Bethesda have just dropped another update on Redfall following the June 12th & 14th info drops from the Xbox and Bethesda Showcase. Before we go into that, just to recap… Redfall is an open world, story-driven shooter from Arkane Austin, the geniuses behind Prey and Dishonoured. Redfall gives players the option to go it alone or play with up to three other friends for four player co-op, as they unravel the mystery behind the sudden appearance of Vampires on the island town of Redfall, Massachusetts. With a diverse team of heroes to choose from, players can collect an arsenal of specialized weaponry and customize their character with unique abilities and upgrades as they take back Redfall.
It has been about three weeks now since the gameplay trailer release on June 12th and Arkane and Bethesda have now given us an update on Redfall in form of a new trailer that shows us a more focused look at what the Redfall experience provides players. See the trailer below.
Looking at this most recent video, we are shown a more focused look of the various places we will get to explore in Redfall. We also get to take a look at the different characters and seeing just how many customization options there are. From weapons, to skill trees. See the freeze frame below…
Fans are left to speculate what kind of skills are unlockable, but it is nice to have these light RPG elements of charcter progression. But perhaps most noteably, we also get a pretty cool more focused look at the the character abilities AND the name of the robot companion Remi De La Rosa!
It is pretty cool to see Bethesda come out and address this. There seemed to be a fair amount of confusion around Redfall, with people thinking it was similar to back4blood/left4dead but with vampires. This however is not the case. If anything it is more similar to something like Farcry crossed with Prey. An open world, narrative driven first person shooter with light rpg elements. To read more about our thoughts on what we have seen so far of Redfall, read on.
Redfall at the Xbox Bethesda Summer Showcases
On June 12th 2022 at the Xbox and Bethesda summer showcase, the world was finally treated to the first gameplay of Redfall. And what a showing it was! Dividing some by straying away from that which Arkane is known for, eg stealth. Redfall seems to offer a lot more choice in playstyles, often seeming to be a lot more chaotic with it’s combat in a narrative driven open-world.
Redfall is the latest game from Arkane Austin. Known for games of intense narrative and slick gameplay. Redfall sees Arkane branch out, into an open-world, co-op FPS set in the island town of Redfall, Massachusetts that has been overrun by a legion of vampires. The first official gameplay reveal showed off the moment-to-moment gameplay, featuring the continued legacy of creative game mechanics that Arkane Austin is known for. We got to see a taste of character abilities in amongst exploration and combat scenes. And my word did that combat look good! Check out the full gameplay video below.
Redfall draws inspiration from past vampire greats
Something I saw as a potential strength in Redfall from the trailer in 2021 was, the potential parallels with The Strain but I also now think it is also not too dissimilar of Buffy too! And after seeing the game play, and getting more information on Redfall, I now think my suspicions were probably right. On a personal level this only adds to hype for this game. Rag-tag group of survivors with different skill sets investigate and attempt to destroy a plague of blood thirsty vampires… For more information, check out my speculation piece on Redfall here. The options on how to play, through classes and levelling, or playing coop make Redfall feel like it will be one of the games to watch in 2023.
Redfall seems to balance fun looking gameplay in a spooky and atmospheric looking world for players to explore. While exploring, players will discover human cults hopelessly serving the vampires in hopes of gaining power that pop up across the vampire infested town of Redfall. The vampires themselves though, again like in The Strain or Buffy, are not brainless undead. They are smart! Having cut off the sunlight and towns water supply, survival is even more difficult. Not only are they smart, they are fast, cunning and blood thirsty too, like the infected from 28 Days Later but with the added powers of being vampires. A deadly and terrifying combination. In the gameplay trailer, see the build up as a vampire hideout is explored with caution. Also see players make the most of an optional coop experience, tactically timing an assault from various vantage points. Topped off with some chaotic FPS/supernatural gameplay segments.
Redfall is a handcrafted map by the master level designers behind Prey and Dishonoured. See Redfall sites like Downtown and Seafront Boardwalks and blend the natural with super-natural, leading to otherworldly spaces that alter reality in frightening ways. Something that seems extremely cool! Taking the fight to otherworldly spaces will really mix things up for players. Discover the mystery of Redfall’s vampire threat through narrative-driven action and environmental storytelling. This is something that Arkane have always done well, thinking back to Prey as an example. Then look at the opening of that trailer. A vampire’s lair is definitely being explored and is quite frankly, terrifying!
On top of the many mysteries that Redfall has for players to solve, players will discover interesting ways to combine their powers and abilities alone or with that of their teammates to fight off the vampire horde. Redfall features a deep skill system for each character. There’s Devinder, the overly curious cryptozoologist, Layla, the telekinetic college student, Remi, the brilliant and dependable combat engineer, and Jacob, the hardened ex-military sharpshooter.
Extra Redfall information from Pete Hines
Adding to what we saw on June 12th in the Xbox Bethesda showcase, on June 14th at the Xbox Bethesda showcase extended Pete Hines came out to fill in some of the blanks on Redfall, first addressing the delay. Quite rightly saying how important it is to wait for the game to be ready, citing changes in working conditions as one of the causes. He then went on to discuss Arkane and what makes their games great, such as Prey and Dishonoured. It seems that with Redfall, Arkane are doubling down on player choice, giving different ways to play and making for great replayability. Even stating that a single player playthrough would be a completely different experience to a co-op one. Redfall is scheduled to release in 2023 and we cannot wait to find out more.
As a special, Gamerhub are going to do a special co-op review of Redfall as we feel that is something that could be really beneficial to our viewers.
