Arkane is one of my favourite studios and its 2012 masterpiece Dishonored sits among my top favourite five games ever – my number one title from the PS3 generation. When Microsoft opened its chequebook and purchased Bethesda in September 2020, I was disappointed that I would no longer be able to experience Arkane titles on PlayStation hardware after Deathloop, but excited to see what Arkane could do with a powerhouse behind them (as I have access to Xbox and PC platforms). Redfall is the first Microsoft exclusive to come from the company since the acquisition and is the creation of Arkane Austin, the team behind Prey, a game that I didn’t jive with as much as Arkane’s other titles.
Last week I was able to go hands-on with Redfall for 90 minutes to get a taste of what the game has to offer ahead of its launch on May 2. Truth be told, I came into this preview session a little lukewarm on Redfall. The thought of an Arkane game in a vampire setting sounded like music to my ears, but none of the trailers had grabbed me by the goolies yet, so I had tempered my expectations going in. Surprisingly, not only did I come away from the hands-on with a clearer understanding of what Redfall is, but I was mostly impressed by what I played.
Redfall is an open-world game, one that can be played either solo or cooperatively with up to four players (including you). One of my concerns, as someone who predominantly plays single-player games, was that Redfall was going to be tailored for multiplayer, and if you did choose to go at it alone, you’d be getting an inferior experience. But I’ve learnt that that’s not the case here – you can easily play this whole game solo if you prefer.
The game is set in the titular town of Redfall, Massachusetts, which has been taken over by vampires after big pharma company Aevum Therapeutics’ has an experiment go wrong, with the company scientifically engineering the blood-sucking beasts as a result. While most company board members see dollar signs, Aevum’s saw immortality, turning themselves into vampiric gods and sealing off Redfall from the outside world. Those who became trapped either perished, became vampire dinner or alternatively worshippers of these powerful demigods. Others took the fight to the vampires, which is where your character comes into the story.
There are four characters that players can choose between: Jacob, Devinder, Remi and Layla, all of whom have their own powers and ultimate abilities. Jacob has a Raven that will highlight enemies in nearby areas (think Eagle Eye from Assassin’s Creed) and a cloaking ability, while his ultimate is a ghost rifle that deals increased damage to enemies. Devinder has an Arc Javelin that electrocutes enemies within reach, a Translocate device that allows him to teleport, and his ultimate is Blacklight – a weapon that will freeze vampires. Remi has a C4 Charge, a robot that distracts enemies and her ultimate provides a healing benefits and a buff to her colleagues. While Layla has Lift, an ability that allows her to reach high areas and fall from heights without taking damage, a shield to block attacks, and her ultimate can call upon her vampire ex-boyfriend to deal out damage to nearby enemies. Based on the above menu and penchant for Dishonored, I chose to go with Jacob.
The demo offered us a look at the game’s single-player, playing through an early game mission that tasked our character with investigating a man named Dr Addison – now known as the vampire god the Hollow Man (no, not Kevin Bacon). It seems that Dr Addison is the one responsible for cooking up this new vampire species, and his home lab may have answers on how to stop him.
Starting at the local fire station, which will act as the main hub for the characters, I was able to purchase weapons, equipment and ammo, as well as converse with NPCs who will give you brief insights into the world of Redfall, or maybe just a non-committal grunt. With an assault rifle, sniper rifle and silenced handgun to play with, I ventured out into Redfall’s open world, and it wasn’t long before me and my new toys were put through their first test. High in confidence, I deemed it possible to take on a handful of goons (known as Cultists – humans that worship the vampires) and a couple of vampires. As you can imagine, it didn’t end well for me, and while I managed to take down a couple of Cultists, no less than two minutes after entering the world I was returned to the fire station with a bruised ego, but my determination remained unwavering.
Take two yielded better results as I made my first vampire kill, a process done by emptying a vampire’s health bar and then staking them in the heart. Arkane may be impressive creatives, but even they can’t argue with tradition. Combat feels remarkably weighty, with my silenced pistol packing quite a punch and my assault rifle punishing my victim with a satisfying oomph, which is a huge improvement over Prey. However, despite a promising start, it’s not long before I am back in the fire station once more.
My third attempt sees me surviving a lot longer and utilising my powers to my advantage. Now I am a silent and invisible hunter, activating my cloak to sneak past enemies and sending my raven out to see what’s ahead. However, I run into what I think is a bug, as I am unable to stake a vampire despite depleting its health and it’s back to the fire station. I’m tapped on the shoulder, turns out, it’s not a bug as I’m informed that you must have the weapon with a stake selected in order to deliver the final blow. It’s an odd design choice and one that I don’t love as later stages during the preview become quite hectic, and having to frequently cycle through weapons to equip the one with a stake when needed feels counterintuitive to the fluid combative experience Arkane Austin is gunning for. In saying that, you can find weapons throughout the world with stakes attached, so you could potentially have multiple weapons with stakes at the ready.
I decided to try another route to my objective, heading to the left rather than straight ahead once departing the fire station. This gives me a better understanding of how Redfall’s open world will play out, and I start to feel the similarities with other titles, such as Far Cry. Vampires hover in the air while patrolling a certain area and once they’re alerted they will swarm on you, and the more noise and commotion you cause, the more attention you’ll bring on yourself. Much like the vampires, the Cultists will be spread throughout the world and there’s a randomness to where your enemies are located, so they’re never in the same position two respawns in a row.
How the open world will operate and what it will offer to players long-term is my main concern. From my limited play time, the world does have things to do inside it – there are vampire nests that can be eliminated, safehouses to activate and side missions to complete – but along with the randomised nature of your enemies, it all feels a little formulaic.
However, as I finally arrived at my destination, the gameplay shifted to the confined area of Addison’s mansion, which certainly heightened the tension and was far more immersive than the open world. By this stage I’m a trained assassin and it feels good – I’m feeling good – as I take down another vampire with ease. The mansion level does highlight how story-driven Redfall is and how tight the combat can feel, and quite frankly it’s the portion of the demo that has sold me on the game the most.
I wasn’t really sure what to expect from Redfall. Like many people, I was expecting something akin to Back 4 Blood or Left 4 Dead, and while the multiplayer may share some of those traits, my simplistic overview is that this is a Ubisoft-style open-world game made by Arkane with a bigger emphasis on the narrative. On paper, this might sound like a good time to a lot of people, but for others it will raise some questions.
Redfall has that signature Arkane flair and vibe to it, but it is a departure from the previous titles that Arkane has collectively produced. Despite some open-world concerns, I’m liking what Redfall has to offer and I’m looking forward to sinking my teeth into the full game come May 2.
