Redfall is a new shooter from Bethesda and the studio Arkane, which has launched three very successful games with Dishonored, Prey and Deathloop. But the reviews of their latest title are anything but good. So far, Metacritic has a 62, with several testers even giving it only 40 points.
What kind of game is this? In its basic description, Redfall has everything a shooter hit in 2023 needs: an open world, loot, a co-op function for up to 4 players, vampires and a lot of humor. When it was originally introduced, some compared the game to Borderlands, which boasts similar content.
But there were already signs earlier in the year that Redfall might not be able to live up to the high expectations. MeinMMO editor Maik Schneider, for example, was able to play the shooter for almost two hours and praised the characters, but criticized the mediocre gameplay.
He hoped that things would change before the release on May 2nd. However, based on current reviews, that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Check out the Redfall launch trailer here:
Redfall – Official Launch Trailer
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“It feels rushed, unfinished and unsatisfying”
What do the first reviews say? The current best rating comes from DualShockers. The site gives it an 8.5 out of 10, praising the open world, character abilities, and “sparing use of map markers” to encourage exploration. Criticism is mainly due to the lack of development of the main characters.
It is also followed by two 80 ratings from XGN and VGC before the numbers plummet.
The evaluation by Gamereactor UK, which awarded 4 out of 10, also reads brutally:
Redfall is a huge disappointment, as there are parts of the game that still have a touch of Arcane brilliance. The map has potential, but there’s just nothing to do in it. The story is gripping at times and shows that the small-town America-meets-vampires concept is still very much alive and well. But this game is a total disaster at times. It does very little to keep you playing, and even when you find something to enjoy, the horrible and downright pathetic performance does everything to kill that passion in you.
What do other reviewers say? Some testers haven’t gotten far enough with Redfall to give a full review. Bethesda only sent out the test version of the shooter on April 28th and the story campaign alone should offer at least 20 hours of play.
PCGamer has therefore only published a preliminary “Review in Progress”. It says so far: “Redfall is exactly what I feared: a lifeless multiplayer shooter without the playful, systemic creativity of an Arkane single-player title. After about 40 hours of gameplay, I’m not sure I’d even recommend it to Game Pass subscribers – 77GB is a big download for such a boring first-person shooter.
With our colleagues from GameStar, the test is also being postponed due to the holiday on May 1st. However, a preliminary conclusion should come today.
Why do reviews hurt so much? Arkane, the development studio, is actually known for great success.
A 62 doesn’t fit into the picture at all.
What do you think of Redfall? Did you buy the game or will you still do so? Or do the bad reviews scare you off too much?