Redfall Review Roundup

​The Xbox was a distant second to the PS4 last generation, but the optimism of a comeback was high this gen. Microsoft did what most blue chip companies do when they loose market share and throw Bill Gates's retirement money at the problem spending billions acquiring over 15 game studios. Of course, this sent the industry into a buzz, especially when one of those studios was revealed to be famous developers Arkane Studios. "First-party games are going to be lit now...right?" I remember my friend asking me at the time of these announcements. Well my friend (and the dozens of you out there that reads my blogs), here's the review roundup of Arkane's first Xbox exclusive: 

Continue below for written version.

SCREEN RANT (SCORE 3.5/5)
'There is a lot to enjoy with Arkane's latest, even if some aspects don't feel as fleshed out as they could be. The game looks and plays great on PC with several graphics options, including performance and ultra-performance modes. Although the gameplay could use more variation, the locations and enemies in Redfall are a lot of fun to experience with friends. Redfall does more right than wrong in a gaming genre filled with multiplayer shooters competing for limited screen time - and it's worth a try, especially for friends who've dreamed of forming a group of vampire slayers.'

For the full review please visit here.

GAMESPOT (SCORE 4/10)
'Ultimately, Redfall is a game that should not have been released yet. Its litany of bugs hampers the gameplay loop of exploring its world with friends, and that loop itself feels compromised by elements that are poorly executed and ill-suited to the team implementing them. I can't pretend to know whether Arkane chose to make a loot-shooter or was assigned to make a loot-shooter, but I can tell you what it feels like: one of the best game studios in the world suddenly made toothless.'

For the full review please visit here.

GAMING BOLT (SCORE 5/10)
'Redfall feels entirely out of character for Arkane, a studio that has always prided itself on developing unique, systemically dense games that provide experiences that have almost no peers in the medium. While it does retain hints of the studio’s formula, it dilutes it too much with rote and uninspired gameplay and design choices, resulting in a blend that feels like it’s neither here nor there. Then you have the technical and control issues, which further mar the experience, while the narrative shortcomings prove to be another stake to the heart. It’d be unfair and inaccurate to say that there’s nothing to like here – there certainly is – but in what’s probably a first for Arkane, the bad ends up outweighing the good.'

For the full review please visit here.

GAMES RADAR (SCORE 2.5/5)
'Redfall is ultimately not up to Arkane's usual standards. It feels rushed, unfinished, and unsatisfying to play. Single-player is hampered by a squad-based open-world shooter structure, multiplayer held back by odd decisions, and decent gunplay is marred by uninspiring mission structures. It's a confusing game, full of contradictions, and the result is unfulfilling.'

For the full review please visit here.

IGN (SCORE N/A)
'A lot has been made of Redfall only running at 30fps at launch on Xbox Series X|S but, while it’s certainly noticeable when moving rapidly, it’d be disingenuous of me to pretend it’s a dealbreaker. As a console gamer who grew up playing on 50Hz TVs at 25fps, I’m not going to throw my toys out of the pram over it. What’s far, far more pressing an issue than Redfall’s Xbox frame rate is its raft of other performance problems, from textures that take an absolute age to pop in (or don’t load at all), disappearing characters and animations, and other mission-breaking bugs.'

​For the full review please visit here.

ACG (VIDEO REVIEW)

Overall, after 28 critic reviews, Redfall  averages a disappointing 64% score on Metacritic. Look...I won't pretend that other highly-rated developers don't make bad games. But! Due to the hype surrounding Xbox's first-party acquisitions, as well as this game giving us a feeling that this game was more forced upon Arkane, it really leaves a bitter taste.

Microsoft has some work to do, and now all eyes turn to their Summer presentation and Starfield in September. ​

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