Impressions - July 2024
Impressions of the Month
Well, July 2024 has become one of the most consequential in American history. So, with that, let’s look at some updates and impressions from me from the month in gaming.
Newsletter Updates
The crazy twists and turns of the month in real-world news made writing and gaming a little hard, especially as someone who follows and cares about that stuff. Despite this, I still have a lot of articles planned out to get me through it. I’ll have the next part of my History of Gaming series out, more Strachey’s List articles to finish out the 1970s, some cool ideas such as a list of major moments of gaming in the early days, and I’m still interested in doing a deep dive around mobile gaming. I am also working on making archived articles easier to find, especially for the History of Gaming, Side Vault, and Strachey’s List series. So, a lot of good stuff is on the way.
Flintlock: Siege of Dawn - Review in Progress
So, I started up Flintlock: Siege of Dawn thanks to Game Pass, and I wanted to write down a review in progress. So, the reviews for this one have been extremely mixed, with many on my social media telling me they’ve been disappointed and even, at times, bored by it. Personally, I don’t know if it’s because I didn’t go in with huge expectations, but so far, I like it a lot. Now, that doesn’t mean I don’t have some issues with it, which could become a problem the more I play, but I’m not bored by it at all.
So what do I like? Well, I actually think the world and early lore of the game is interesting. When you make a new IP, it can be tough to get the interest for a new world right, but I want to find out more about this setting. The voice cast is incredible, and that’s just early on. I can feel the emotion from them and it doesn’t sound like they just came in to collect a payday. I’m digging the art style and presentation; as someone who’s a sucker for history stuff, it’s giving me some of those vibes. And lastly, the traversal in this game is fun. While the rift travel is limited, it’s the best part of the game, and it’s used well to get you to new places and unlock shortcuts.
What am I mixed on? The combat started out pretty meh for me. Early on, it felt like they barely tried, and the comfort and fluidity of using your weapons felt off. I think the biggest problem is the inability to roll, which, for a game advertised as part of the Souls genre, feels like a miss. As you upgrade your skills, it does open up combat options and has been getting better. The developers called this a “Soulslite,” the idea being it's like the Souls style but easier - and I’m mixed on that too. The game definitely is easier than your typical Souls type of title, but it still can be challenging if you’re not a veteran of the genre. There is a story mode, which I decided to play with for a multitude of reasons - which I do like because it makes it a perfect game for a newcomer to the genre to experience, and you can always pick up the difficulty. The one thing I’m not a fan of with story mode is that they shut off achievements, which feels like a dumb punishment rather than expanding your player base. Lastly, your companion Enki is important to the game, and I have a feeling his character will grow on me the more I play, but I’m mixed on using him in combat, as it feels tacked on to give him something to do.
What I don’t like? There’s very little I don’t like compared to feeling mixed on. The biggest con to the game for me so far is the plot. I don’t think it’s a bad plot, but it feels like a generic straight-to-streamer/home-media movie. To be somewhat fair, most video games aren’t going to have a plot like The Last of Us or God of War, but the more you play those games, the more the generic plots in gaming can stand out. I also do not like the weapon variety so far. I’ve seen reviews talk about how weak it feels, and I can see what they mean. Maybe it’ll pick up the more I play, but so far it feels like the weapons and clothing/armor options are just slight variations rather than giving us a whole array of possibilities.
So far, I really like Flintlock due to the traversal, and combat is getting more comfortable as I pick up skills. The story mode is giving me a chance to experiment with the idea of an easy mode in a Souls title. On mostly everything else, I’m mixed. It’s a game that you need to come in with expectations set. Like Rise of the Ronin, I think people are coming in with way too high expectations and are being disappointed. If you know what you’re getting into, it’s an enjoyable experience once the game gets going. But I’ll have a full review when I finish it, hopefully within the next couple of weeks.
The Rest of 2024 is STACKED
I’m going to try to schedule my days better to get a lot of gaming done, as the rest of the year is going to be stacked for me. Remember, I have a typical nine-to-five job on the weekdays, am a father and husband, and I write these articles as well as games. of course, I need time for other activities and sleep - so my time isn’t as free as other gamers. But I hope to find a way to make it all work. I already have my eyes on several games.
There are some games I’m still working on that I started before Flintlock. There’s Tchia, which I want to finish, and I believe I’m halfway through. I started up Still Wakes the Deep, which, from what I hear, isn’t a long game, so I think I’m okay as long as I do it before the year. And there’s Starfield, which I’ve been on and off playing, which is working for me with that type of game.
A game that wasn’t on my radar is Dungeons Of Hinterberg, but the excitement I’ve seen from gamers on my socials is enough to make it my next game after Flintlock; it looks like that could be a special experience. From there, we have games like The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Astro Bot, Avowed, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and more. So yes, 2024 is going to be busy for the second half of the year, and quite frankly, that may be a good thing as we may need more distractions with the way the year has gone.