Nathan “Berries” Jarvis

I just completed Flintlock. For a souls-like game it was very good and I enjoyed myself. So here are my final thoughts. TLDR: I gave Flintlock 4 stars because the story is cool, the characters are cool, the gameplay is phenomenal, and the world is BEAUTIFUL. It loses points because I don't think the equipment was really necessary. Just like upgrading Nor and Enki; they could have just done the same with damage and gun/magic charges because nothing changes the way the game is played with different equipment. Maybe if they had more than just an axe as your primary weapon (like a sword/shield, two-handed sword, bow, ect) I would be more understanding. BUT like I say later, having just the axe makes the combat feel very good and flow well. If you enjoy souls-like games, PLAY THIS GAME. You will thoroughly enjoy it. DESIGN: First character design is amazing. Nor is absurdly cool and Enki is just as cool. The entire game Nor keeps a military vibe while also being able to think for herself. The world is beautiful I don't know what else to say. The design of this game is phenomenal. GAMEPLAY: The combat in Flintlock combines three elements. Magic, Firearms, and Axe fighting. The Axe is your primary form of damage while being complemented by magic to stun and initiate more combos. Parrying is pretty easy (for a reason that is extremely obvious once you get to the first boss HINT HINT). Your gun is for the most part exclusively used to interrupt certain enemy actions. I have no real complaints for combat. It flows extremely well as long as you use all the tools at your disposal. The only weird thing about the combat is the secondary rifles you get. Aside from the destroying flags quest I am not sure why this was really added into the game. The game has what I would call railroaded jumping puzzles. If you have ever played guild wars, some of the jumping puzzles are similar to that. Thankfully even though sometimes you think you will miss because Nor sometimes can seem rigid in the air, you almost always grab that ledge. I love jumping puzzles and when the creators allow us to use our mobility fully, in and outside of combat. EQUIPMENT: We lose major points on this one. It is almost a second thought, and the way it was implemented almost unnecessary. Because there is no real variety in weapons, changing equipment doesn't really change the way you play the game and your game style can't really be customized. I used the burning axe and the gun with 5 charges basically the whole game. I ended up only upgrading one axe, one gun, and one helmet. I upgraded a grenade for the achievements and that's it. On top of your equipment not feeling like it matters the fact I couldn't hide my helmet was a real downer. Nor is a SUPER cool character with a very cool design yet her face, tattoos, and hair are hidden behind a helmet all game. As far as changes in costumes they are mostly just color changes here and there. I went with a white and black uniform. Sidenote: I don't think I used a grenade all game yet you can upgrade them? Very odd. STORY: Finally, the story was really cool and unique. In short without giving anything away; the world uses black powder to combat magic. Nor teams up with the god Enki to fight the bad gods. I didn't do a great job describing it here but I also don't like spoilers. Story is great.