Today at the Xbox and Bethesda Showcase, Arkane opened the show with Redfall. Set on a quaint little island located off the shores of Massachusetts is the city of Redfall. I heard some claimed it was ripped right off a postcard… Then, someone blacked out the sun and pushed back the water around the island. Now the city is home to vampires, a crazy cult and a rag tag team of vampire slayers (you and three friends).
The trailer starts off as one of the game’s playable characters, Layla, narrates her current situation as she investigates a rumor. She’s infiltrating a church on her own and comes across a disturbing trail of blood that she follows up into an attic. She hears whispering and decides to investigate. As it would turn out, the church is infested by vampires of course and a gun battle in a cramped attic ensues against multiple vampires until Jacob, the team’s ghost and resident sniper arrives to help her escape.
As Layla goes on to explain the er… fall of Redfall, we get an introduction of the game’s four playable characters. Jacob can cloak and as I said, is the team’s resident sniper. Remi, the team’s engineer with a robotic companion. Devinder is a Cryptid expert who seems to have all the right tools for fighting against the vampires and finally, there’s Layla. Her telekinetic abilities allow her to manifest handy items with her mind like a lift or a shield.
We then got to see more gameplay where the team was making their way into an amusement park in a stage scenario. The team starts off by going in quietly, showcasing a small bit of stealth gameplay. It doesn’t last too long though as Jacob stumbles across a “Bloodbag” which explodes, giving him away and the team goes loud. We get to see a lot of shooting and how the team’s can work together and combine their abilities to effectively take on the vampires. I reminded me of Borderlands in a way with these characters and their special abilities.
The people on the island have either vanished, joined a cult, been turned into vampires or died and you can see that as the trailer shows us various locations in Redfall. The city and its surroundings have been transformed into something much different. If there was one thing that stood out for me, it’s Arkane’s artistic presence. Despite the modern day setting of a little city on an island off the shore of Massachusetts that’s infested by vampires, it’s easy to pick up on the developer’s flair for the dystopian.
Overall, what we got to see looked like a lot of fun. Just going off of the trailer, it looks like there’s something for fans of FPS. Solo players might experience a much darker and threatening game. However, those who bring along three friends might experience something a bit more tactical and chaotic. Either way, the game looks fun and action packed. It’s just upsetting we don’t have a release date for Redfall other than the 2023 window we already knew about.
