Redfall hands-on: A creepy and creative twist on the modern looter shooter

It seems like every major developer is working on an open-world shooter with co-op and RPG elements. But with Redfall, by drawing inspiration from a number of its previous titles, alongside other standouts in the genre, Arkane Studios has added fun new twists to the typical fps survival game. After getting a chance to go hands-on with a preview build of the game, I’m really excited to see more of how Arkane is adding its own flavor to that formula.

Set in the fictional island town of Redfall, Massachusetts, your goal is to cleanse the land of the growing vampire invasion. However, these aren’t your standard bloodsucking ghouls. Instead of ancient monsters, these vampires are the result of a science experiment gone wrong. This gives high-ranking vampires powerful psionic abilities that elevate them to near god-like status, which they’ve used to convert some of the surviving townsfolk into a cult. But more importantly, the mashup of sci-fi and supernatural in a contemporary setting has some really neat impacts on gameplay as well.

That’s because, in addition to your standard range of pistols, shotguns and sniper rifles, you’ll have to rely on updated interpretations of iconic vampire killing weapons too, especially since bullets only weaken vampires before you properly finish them off. So alongside your trusty stake, you’ll also have access to things like stake launchers, flare guns and even a high-powered UV beam rifle which adds a new dimension to typical gunplay. On top of that, as a looter shooter, there’s a variety of weapon rarities (from standard to unrivaled) with bonus traits like being able to reload faster or having increased accuracy while moving. And if you’re a fan of a particular combo, you can also craft and customize weapons to suit your playstyle.

Sadly, while I didn’t have a chance to play them all, Redfall’s cast offers a lot more personality than your typical roster of vampire slayers. There’s robotics engineer Remi, who uses her mechanical companion Bribon to distract enemies while she blasts away. Alternatively, there’s mercenary Jacob who slays foes from afar using his sniper rifle, cloaking device and mystical “Undead Eye,” or Layla, who has special telekinetic abilities that she can use to create shields or launch herself (or party members) into the air for elevated attacks. However, I spent most of my time playing as Devinder, who holds the curious role of being an occult influencer in “cryptozoology”, while also having an interesting mix of both melee and AOE attacks thanks to his electric spear and UV staff that stuns any vampires in its range.