When Arkane Studios’ supernatural shooterRedfalllaunched earlier this month, it faced a near-immediate backlash from players and critics alike due to the numerous problems plaguing the vampire-filled title. Complaints about everything from poor performance on both PC and consoles to bugs that left enemies oblivious to players’ presence led toRedfallgetting review bombedwithin hours of its release. But even though the shooter was largely disliked by players,Redfall’s co-op mode managed to receive some rave reviews thanks to its often-chaotic gameplay.
WithRedfall’s four playable survivorseach possessing unique abilities designed to take on the game’s vampiric foes, the open-world Arkane title offers plenty of possibilities for unleashing creative destruction when playing with friends. Whether dropping Layla’s lift to give a teammate a boost or deploying Jacob’s raven to mark enemies before charging into battle with a squad,Redfall’s survivors can play off each other to spice up the game’s otherwise underwhelming combat. For players who choose to take onRedfallfoes on their own not only does the combat become far less dynamic, but the game’s undead-haunted open world also begins to feel noticeably lifeless.
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Redfall’s Barren, Bloody Open World Can Feel Empty When Playing Solo
Theopen world ofRedfallis surprisingly expansive, consisting of two sizable towns along with the suburbs and outskirts that surround them. Though the scale of the vampire-ravaged seaside setting is impressive, its vast stretches of open space can leaveRedfallfeeling barren when going it alone. Players won’t be able to travel far inside the packed city centers without stumbling across vampires, cultists, or Bellwether mercenaries, but the density of NPCs quickly drops off once players leave these central hubs.
When traveling beyond the town centers and into the outskirts of Redfall Commons and Burial Point it’s not uncommon to go a minute or more without running into an enemy. While this makes sense thematically since much of the population of the two towns was said to have been wiped out during the vampiric invasion, running from mission to mission across often barren expanses of the map quickly wears out its welcome. As a result, many solo players are likely to find themselves usingRedfall’s fast travel systemrather than taking the scenic route to get from point to point in the game.
Choosing the Wrong Abilities Can Make Redfall’s Bosses a Chore Without Allies
Exploration isn’t the only aspect ofRedfallthat quickly becomes a chore when playing the game in single-player mode. Even though each ofRedfall’s survivors comes equipped with abilities that help to keep the combat at least somewhat entertaining even when taking on enemies with questionable AI, it’s clear that these abilities were designed to be used in tandem with those of other survivors. Since a segment of each player’s skill tree is devoted to perks that benefit the team as a whole, solo players not only lose out on these helpful buffs but can also find themselves at a disadvantage when taking onRedfall’s Vampire Gods.
WhileRedfall’s first two bosses, the Hollow Man and Bloody Joe, can be dispatched fairly easily even by solo players, the same can’t be said for the remaining Vampire Gods. Both the mysterious Miss Whisper andRedfall’s primary antagonist The Black Sun require players to take on additional tasks during the battle that can quickly become overwhelming with the wrong set of skills. This can result in players having to repeatedlyrespec their characterbefore finally finding the right combination of abilities needed to take down the Vampire Gods without help.
Bereft of the sorts of system-heavy mechanics that made Arkane’s previous shooters a hit with so many players,Redfall’s campaign can quickly become an experience that teeters between boredom and frustration for some solo gamers. And withArkane Studios already moving on to its next gamebased on recent rumors, it seems unlikely that any drastic changes toRedfall’s underwhelming single-player experience will arrive any time soon.
Redfallis available for PC and Xbox Series X/S.
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