Redfall: XBox Series X Review

Developed by Arkane Austin
Published by Bethesda
Platform: XBox Series X

In theory, Redfall should work.

Its mix of Borderlands-style looting and shooting mixed with the ever-cool idea fo vampires sounds like a no-brainer, an eclectic mix of gaming genres that should mash together and produce something thrilling.

But what Redfall is is utterly anaemic and at times, uninspiringly dull.

Arkane Studios has been behind some of the best titles in gaming. Their last game Deathloop mixed excellent FPS playing with trippy time-travel visuals and a sardonic wit that was inescapable.

How it's gone so badly wrong with Redfall is nothing short of a head-scratching mystery that will leave you bald.

The open-world first-person looter shooter leans into an unusual story before falling back on the usual tropes of an open-world shooter. In the town of Redfall, a series of botched experiments has led to a rise in vampirism, and the sun being blocked out so the bloodsuckers can roam.

As you begin the game, having selected a character, you're on a boat trying to flee what Redfall is threatening you with, but a wave overcomes the boat and leaves you stranded in the ferry looking for a way out.

It's quite an atmospheric idea for an opening - made all the more dull by the fact the game's story is set out in a series of storyboards rather than any kind of animated cut scenes. It leads to a feeling of "we'll put that in later" rather than building a vibe that's worth any kind of deep dive or emotional attachment.

However, once you find your way out of the ferry, it's into Redfall's meat and potatoes - its shooting and looting as a series of Cultists who are in the thrall of the town's vampires try to take you down.

Shooting is fairly solid in its mechanics - but has no logic whatsoever. Handguns can be used to take down those shooting at you - but for reasons that are inexplicable and too insane to contemplate, Redfall requires the guns of those trying to kill you to disappear into the ether, leaving you only their bullets and questions as to why you can't get their guns and level up.

The game's first mission sees you try to secure a fire station that's overrun by Cultists, has a vampire trapped in the basement and a series of allies locked behind a door waiting for you to free them. Once you've overcome those challenges, the game opens up a base, various areas of Redfall unlock as you explore and the mission ethos of the game settles into place.

Unfortunately, it feels somewhat hollow.

Redfall itself is wonderfully realised, but the Far Cry mentality of go here, do that, shoot those people, come back to base and repeat doesn't seem to have translated as well as it could have done for Redfall - and it's disappointing to report this. It's even worse to report that most of Redfall as a town itself is dead.

The world-building is confined to a series of notes from people that have left behind when they fled, or points on the map where some kind of landmark resides. It's easy to see why a world would be deserted if there are killers on the loose, but given the size of Redfall's map, and the limited interactions with your monotone characters at your base, it just feels empty rather than narratively so.

Even more frustrating is the game's intention of multiplayer.

More a squad up mentality that relies on friends being invited to online lobbies than random partnership online, the game is marketed as a co-op shooter but then shoots itself in the foot as you try to use that part of it. It's disappointing because the single player experience is enough in parts, but as you require more hands to help dispatch hordes of vampires, you need partners to help save the day - however, unless they're your mates, even that side of the game is left flailing.

All in all, what's most frustrating about Redfall is its potential. Arkane Studios has been extremely adept at bringing games to life and making various genres engaging and enticing. 

How Redfall fell so short of many of those standards is a real surprise - and ultimately, a real disappointment.

Redfall is out now on on XBox Series X and can be bought separately, or downloaded as part of the XBox Game Pass.