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* This article is translated from IGN US related content, the original author is Jada Griffin, the translation is Tonkotsu Ramen, and the editor is Kamui Ye. Reproduction without permission is prohibited.

In video games featuring Kratos, Bayonetta, Tiana Branford, and countless other protagonists, killing gods has become a standard plot. In the action-RPG Souls-like game Flintlock: Siege of Dawn, the duo Nol Nol and Enji also join the ranks of god-killers. The plot is familiar, with the protagonists being betrayed by the gods of this world and embarking on a path of revenge in anger.

But even with many elements borrowed from similar games, this game still failed to reach the heights of other works, nor did it create its own characteristics. However, although it is still a breath away from being a masterpiece, the smooth and fast combat of "Flint Gun" still made me have a lot of fun in the 26-hour near-platinum first round.

I didn’t play Ashen, the previous game from developer A44, when it was released in 2018. But after playing it, it quickly became one of my favorite Souls-like games, not least because I could play with friends online to kill giant bosses. Six years later, A44 is back with Flintlock.

The graphics of this game may be completely different from "Ashen", but many similar foundations can be found in the combat, narrative, and even the overall design. Although not completely identical, the common point between the two games is the use of cool finishing moves to make the battle more intense and cinematic. In addition, this game also adds new mechanisms such as experience bonus, which strengthens the high-risk and high-reward experience of soul-like games.

At the beginning of the game, Noelle is a passionate soldier eager to find some undeserved glory. Her partner, Enji, is a lovely and powerful god who has been sealed. He has his own reasons to join Noelle's journey of revenge, and uses his knowledge of gods and magic to help her. At the same time, he is full of curiosity and humility in the face of unknown things, which makes him a highlight of the game's plot.

Unfortunately, Nol's revenge story often devolves into some familiar clichés. Without spoiling anything, I can only say that the cutscenes are not only extremely brief, but also from the perspective of another NPC traveling with them, which gives people a feeling that the story is not fully told. Nol and Enji gradually form a friendship during their adventure, which is nothing new. But their story is at least enjoyable to watch, and I am curious to see how the story will develop if The Flintlock has a sequel.

The game starts with very little background introduction, and then you will join a war against the undead (the dead). However, except for the huge boss at the end of the prologue, the opening of the game did not leave much impression on me, and I was not interested in the background and purpose of this war. Most of the reason is that the NPCs in the scene did not react much to the appearance of the protagonist Noel.

The early game experience of Flintstones is not very good because of the limited combat skills. The combat at this time feels relatively simple, and I am worried that it will not be able to expand into an interesting experience later. Fortunately, the situation improves greatly after you unlock some new weapons and skills. It just takes a little longer than I expected.

In addition to the main characters, you'll be joined by four NPCs at your camp who will provide you with various weapon upgrades - but aside from one quest involving two siblings, none of these characters have a major role. Basically, you'll meet these characters in the opening stages, then they'll disappear, and a few hours into the story, they'll suddenly appear and need your rescue or help.

If they hadn't appeared in the middle of the main quest, I would have probably thought they were dead and never remembered them again. On the other hand, the various NPCs I encountered during the side quests left a deeper impression on me: there were two brothers who ran an arena that I could enter; there was also a... special character who could increase the maximum number of health potions I could carry, provide me with information, and unlock new costumes after I liberated a town.

Combat feels swift and incredibly smooth; the transitions between attacks feel natural, and you can really feel the impact of each attack with your axe, hammer, rifle, grenade, and Enji's magic.

There are also various armor parts in Flintstone for you to collect. Equipping them can gain unique abilities, such as detonating enemies after stacking curses, turning one grenade into two, or increasing your attack distance, etc. Different armors have set bonuses, encouraging players to equip at least two sets to get enhanced effects. As this system expands, there will be more interesting choices in the later stages of the game.

Enji has the ability to curse enemies, which can stun them, allowing Noll to coolly rip off their armor or outright execute them, depending on the type of enemy and their health. You can also upgrade Enji to have him tether, knock down, distract enemies, or attack on his own. Even on the highest difficulty, he often felt too strong.

After all, he's a god, so I think he's supposed to be strong. But in some places later on, I could kill all certain enemies with just his attacks. (I used a very bold BD to achieve this, specifically, stacking four debuffs on an enemy within 10 seconds before detonating it.)

On top of that, the ultimate can send enemies flying like a storm, or there is a beam that has a high damage and stun effect, and I almost stood up for the enemy. Finally, I made full use of Enji's skills to grind experience (called reputation in this game). Because similar to "Devil May Cry" and "Bayonetta", in this game, Noel can gain experience bonuses when fighting without being hurt, and when Enji is the only output, she is unlikely to be hurt.

While it was challenging to rack up high experience boosts early in the game, as I unlocked more available abilities and weapons, I found myself regularly racking up boosts of over 100%, with a high of around 170%. But before I got there, the experience boost system encouraged me to use different weapons and more combos in a way I hadn’t seen in a Souls-like game before.

There are some issues with the combo-boosting mechanic, though, mainly the unpredictability of the enemies. I'm not talking about the attacks that caught me off guard and left me no time to block or parry. With a wide variety of enemies, including various undead creatures, knights with large shields or swords, large chocobo-shaped birds, spiders, and of course various gods, it's not uncommon to not be able to react quickly enough.

The trickiest part is that some enemies' attack animations seem to lock onto you, meaning that when you duck or jump out of the way of an attack, the enemy will suddenly turn 90 or 180 degrees and still hit you, even though it looks like you should have dodged it. The good news is that I've only encountered this with regular enemies, not big boss fights, where it would be a real pain.

Three skill trees improve gun, magic, and melee damage, with branching skills merging back together near the top. This structure allows you to bypass low-level upgrades if you want to prioritize skills for a certain playstyle, while still having access to other high-level abilities at the end. I liked this design because I was able to focus entirely on the magic skill tree early on, commanding Enji to levitate enemies in the air, and there's a one-time resurrection ability later in the line that takes a rest to recharge.

This is a godsend in later boss battles, as it's not uncommon to see attacks that kill with one hit - they can be dodged and parried, but sometimes you miss! After getting top-level skills, I only need to upgrade the highest level of other skill trees, and then gradually buy cheaper upgrades as needed, instead of starting from the beginning and upgrading to the skill I need.

The compact length of Flintstones' campaign means that nearly every path through the game world leads to something important, and you can use Nol's double jump and air dash abilities to discover hidden secrets, like new weapons or increased health. There are also often shortcuts around the map that allow you to quickly get back to the main quest - these might be resting points you can fast travel to, or perhaps an interactable skull that activates energy rifts in the air, allowing Nol and Enji to quickly fly to where these rifts are located.

These rifts are not only cool to look at, they also serve a number of functions. In addition to acting as a shortcut back to your objective, they often allow you to reach areas that would otherwise be inaccessible. These rifts are probably one of my favorite mechanics in Flintlock, as they allow you to quickly get back to a position near a major or minor boss if you are unfortunate enough to fall.

Each open area has many side quests, most of which have objectives close together to facilitate quick completion and encourage players to complete them as soon as they encounter them. Of course, there are some exceptions: one quest asked me to climb a mountain to find the daughter of an NPC. They met at the top of this mountain every year, but this year he couldn't climb the mountain.

Another quest had me searching for missing workers in a mine. Many of the side quests were simple but enjoyable, often with some perks. For example, a knight I encountered offered to evacuate his outpost with his troops if I defeated him in combat without using a gun. However, when I broke this rule in a duel, his agreement was voided.

There are also various notes and signs scattered around the world that glow to make it easier for players to notice these collectibles. The notes and signs are mainly located in places you will visit when completing quests, and they will provide different levels of worldview. The first two areas also have about 30 flags hanging, which you can destroy to gain reputation. After destroying all the flags in an area, you will also get a collectible as a reward.

Compared to other RPGs, the relatively streamlined collection design of this game is refreshing because I don't have to worry about hundreds of items, accessories or other collectibles waiting to be collected. The end result is that I want to explore the world more.

There is also a simple mini-game called "Cyber ​​Chess" that takes very little time. The way to play is to move coins around the board and face the opponent's obstruction within a limited number of turns. You can win by building a triangle. These tic-tac-toe-like games rarely last more than two minutes, and the reputation gained after each victory increases, so the rewards for consecutive wins are very generous.

As you progress through the game, the starting positions of the board and coins change, adding some depth, and you can also find special coins in wells around the world, adding new strategies to this mini-game, with special coin effects such as swapping coin positions, jumping over opposing coins, or forming obstacles to stop your opponent.

Summarize

Although the first few hours are not a good experience, Flintlock: Siege of Dawn is a soul-like game that gets better as the story progresses. You will unlock more interesting skills and make full use of them to achieve combos and experience bonuses. However, you need to go beyond the regular main line to complete side quests, find optional battles or interact with various NPCs in order to obtain new weapons and upgrades to fully enjoy the game content.

Thankfully, when it comes to collecting, Flintstones: Dawn Siege respects the player's time, making exploration fun and easy through well-placed shortcuts, fast travel, and other means. The campaign may be on the short side compared to other RPGs, but interesting side quests and excellent mini-games fill that time well. Unfortunately, Flintstones' story falters in the middle of the game, wasting some opportunities that could have allowed the protagonist to shine, but this adventure does make me look forward to Noel and Enji's next journey.

advantage

• Smooth and fast combat action design

• Easy item collection process and light content

• The design of providing experience bonus for combos is very friendly

shortcoming

• The campaign is short

• Overall, it lacks distinctive features