We’ve known for a little under a month that Redfall will be out on May 2nd. But some elements of the game were still a bit obscure. As well as showing off a new trailer, the IGN Fan Fest is also an opportunity for Ben Horne, the Executive Producer, to answer an interview to provide some details on Arkane Austin’s next game.
If we already knew that the open world and its corners were made entirely by hand, he seems proud to announce that there will be “thousands and thousands of lines to read” as he discovers documents scattered left and right. It’s going to be very interesting, no doubt, but that’s not really how we think about environmental stories. The essence of video games is that they can show rather than tell – especially in the text. Granted, the writing and to some extent the audiologs were prevalent in the studio’s previous titles, but that doesn’t really seem consistent with a four-player co-op game…
He also returns to the comparison that could be made with a Left 4 Dead, pointing out that being in a group is not an obligation: there is a bonus if you play close to your partners, but nothing prevents you from spreading out in the four corners of the city and achieving multiple goals at the same time. This also has to do with the fact that the whole game can be played alone. From this we can deduce that there probably won’t be a vampire with abilities like the hunter or the smoker from Valve’s zombie game.
Ben also brings up a point that seems interesting: the fact that different factions of NPCs can meet and fight each other without there being a script. We could then hear gunfire in the distance bringing some life into the universe.
Unfortunately, the gunfights shown in the trailer are still not captivating, thanks to enemies not really reacting to the impact of our bullets. At the risk of repeating ourselves, we really feel like we’re up against plastic opponents, which is very disappointing. Our hope of evolution on this side is fading…
Redfall is slated for release on May 2nd on Steam, the Epic Games Store, and Xbox Game Pass.