Redfall Reviews
Although based on good ideas, Redfall does not measure up in any of its aspects.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Redfall is the worst AAA game release in years. Bugs, glitches, poor performance, terrible mission design, broken AI, and everything in between are here in spades. There is no saving this one and there is no excuse for how this game was released in this state.
Redfall is an empty mess, an embarrassment of the Xbox platform and a completely mundane exercise in insanity.
Redfall's grocery list of problems, from storytelling to open world design, are so extensive that it seems more humane to drive a stake through this beating heart – if you can find it.
When Arkane releases a new game, it's always a celebration. But not this time. It's rare to see a new game from a big publisher of which you can't come up with anything good to say.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Redfall is a broken mess that serves as the worst kind of Xbox Series X|S representation and a huge stain on Microsoft, Bethesda and Arkane's reputation going forward.
Review in Russian | Read full review
There are so many things wrong with Redfall; every element feels plagued by poor decision-making. The visuals are dated and buggy, the story is paper-thin and filled with annoying archetypes, and the gameplay is floaty, unsatisfying, and generic. Don’t even get me started on the atrocious AI, which can’t even make its way around basic objects. If Redfall was truly developed by the Arkane Studios I love so much; it must have been under difficult circumstances. Rarely do games like this exist without low budgets, tons of studio interference, and short development cycles. I don’t blame Arkane, and nobody should, but Microsoft needs to rethink their entire strategy if this is what we can expect from their AAA exclusives going forward. Keep the casket closed for this one.
Redfall resembles the vampires it's based on. It lacks identity, and sucks the life out of you. Every time I see a spark of potential, it's stomped out by bugs, braindead AI, and an empty world not worth exploring. I wish Arkane well in their next endeavor, because they need to let this one die.
Redfall, simply put, is a disappointment. What else can be said? In the end, uninteresting gameplay, untapped potential, boring or first-rate systems... We don't know what went wrong in Arkane Austin. But this really isn't the game we expected from them. Or anyone, for that matter.
Review in Czech | Read full review
Redfall unfortunately does not follow the "fresh" ideas that Arkane had recently.
Review in Greek | Read full review
The question that Redfall leaves me with is why? Why put out such a middling game before it’s ready, especially as any buzz it would have accrued will be swallowed by other game releases? Why not save it for later in the year, after the launch of Starfield, and end the Xbox brand’s year on a high note? Why botch the vampire concept and fill the game with gun-toting soldiers? Why include a loot and skill point system only to make them so boring that leveling up and finding equipment becomes a chore? Why launch a game focusing on multiplayer and not have match-making? Why, Redfall, why?
Redfall ventures into the realm of cooperative action but stumbles in fully realizing its potential, leaving it as a merely decent game with an underutilized immersive sim foundation. While enjoyable with a group of friends, solo players might find the experience less captivating. Redfall’s beautiful art and excellent voice acting provide a silver lining, but they’re not enough to elevate it to the heights of Arkane’s other masterpieces.
Pardon the pun, but playing Redfall really sucked the life out of me. It's a game that so desperately feels like it wants to be more than what it is, which is understandable. It's dreadfully dull, buggy, frustrating, and feels shackled to a genre that it doesn't really want to be part of. Far Cry with vampires sounds like a great idea, but ultimately, what we got feels like a shell of a prototype for such a concept.
Redfall is a disappointing offering from Arkane that lacks the charm, depth, and mechanics that made their previous titles so beloved.
Redfall has some relatively interesting concepts, and could make for a decent multiplayer shooter, but is lacks the substance to see it through.
While the game's "early access" state means that its technical issues can be fixed, Redfall's major problem is that its makers do not know what makes this type of shooter work. Maybe Arkane did not have enough time to properly make it, or maybe they shipped it a year too early. Whatever the case, this just feels like an obligation project, with its team woefully inept at figuring out why this genre of shooters functions in the first place. From its uninspired and not-so-hot loot system, its broken combat, its empty world, and ho-hum-to-boring missions that are poorly designed, there is really no sane reason why you should play Redfall. Well, apart from mild curiosity and the fact that you can subject yourself to the suckfest for free on Game Pass.
Redfall is a far cry from Arkane’s usual work, and it’s sad to see this is the final product from this team. The writing is the best part, but nothing about it can save this from being a mediocre game that can’t manage to do more than one thing at a time, whether it be an immersive sim, an open-world game, or even an RPG. Try as I might, I can’t find enjoyment in this, or even continue to play a game that looks and feels this incomplete for its $70 price tag. Redfall is playable, but in the most threadbare way, as it’s a shell of a game that will exhaust you long before the credits roll. And like vampires are wont to do, Redfall sucks.
Redfall is Arkane Studios’ first major misstep, a game that feels unfinished and without soul, as if it was designed by a committee looking to cash in on all the newest trends with no care for the developer’s past glory.
Redfall isn’t a total disaster, and there’s fun to be had in slaying vampires, especially with a couple of friends. But to call Redfall a shallow experience would be an understatement. I’m happy to loot and shoot and make my own fun, but there still needs to be something there to pull me through it. Nothing in Redfall, from the loot to the characters to the exploration to the power climb, ever made me want to keep playing, or feel like there was something more to achieve. No amount of bug fixes or updates will be able to improve Redfall’s fundamental gameplay flaws. It’s not just rough around the edges, it’s rutted all the way through.