I sneak behind the covered wall of the resort and see a vampire. It looks at the sky in the middle of a bright day, lurking on the corner of the balcony. I get right behind the vampire and shoot him a couple of times in the back. The vampire is paralyzed for a moment and I manage to smother him with a stake attached to the barrel of the shotgun.
There are also humans among the enemies, Hollow Man Sanskari. In theory, they are a basic kill feature of games like this, but the possibility of eavesdropping adds itself to situations. Innocent bystanders are discussing their own affairs by a flaming oil drum when a lunatic attacks from behind with a gun.
Arkane Studios, best known for the excellent Dishonored games before and the great Deathloop, is responsible for Redfall. Little of their experience survives in the environment of this open world multiplayer shooter. but only a little.
There are four playable characters, each with their own play style. The Borderlands-inspired solution adds variety, though the game doesn’t live up to the level of its predecessor. Redfall feels oddly unfinished.
The framework is in place: the village has an atmosphere, the menace of a red haze and the wild magic of the villains bring a sense of grandeur to the story. The sun must be turned off! Still, when playing, it feels like playing one of the lesser side missions of a better game. That now you have to kill these guys to get access to some more interesting stuff.
Even hitting has its own problems. Sometimes Redfall reminds me of Far Cry. These are often the best moments of the game, when the world feels atmospheric, you can outrun enemies and there’s a sense of brevity to the shooting.
However, often the atmosphere is weak. Hitting feels sticky and tricky at the same time. It’s easier to run towards the enemy with a gun in hand, so you don’t have to aim as much. Luckily, the enemies are stupid enough to happily run into the open door one by one. They can be clicked one by one if the weapon is already aimed at it.
Even though Raidfall is designed to be played with a friend, in some places its rhythm seems better suited for solo play. There are many things to sneeze at in the world, starting with reading message boards, and there’s nothing to do if the guy is already busy shooting enemies.
Despite its faults, Redfall isn’t a sad game by any means. Even though the game feels unfinished and has some technical issues, it still has some fun to be had. Ten-year-old zombie game Dead Island was similar: When it came out, the game was riddled with problems that made it the worst it could be. Still, it was nice to tinker in some way.
Redfall is at its best when the fighting pauses for a moment and you get to explore a unique, stylish world. The leader of the Hollow Man cult talks restlessly through various instruments, the waves of the ocean have stopped in place and the daily cycle changes the atmosphere at regular intervals. In these moments, you might feel like you’re playing the Rapture-style story-driven indie game Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture.
Then Panthi attacks you and you have to go back to aim the binoculars.
red fall
Published as Mikka Vampire Hunt Raquelle
nice interesting world, description
Bad aim, single player content not suitable for multiplayer
Allstat PC, XSX
price 70 euro
