtests with an early version of the game, testers were already able to exploit this to advance into restricted regions, for example, by dropping from the top of a mountain fortress and absorbing the impact with the teleporter triangles below. Artificial borders? If there are only a few, Bradley says: The world of Flintlock is very open, while Ashen was much more linear.

Side tasks, optional activities, and mini-games should ensure that you always have something to do, not to mention hidden treasures and secret (boss) enemies. CEO Bradley even describes the open world as more prosperous than the main story regarding variety and playtime. Among other things, it is necessary to smoke out bandit camps. There's also a deck of cards, which Bradley describes as Gwent, but not like it.

Just like in The Witcher 3, you can challenge NPCs to a game and bet on the outcome to earn a buck on the side. Furthermore, there are particularly well-fortified forts where a death cult holds hideous rituals. According to the developer, cracking these camps requires a real strategy and has its side to the story.

How you become aware of these forts represents how Flintlock presents its open world: instead of finding an icon on the map, players will see a column of smoke on the horizon that will tell them the camp's location.

Why are you doing all this except for experience points and loot? To increase your influence, which is the virtual currency in Flintlock. Your influence level determines how much the world's inhabitants respect you - and you can use it profitably in your settlement. You get power when you climb the highest mountain in the mountains and when you unwind a particularly fancy combo in battle or complete a quest.

The Caravan moves on
Ashen has probably only been played by a few, even if it is included in the PC Game Pass - just like Flintlock will be released. So let's take a quick look at one of the most excellent mechanics in action RPGs: the settlement.

During the adventure, you will regularly return to your camp, which will continue to expand and expand over time. At some point, it's a small town where artisans are busy building and opening new shops. According to Derek Bradley, this was an atmospheric highlight for many Ashen players, which is why the developers are taking the mechanics in Flintlock but adding a twist.

Because this time your camp travels with you. Heroine Nor summons her Caravan at the push of a button at fireplaces, which also serve as save and reset points traditionally, as in Dark Souls. After the camera fades, you'll find all your mobile city's wagons, horses, and merchants.

New NPCs will appear over time. Many you can talk to, they have quests for you, and you can exchange earned Influence Points for supplies from army stocks. But the Caravan is not only practical, similar to Red Dead Redemption 2 (five euros in the comparison piggy bank!) You get to know the characters traveling with you better and better. They go about their work or talk to each other.

Sweet detail: At the beginning, you are only accompanied by a walking minstrel who can play the guitar reasonably well. In the end, the guy is an absolute rock star. I had enough time to practice. The Caravan gives players the feeling of a city that grows and is built by the residents, but this time we don't have to travel back to it every time, explains Creative Director Bradley.

Stylish fights
Constantly commuting back to a central location would probably not go well with the flow of the game because, in addition to exploration, it should mainly consist of gripping battles against computer opponents. But watching the scenes reminds us of a completely different series: Batman Arkham. Here Derek Bradley himself draws a comparison to Dark Souls in terms of the demands and complexity of the battles.

There's one big thing that makes it feel like Arkham, says Derek Bradley when we question him about our impression. Nor's animations, their movements have so many nuances, they almost seem scripted at times. Nor smashes an ax over someone's skull, leaps into the air, grabs her pistol, and puts a shot in the face of another opponent - it looks close to perfection, and it's something our animation team is very proud of.

Incidentally, to ensure that every movement fits, the developers have decided to let you play a ready-made character in Flintlock instead of allowing free character creation. For the same reason, you will only ever use axes as your primary weapon throughout the game, not swords or spears. However, there is more variety with Nor's secondary weapon, a gunpowder-powered shotgun, pistol, or cannon.

The battles in the first videos look extremely fluid; you can chain ax moves, dodge rolls, skidding over the ground, jump and use gunpowder weapons as you like. Then it's a matter of unwinding clever combos and finding your rhythm. Flintlock seems to send you into battle against several opponents at the same time.

But that's never going to be as easy as it is in the Batman games. Bradley explains: In Batman, you can press buttons more or less randomly, and the character does things. You can't do that in Flintlock.« The battles have a steeper learning curve, and Dark Souls is the template. Dying is, if not the rule, an everyday occurrence. After nipping, you'll need to return to Nor's corpse and pick up the dropped influence, which should also look familiar.

But: Unlike the games from From Software, there are several levels of difficulty to choose from, including a story mode for those who want to be challenged as little as possible. In addition, as with Elden Ring, the open-world cushions the degree of hardness says Bradley: You don't have to bite your teeth on one boss. Just go to another place and level up a bit. There should also be a more complex model for all hardcore players than Dark Souls.

Regarding combat, Creative Director Bradley comes up with a comparison that surprises us: Flintlock has a similar system to Doom Eternal in terms of armor point and ammo recovery. Enemies defeated with the ax drop pistol bullets, and ax kills recharge Nor's shield. But the whole thing shouldn't be nearly as essential as in Doom, where you must constantly unwind special finishers to fill up the small supply of armor, life, and ammunition.

Role-playing game or action-adventure?
A44 calls Flintlock itself an action role-playing game, but the boundaries in this genre have long been fluid. Much of the game is reminiscent of the most recent God of War or Assassin's Creed. However, the last series, in particular, has meanwhile changed significantly in the direction of role-playing games.

One thing is clear: In Flintlock, there is a three-part talent tree, and you rise in level. You either invest your skill points in expanding your black powder skills, then you can explode things and take enemies under fire from a medium distance at high speed. The developers compare this build to the third-person shooter Vanquish's rate.

Or you can focus on Nor's Axe, which is perfect for all Soulslike fans. Here you can upgrade parries and counterattacks and give Nor more armor, emphasizing the rhythmic wait-block-or-dodge-slam gameplay.

And then there's Enki, the flying fox, which you expand with skill tree three. Then it becomes a powerful magician companion that no longer paralyzes individual opponents but simultaneously puts several out of action. In addition, Enki can transform the heroine into a potent Behemoth form for a short time, which you can use to clean up the battlefield.

Important: Regardless of specialization, you can and should continue to use all of Nor's abilities in their base forms. If only because the combination looks so chic. We wanted to create a system where people could play however they want, says Derek Bradley. If that succeeds, Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn could be one of the most exciting open-world projects of the following year.