And when considering how it falls short in ways we wouldn't have expected from an Arkane title, the game is sadly a disappointment. That said, we found it to be a rather mindless experience, often finding ourselves going through the motions. Redfall isn't as unplayable as some of the most intense reaction might lead you to believe. But that only emphasised how mediocre the base of the game ended up being for us. We were fortunate enough to have had a largely bug-free experience, and any performance issues were minor and easy to look past.

There's a potentially engaging narrative in there, but it's undermined by sluggish storytelling. There are a few enjoyable missions, but most are largely repetitive. Some of the stronger vampires have interesting designs and powers, but the AI is underwhelming at times. It's just that they are often prevented from flourishing by other aspects. That's not to say there aren't positive things to be said about the game. This means that during a main mission, you can generally go straight from point A to point B without missing out on anything. Clear out a house or cave and you're left with rummaging through loot, which is unrewarding by itself, and the odd snippet of forgettable environmental storytelling through notes. Meanwhile, historical markers can be found and provide fast travel points, but don't contribute meaningful world-building, and so only really exist from a mechanical standpoint.Įven coming across a location off the beaten path inhabited by cultists or vampires fails to inspire. Safehouses are scattered across the town with sidequests tied to them, but those sidequests are generic without adding to the lore and it's a chore when the main story, at multiple points, forces you to complete some of them to progress. The second major area is an improvement and has a more interesting layout, but it doesn't compensate for some of the game's design.

The town of Redfall - which encompasses two maps - has its moments but large chunks of areas lack a sense of place. There's no excitement from picking up a new weapon, and so looting becomes monotonous, especially since there is a heavy amount of micromanagement in sorting out which weapons to get rid of. The issue is that most of the time, there isn't any real difference between each weapon in its type aside from better stats.

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