Redfall Isn't Arkane's Left 4 Dead – It's The Studio's Spin on Far Cry | GamesRadar+
Redfall isn't the video game that you think it is. Following its reveal, the Xbox Series X exclusive has drawn comparisons to the Left 4 Deads of this world. Great games, concedes Arkane creative director Ricardo Bare, but not exactly what the studio is shooting for. "It's totally understandable for somebody to come to that conclusion. There are four playable characters, you can play together cooperatively, and you're going against the undead. But, in terms of the way that you play and experience Redfall, it's not like those games at all. Redfall is more like loading into Far Cry."
That world is where Redfall really diverges from any lingering horde shooter comparisons. Those genre games have a familiar rhythm: load into linear missions with friends, and fight waves of enemies until the end. Redfall has a broader objective, affording you the freedom to linger (or fight) at your leisure. Defining the shape of your adventure is all part of the appeal. "You're in a big-ass open world," enthuses Bare. "We have a home base where you can talk to NPCs and get side-quests. You can go to the mission table and pick up story-driven missions. Or you can not give a shit about any of that and just head outside; pick a direction, start hauling ass, and run into the living-world stuff that we have going on."
Smith doesn't mean from a purely visual aesthetic either, with the time impacting everything from how viable stealth is before combat erupts to how the various factions appear in the world. Vampires may spawn during the day, but remain dormant, becoming active at nightfall. Bellwether Security may up their patrols before the cultists come out in force to greet the shadow walkers. Sometimes all three of these factions will be caught at war, with your squad acting as casual bystanders to the carnage of competing interests. Smith says: "You may start a mission at high noon and get distracted along the way. By the time you reach the objective, it may be nighttime with different enemy spawns. Every slight difference pushes you, naturally, to take a different approach."
Many of these aspects of Redfall aren't predefined activities, but part of the simulated space. "Redfall sometimes feels like what you'd get if you blended the Arkane creative values with Far Cry 2 or S.T.A.L.K.E.R.," Smith continues. "That's the kind of thing that we have wanted to do for a long time." You may find instances of combat, story vignettes, or countless chaotic results as Arkane's systems clash together. One part of this complex puzzle is the day-night cycle, which remains despite a powerful Vampire God – the Black Sun – having established a local Eclipse. "The sun sets and the sun rises, and we have different times of the day," says Smith. "It changes the feel of the game radically."
"We want you creeping through a cornfield at night in the fog, hearing vampires whisper in the dark. Maybe you'll spot a farmhouse in the distance, only to find that it's full of cultists and a few trapped survivors who you can save. That's the kind of vibe that Redfall has." pic.twitter.com/p37z5VdWsA
— Klobrille (@klobrille) January 6, 2023
"If Redfall comes together at the quality level we think it will, then it will be a different beast. It's really tremendous; it does a lot of cool stuff." pic.twitter.com/JPVtrlYYMe
— Klobrille (@klobrille) January 6, 2023
