Let’s sink our teeth into the talk of this past week…Redfall. Xbox and Bethesda’s vampire-slaying, co-op, looter shooter from Arkane Austin was in prime position to drive a wooden stake through the “Xbox doesn’t have great first party games” narrative that always seems to pop up a couple times of year, driven by rabid fanboys and biased media publications looking for guaranteed clicks. In the end, Redfall has seemingly failed to deliver as it is currently carrying a 60/100 rating on OpenCritic with a measly 15% of critics recommending the game in its current state.
Arkane Austin is a studio known for its stunning environmental storytelling with games like Prey and Dishonored 2 earning high praise and critical acclaim. While Redfall is a large deviation from the epic single player set pieces that the studio is known for, there was some hope that the team would be able to translate its masterful storytelling into a different type of experience. Sadly, those hopes weren’t met in a number of areas. The environmental storytelling itself isn’t bad, but the world lacks life and intrigue as the player traverses considerable stretches without any sort of encounters (then again should we really be that surprised that a town invested with vampires has become abandoned…).
Outside of the emptiness of the world, the blandness of some quests, and general technical issues (like the lack of a 60 fps mode on console at launch), the other thing that seems to be sticking with critics and players the most is the lack of challenge that NPC enemies present. On the default difficulty setting, enemies are even oblivious to their peers being melee’d right next to them. Redfall is far from Arkane’s finest work, but there is still some fun to be had, especially with a group of friends in co-op. If you’re interested in trying this one out for yourself, it is now available on Xbox Series X|S consoles, PC, and Game Pass (for both console and PC).
With all this being said, pressure continues to mount on Xbox and Bethesda’s next AAA game launch in Starfield, notably legendary producer Todd Howard’s first new IP in nearly two decades. While it won’t bring balance to the force of console makers, it could make a strong case for shifting Xbox’s first party game developer image back in the right direction.
Image from: Bethesda
