Humanity might have defied the gods when it first brought fire down from the mountain, but it only truly troubled their omnipotence once it trapped that flame in a barrel – igniting gunpowder to propel itself into a new age of power, volatility and self-determination.
It’s at this precipice that mankind finds itself in Flintlock, the second project from New Zealand’s A44 Games. Founded by talent from Weta Digital, and having made its debut in 2018 with gorgeous action RPG Ashen, the studio is now a part of the global studio collective Kepler Interactive. Flintlock represents a major step up in ambition for A44, made possible thanks to the help of that backing. It has the Soulslike elements of the studio’s previous title, plus a setting expanded beyond dungeons and plains to a full open world.
This isn’t the only leap forward A44 is making with this game. Where for Ashen it stuck with a swords-andsorcery setting, it’s placing Flintlock within a burgeoning fantasy subgenre with which it shares a name. Magic is still in play but faces competition as technology progresses to the cusp of the industrial revolution. And the gods of Flintlock’s world? They aren’t best pleased about it. “Humans had found themselves in a place where they felt like they had a seat at the table,” explains Derek Bradley, A44 CEO and Flintlock’s game director. “And then the gods turned up and just absolutely disregarded them. They would enthrall a human instead of speak to them – mind-control them and treat them like puppets.”
Denne historien er fra May 2022-utgaven av Edge.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra May 2022-utgaven av Edge.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
BONAPARTE: A MECHANIZED REVOLUTION
No sooner have we stepped into the boots of royal guard Bonaparte than we’re faced with a life-altering decision.
TOWERS OF AGHASBA
Watch Towers Of Aghasba in action and it feels vast. Given your activities range from deepwater dives to climbing up cliffs or lumbering beasts, and from nurturing plants or building settlements to pinging arrows at the undead, it’s hard to get a bead on the game’s limits.
THE STONE OF MADNESS
The makers of Blasphemous return to religion and insanity
Vampire Survivors
As Vampire Survivors expanded through early access and then its two first DLCs, it gained arenas, characters and weapons, but the formula remained unchanged.
Devil May Cry
The Resident Evil 4 that never was, and the Soulslike precursor we never saw coming
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
With Dragon Age: The Veilguard, BioWare has made a deeply self-conscious game, visibly inspired by some of the best-loved ideas from Dragon Age and Mass Effect.
SKATE STORY
Hades is a halfpipe
SID MEIER'S CIVILIZATION VII
Firaxis rethinks who makes history, and how it unfolds
FINAL FANTASY VII: REBIRTH
Remaking an iconic game was daunting enough then the developers faced the difficult second entry
THUNDER LOTUS
How Spirit farer's developer tripled in size without tearing itself apart