Bethesda was kind enough to invite – Game News to their London studio to test out Arkane’s new FPS game, Redfall. When the doors open, pools of blood-red light greet me: everything is bathed in purple, except the corners he does not reach, where sinister shadows lurk. Some of the best gaming PCs in the business purr menacingly as huge virtual vampires stare at me from the projector screen across the room. That pretty much sets the tone.
Arkane Austin studio head Harvey Smith gives us a brief but sweet introduction to the town of Redfall, a once-scenic island getaway turned into a living hell due to a series of failed medical experiments. We learn that a Dr. Addison is the man behind the chaos and the now immortal bloodsuckers who generated his evidence were once among the city’s elite 1%. Take what you want.
My task is to find out more about Addison, now a deformed and twisted vampire entity known as “The Hollow Man”. To do this, we need to enter his inner sanctum (i.e. his battered old mansion) and snoop around. Naturally, this goes well and Redfall turns out to be a cute point-and-click adventure in which a group of brave teenagers learn a lot about New England architecture before discovering that the “vampire” is only grumpy old man with a mask. .
It’s a joke; we kill stuff You spawn in the Redfall Fire Station, which serves as the central area of the game and is home to a myriad of NPC vendors offering a wide range of weapons, medical supplies, and more. My favorite is the local Reverend from Redfall, a heavily tattooed woman dressed in traditional black priestly attire accessorized with an oversized crucifix. This single encounter made me feel that truly, in reality like this game
But forget the NPCs; Who did I choose as a virtual character in the world of Redfall? There are four different characters to choose from. There’s superstitious Devinder Crousley, daring half-vampire Layla Ellison, sniper Jacob Boyer, and hard-fought veteran Remi de la Rosa. While Devinder’s fun-loving personality and obsession with the occult probably speaks volumes to me, I opt for Layla, and don’t look back when I discover that her “ultimate” ability summons her vampiric ex-boyfriend to himself. fight for her. Cringe? Potentially. Eccentric and smiling? Absolutely.
Layla is one of Addison’s failed experiments, and while she is not a bloodthirsty monster, she retains some of the telekinetic abilities of vampires. She can summon a spectral purple umbrella that shields her from attack, and if revived while open, it lets out a massive shockwave that stops enemies in their tracks. It can also evoke a vintage elevator reminiscent of Tower of Terror, Disney’s iconic theme park that drops you hundreds of feet while your stomach seems to mysteriously float right where you left off. Given my affinity for all things 20s, this is absolutely one of my favorite abilities I’ve ever seen in a game – it’s beautifully animated, really useful, and lets you, and your teammates to chain together abilities to create truly gross combinations. . Ding ding, the elevator is there; Now, let’s kick some ass.
And then of course there is Layla’s ex, how can we forget? You can summon his vampire lover to help you out if things get a little rough, and he’s a complete game-changer. You can reposition (or run straight) while he draws enemy fire, or use the distraction to pin and stake them.
Overall, Layla’s kit seems well balanced and has a lot of potential to tailor her to your playstyle thanks to an extensive skill tree. Although I struggled to bend his umbrella so I could pop some heads again, I enjoyed the experience – Redfall’s combat is very clean. Changing weapons is easy and there are plenty of choices; It’s the tried-and-true Far Cry 2-style first-person shooter mechanics we’re all used to.
While he isn’t exactly innovative in shooting, the vampires themselves are fierce. They can teleport behind you, have different powers depending on their class, and are nimble and nimble: everything a good bloodsucker should be. Fighting one is a challenge, let alone three or four, and when you throw in the brainwashed Hollow Man cultists to fill in the numbers in a fight, the difficulty increases exponentially.
I experienced this firsthand while trying to clear a nest, a hive of vampiric activity similar to Far Cry 2’s sentry posts (side outposts). I was totally killed on my first try because I walked into a room with two fighting demons running around me like they were playing with their food, only to find the Gaul returned after completing the main quest. Then, now adept at using both the lift and the umbrella, I managed to unleash this hell in style. These vampires aren’t shiny guys from Twilight; They are the real deal.
However, despite all these positive aspects, I come out of my solo experience not feeling entirely satisfied. I only got a glimpse of the main story of my mission, which, while intense and exciting (no spoilers here, don’t worry), left me wanting more. I died too many times due to the umbrella refusing to close as well, which quickly became very frustrating, especially since I respawned at the fire station and had to run. All the way back at Hollow Man’s mansion on the opposite end of the island. While scattered shelters will deny this in the future, it was quite boring and felt like a huge unnecessary waste of time.
However, I think the biggest itch without scratching is that he was alone. I think Redfall will really come to life with a group of players. The intent of cooperative combat, of a motley crew of heroes shouting excitedly at each other, seems to lurk beneath the entire world and its combat encounters. It’s already reminiscent of the good old days of multiplayer Left 4 Dead, or even its spiritual successor Back 4 Blood. While the story is intriguing, it seems to frame the fight rather than define it.
I don’t mean the story is place — don’t eat me alive, I’ve had enough in the game. In fact, the clip I saw was moving, jarring, and anger-inducing. I want to see more, I want another bite, but until I get a taste of multiplayer, Redfall seems to be missing that pinch of stardust that could turn it from a good game into the one of the best PC games of 2023. Arkane likewise seems like the teamwork aspect even takes center stage in the gameplay trailers, so I was a bit surprised to find that this journey didn’t was just a player. I liked what I saw, and of course I’m glad Arkane wants it to work as a single-player game, but deep down it doesn’t feel like that. For.