Redfall Reviews
Redfall's compelling world-building and settings are inhibited by shallow mechanics and a lack of identity.
Despite some obvious flaws, Redfall is still an enjoyable experience even if you don't have a buddy or two to help you out in staking those bloodsuckers in co-op. Arkane once again managed to create an immersive, atmospheric world with their signature environmental storytelling and gameplay. While Redfall definitely isn't the studio's strongest game to date and can feel a bit undercooked I couldn't put it down as I had a blast wandering around the vampire-infested streets and countryside of this cosy American town.
In all my years of gaming, I struggle to think of ever feeling a sense of disappointment as profound as I do when playing Redfall. Sure, you can increase the fun factor by adding a few buddies into the equation, the varied classes lending themselves well to group play, and there are glimpses of something great when you’re afforded the opportunity to slow down in one of the more tightly scripted missions, but these positives merely serve as momentary distractions from the multitude of issues that plague Arkane Austin’s latest effort. Between the half-baked gameplay loops, repetitive open-world busy work, and shockingly poor optimization, Redfall feels like a title that’s still in alpha, never mind a product that’s supposed to represent a flagship release for Microsoft’s premium subscription service.
Redfall is fantastic in most ways. A few baffling design decisions around its co-op implementation and some frustrating technical issues hold it back. It is fun as hell solo, and ridiculously so in co-op. With a little post-launch support it is going to become something special. This may end up being Arkane’s worst-reviewed title ever, but it is going to be their most successful. Alone or with friends Redfall is a game any fan of the genre should play.
Redfall tries to bite far more than it can chew and delivers a package with a middling presentation, a lack of interesting mechanics, and some pretty woeful performance. Despite its issues, and perhaps like its cultists, I want to love it - it just won't love me back.
Redfall offers satisfying gameplay, with the classic flavor of Arkane games especially when played in co-op thanks to the synergy between the different heroes' powers, but overall it fails to fully convince due to a series of technical problems, dated game design, and an uncompelling plot. Still, it remains a good opportunity for intense online games among friends, hoping that future patches will solve at least part of the problems encountered.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Redfall is not the second coming of first-party AAA games on Xbox and it was never going to be. It's an average co-op shooter with half-baked ideas that never fully come together. It's fun for a few minutes but it wears thin very quickly. Give it a try on Game Pass but don't expect too much.