From its literary influences to its rare blend of guns and magic,Flintlock: The Siege of Dawnis set to be a unique title for fans ofSoulslikes games. Releasing July 18, A44’s newest title is taking aim at making its mark with a slightly different kind of offering from the normal ARPG.
Game Rant spoke with Simon Dasan, creative director forFlintlock: The Siege of Dawn,about the influences and inspirations in the game’s development.The following interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
The Fantasy in Flintlock
Q: How did the idea forFlintlock: Siege of Dawnfirst come about?
Dasan:We had many concepts and directions to choose from early development. One of the paths was this interesting genre of book some of us were reading; flintlock fantasy (we recommend checking out thePowder Mageseries if you want to get into the flintlock fantasy genre!). We were enamored by these worlds and thought it would be a perfect setting for a new game, which becameFlintlock.
Q: How did the team decide on Flintlock Fantasy as the core “fantasy” ofFlintlock: Siege of Dawn?
Dasan:We had a number of ways which we could go, but we were reading Flintlock Fantasy books early on inFlintlock’s conception and absolutely fell in love with the gritty worlds, andNapoleonic armiesfighting against mythical, monolithic Gods. We created our own bespoke world and even consulted with a couple of Flintlock Fantasy authors early on in development.
It seemed like a perfect location to set a game within–a really rich and engaging identity that isn’t seen in many other places.
Shooting for a Unique Souls-lite Feel
Q: Why did the team decide to develop this as a Souls-lite versus a full-blown Soulslike game?
Dasan:Towards the end of the development of our first game,Ashen, we were thinking about where we wanted to head within the genre. Bringing the Souls experience to everyone was an idea that resonated with us, specifically by introducing traditionalSoulsmechanics and systems into a more accessible Action-RPG game, and that was the start of the ‘Souls-lite’ moniker.
Q: What are the defining elements that separate this Souls-lite game from Soulslikes?
Dasan:To really bring these ‘lite’ mechanics into the Action-RPG genre, we took a number of different inspirations. From thecinematic elements like critical hits (or Glory Kills), and stripping the armor off enemies, to even being able to use devastating god magics (aka Witherings) to lay waste to countless hordes of the dead. A lot of what we explored were ways to help offset the extreme difficulty typical of theSoulsgenre, without removing the heart of the rhythmic combat we were looking for.
One other way we explored this idea wasremoving the stamina systemthat’s often found in more traditional, challengingSoulsgames. We wanted the player to move around the environment much more freely, and Nor’s ability to quickly dodge, powder jump, or get some verticality on the enemy was really important to make it feel different from other games in the genre, and also open up the options available to the player for each encounter.
Q: There have been an increasing number of Souls-influenced games recently. How did this affect your vision and choice when designing and iterating onFlintlock?
Dasan:More competition in the space is always good because it drives us as developers, but we also had a solid vision forFlintlockfrom early on which we stuck to, namely, to make an Action-RPG and Souls-lite experience in a “Guns vs Gods” setting. Our unique setting and world help us stand out a little from other titles within this space, alongside our commitment to offering the player more traversal options to explore the world and overcome the enemies of our world.
I think we’re in a good position to offer something unique within the genre. For example, while some gameslikeElden Ringand its DLCoffer that more hardcore and challenging experience, we thinkFlintlockoffers an alternative that some fans might find more accessible to dive into. That isn’t to sayFlintlockisn’t challenging though–fans looking for a tougher experience can definitely find that here too!
The Nuts and Bolts
Q: How didAsheninform your development ofFlintlock? Were there certain lessons you learned or things you wanted to do differently or similarly?
Dasan:Whilst it might not look like it on the surface, we took many lessons fromAshenand iterated on a lot of the features fromAshentoo. Things like the town of Vagrant’s Rest inAshen, which served as a central hub for players to upgrade their character, has evolved into the traveling Caravan which expands as you rebuild your sapper army inFlintlock.
Of course, we learned a lot about combat as well, and have iterated considerably on this forFlintlockto make a faster, and more responsive ability set for the player to discover.
Q: Can you discuss any concepts or abilities that were considered during development but were ultimately cut before the upcoming release?
Dasan:Throughout a game’s life cycle many things will come and go. Mostly things are tested out in a very early prototype state and don’t proceed much further, but sometimes things make it past that early stage. We had a few enemies and witherings (Enki’s ultimate magical abilities) that were like this. Ultimately it comes down to things like power spikes in the game, the overall fun factor, and the amount of time it would take to bring something in line with where we need it to be. It’s never an easy call to cut a feature or an enemy type, but ultimately it should be done to make the end result of the game more pleasant and streamlined for the player.
Q: What was it like working with Unreal Engine’s MetaHuman Tool?
Dasan:It really helped us on our journey of bringing the world of Kian to life. WithFlintlockbeing story-driven, and having a lot of cinematic moments, it was imperative that we could bring out the emotive needs of a particular scene within the characters. Metahuman really eased the burden on us being a small team and still being able to achieve the level of fidelity that we wanted.
Q:Flintlockwill be a day one Game Pass release. What are some of the advantages that launching via the platform/service provides?
Dasan:We’ve always had a great relationship with Xbox, and it has been awesome to continue that withFlintlockbeing on Game Pass! Being able to getFlintlockinto so many people’s hands from day one is amazing since we all make games for people to be able to play them! We hope a lot of Game Pass players will check out the game, even if it’s the type of game or genre they wouldn’t normally try.
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Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn
WHERE TO PLAY
From games studio A44, makers of Ashen, comes an explosive Souls-lite, where Gods and guns collide in a battle for the future of humanity.The Door to the Great Below has been opened unleashing the Gods and their armies of the Dead. The lands of Kian are besieged, the city of Dawn is on the brink of destruction. It’s time for the Coalition army to fight back. Embrace vengeance, gunpowder and magic as you embark on an epic journey to defeat the Gods, close the door and retake the world.Kill all gods.Your battle begins now.
