"A lot of what we really enjoyed doing is taking these polar opposite things and smashing them together." When I speak to creative director Simon Dasan and his team just ahead of Summer Game Fest, Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn is just a month away, and with the spectre of Shadow of the Erdtree hanging over the entire event, it's clear that developer A44 is keen to establish a space for it in an increasingly busy Soulslike market.
That design philosophy is most keenly felt in A44's attempt to establish the 'Souls-lite' as an entity separate from the Soulslike. For Dasan, this idea "is the way that we bridge the two genres – an action RPG and a standard Soulslike." Having made 2018's critically well-received Ashen, which was "very much a Soulslike," Dasan says explains the studio "had this idea of making this a bit more accessible to newer players."
