FLINTLOCK: THE SIEGE OF DAWN

Hell to pay

Fighting capricious gods with dynamite and a ruddy great big axe - this is the essential struggle at the heart of Flintlock's gunpowder fantasy. As protagonist Nor Vanek, the fight is personal. When the gods first threw open the door to the afterlife, allowing never-ending waves of the undead to pour into the land of the living, Nor led the charge against them.

And we do mean that literally. As a sapper, she was tasked with clearing a path through the detritus of war by either cleaving or blasting through. Her father was at her side; they were part of a platoon known as the Blackstream Sappers, forging ahead to hit the gods where they live - the citadel known as Dawn. Unfortunately, one does not simply venture into Dawn to fell a god, let alone a whole pantheon of them, and the strike ultimately cost Nor's father his life. The platoon soon scattered to the wind, and with them humanity's hopes of visiting retribution on the divine.

BOLT FROM THE BLUE

Of course, that's not the end of the story. Nor hears tell of a god-killing weapon, though it's far from a blessed sword or an easily recited spell. The magic bullet is a talking fox called Enki - and he knows he's the chosen one. 

This unlikely alliance is key to combat. While Nor holds the front line, busting skulls with her axe before following up with a gunpowder riposte, Enki runs interference. Thanks to his small stature, Enki can trip enemies over or distract them, though that's far from all. Enki has command over an array of magical skills too, able to curse an undead foe to an explosive end or even suck out their soul and hold them in stasis until Nor can put a bullet between their eyes. That's all without mentioning the way he's able to fling Nor through sky-bound portals or how the pair of them explore a fantastical open world together. You'll be able to turn that page early next year.