Redfall – A Mixed Reception

Redfall, Arkane Studios’ open world FPS released today to mixed reviews. While some moments of brilliance exist within Redfall, overall it can be described as an incomplete live service version of Arkane’s previous works.

Arkane Studios seems to have failed to deliver with this effort. Although taking some elements from modern looter shooters such as FPSs, Arkane’s game doesn’t quite manage to match their success and remains an unsuccessful experience for players.

It’s a bad launch

Redfall, Arkane Austin’s Latest Game, has received negative player-submitted reviews that are predominantly critical. Many have complained of performance issues, an empty open world and awkward multiplayer functionality as main complaints.

Arkane Austin has already begun working to address these issues and deliver a 60 FPS mode as soon as possible, but fans were left with little satisfaction after Redfall launched given Arkane’s track record with titles like Dishonored, Prey and Deathloop.

Phil Spencer addressed fan concerns in a recent interview by noting that the Game doesn’t fit its platform as intended and needs to be fixed. Microsoft acknowledged its flaws and is working closely with Arkane Studios on providing quality products.

It’s a bad game

Redfall suffers from technical issues that prevent it from providing an enjoyable gaming experience, failing to hit 60 frames per second even on high-end consoles and offering poor controls. Despite its strong art design, however, Redfall falls short in providing a polished experience for its player base.

Redfall’s main problem lies in its clunky moment-to-moment gameplay, caused by several technical issues including input lag, persistent blur effects, and infrequent camera acceleration. When combined together these problems make controls feel unresponsive – something especially evident when playing cooperatively with friends.

Arkane Studios has long prided themselves on creating immersive sim experiences, yet this game suffers from storytelling shortcomings in terms of awkward animation and static panning shots interlaced with voiceover. Unfortunately, its combination of gimmicky design and flat storytelling degrades that experience significantly.

It’s a bad experience

Redfall is an unpleasant experience whether played solo or co-op; it veers too far from Arkane’s core formula and fails in many areas from technical to narrative development.

Redfall provides plenty of exploration and discovery opportunities, yet is far too short and feels incomplete. While the game contains some memorable landmarks, safehouses, and side quests that might pique one’s interest, they aren’t enough to compensate for its overall dullness.

On top of this, the day-to-day gameplay suffers from numerous technical issues that make controlling and aiming cumbersome; these include a persistent blur effect, finicky aim acceleration and low frame rate which make combat less responsive than it could be.

It’s a bad co-op experience

Redfall from Arkane Austin stands out as its latest co-op looter shooter and defies expectations in many respects, taking its inspiration from Dishonored or Deathloop titles to form its design philosophy. While not quite up there with those titles in terms of popularity or critical acclaim, Redfall remains an open world looter shooter that follows this approach to gaming.

As is to be expected, this game offers a fairly generic experience with generic AI and lackluster shooting mechanics, not to mention little in-game challenge aside from some random roll perks.

Combat in this game is hindered by numerous technical issues that make it hard to control, including input lag, persistent blur, finicky camera acceleration and stuttering that make the experience unresponsive and lead to poor responses from enemies.

It’s a bad story

Redfall follows in the tradition of Far Cry by having you hunt down vampires in an island town located off Massachusetts that’s been taken over by these supernatural beings. While its unique and captivating concept works well for Redfall, some aspects of gameplay and story feel undercooked at times.

Redfall’s story and open world suffer from an unfortunate combination of technical problems, boneheaded enemies and unimaginative progression mechanics that leaves us deeply disappointed.

Redfall’s narrative is told through a series of cutscenes depicting your characters standing still-moving shots with voiceover and minimal animation flourishes – it is an ineffective solution which does not serve the game well, creating the appearance that Redfall is less of an Arkane title than an unclear vampire-themed looter shooter.