Redfall Review: The prey bites back

Another banger from Arkane Austin.

While a likely majority would name the Dishonored franchise as the pinnacle of Arkane’s catalogue, I far prefer Prey. Made by a plucky team of upstarts over at Arkane Austin, it paired the chaotic gameplay loop that other franchise is known for with a decidedly sci-fi slant. With Redfall, the same is true, though we’re now playing inside the horror genre instead.

Redfall‘s premise is relatively simple: vampires have taken over a small town, and it’s up to you and a small group of survivors to fight back the things that go bump in the night. Aiming for escape, your journey very quickly takes you through the origins of the menace that’s looming over those left alive. Rather than escape, you may be able to put an end to the bloodsuckers.

A title clearly meant for co-op, I opted instead — given an incredibly short turnaround time — to go in alone. Each of Redfall‘s protagonists are special in their own way, complete with two quick-cooldown abilities and a powerful ultimate that needs to be charged up through kills. On my own, I decided Jacob was my best bet; he’s armed with a recon-gathering raven and the ability to cloak himself, thereby removing himself from the battlefield. His ultimate materialises a spectral gun from thin air and provides a couple powerful shots — think Destiny‘s Golden Gun… though this one even aims for you.

While abilities are important — and upgradeable through skill points as you progress — Redfall is all about guns. Handguns, assault rifles, snipers and shotguns make up your core arsenal, and most come equipped with a stake so you can finish off the vampires you weaken. The fanged ones are joined by armies of willing human followers, and they obviously don’t require that finisher; headshots are key. You’re also provided with stake launchers and UV beams to specifically take on vamps — though stakes through the heart work just as well on the living.

Gear is tiered and plentiful, though in a controlled manner; you’re never going to be finding yourself swimming in a sea of numbers trying to figure out which slight bonus works in your favour. All weapons do the trick, though it really is about finding the ones that work best for you; I grew quite enamoured with a legendary handgun that was able to finish off vampires with a bullet instead of the need for a stake. It also needs to be said that shooting while moving feels… off. I can hit headshots for days when standing still, though any movement on my part throws bullets to the left or right of where I think they should be going.

Basics out of the way, the gameplay loop is also relatively simple: the town of Redfall is split up into different neighbourhoods. While there certainly are main and side missions, it’s really about finding each locale’s safe house and first securing it. While that provides you with a fast travel point, it also opens up a mission that’ll let you start to secure the area itself, followed by a mission that’ll task you to take out the controlling factor in the zone. With that underboss’ skull in tow, you rinse and repeat before ultimately trying to take down the big bad… and then you do it all again in a different portion of Redfall called Burial Point.

There’s a lot of joy to be had in exploring and taking out groups of humans and vampire hosts, and vampire nests add to this. You’ll see a nest pop up once you start feeling like you’re in control of the town; if you don’t handle the nests, you’ll find the balance of power in a spot will shift dramatically. Taking out a nest has many advantages — while it obviously brings the threat level down around you, nests are also home to a bevy of upgrades and loot once you clear them.

While Redfall is enjoyable as all hell when at its best, it’s plagued by bugs. In one instance, my Xbox froze to the point where I couldn’t even get the guide menu to pop up. Framerate drops are common, making events like vampire nests look like they’re playing out in stop-motion animation. A burning church in the second half of the game caused my Xbox Series X to chug so badly I took a video as I wondered — out loud — why Arkane wouldn’t have just dropped the fire to make the place playable. The end boss was so choppy and sluggish I contemplated waiting to attempt the encounter until after a promised patch that’ll bring 60FPS to the console.

While those issues certainly detract from the fun you’ll have, there are others that are arguably — and very Bethesda-like, following in the honoured tradition of the likes of Fallout and The Elder Scrolls — adorable. Once every hour or so, you’ll run into a phantom vampire; you’ll be able to see a baddie — usually a special vampire — but you won’t be able to harm them. They don’t react to your attempts at damange, nor can they deal any of their own, so the end result is largely comical. Other enemies — including major bosses — will occasionally spawn in and forget that you’re an opponent, allowing you to either dispatch them entirely, or at least take off a huge chunk of their health before they react.

As a solo player, that last bit wasn’t so bad. I’ll take all the help I can get, especially against major bosses to seem intent to suck all of the fun — pun intended — from encounters. Of four major fights, only one was entertaining; I spent the first one hiding being a pillar for 90% of the time, only popping out to fire off a few rounds when the coast was clear. The boss battles are such a stark contrast from regular combat — especially mini-bosses in the form of special vampires and underbosses found all around the town — and need to be reworked accordingly.

Finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the horrendous state of the game’s Achievements. Sadly, Redfall has a number of Achievements — at least ten from my count, and that’s a guess because a full Achievement list is currently hidden — that award Gamerscore in allotments of 17. At least one — and likely more — are missable, locked inside specific missions that can’t be replayed in single-player mode. One of the random-numbered Achievements is awarded very early on, and it’ll take players hours to get five of them to round their score back out. Be warned.

Despite these gripes — and the fact my Gamerscore now ends in an 8 — Redfall is a truly exciting experience. It’s great solo, has the potential to be great with friends — especially if someone has a save so I can access that last 17 Gamerscore I need, thanks. It’ll be perfect for anyone who’s loved an Arkane game — sci-fi, fantasy or otherwise — in the past. It’s also on Xbox and PC Game Pass of course, so you’ve got the ability to try with little risk. Just maybe give it a week or so for some of its more horrendous bugs to be quashed.

Redfall was reviewed using a promotional code on Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X, as provided by the publisher. Click here to learn more about Stevivor’s scoring scale.

Redfall 2 May 2023 PC Xbox Series S & X   Buy on Windows PC via Steam Buy on the Microsoft Store Buy on Amazon: PC, Xbox