Redfall is an upcoming Bethesda-published and Arkane Studios-developed co-op first-person shooter. It was revealed at the Xbox + Bethesda E3 2021 showcase as the final game, and although there was no gameplay footage shown, the cinematic trailer provided an idea of what we can expect. We received an in-depth gameplay demo at the June 2022 Xbox & Bethesda showcase.
Here’s everything we know about Redfall, including details on its release date, gameplay, characters, story, trailer, setting, genre, multiplayer and more.
Redfall rumors
Xbox has revealed plans for its first Developer_Direct showcase, where we will most certainly see Redfall. You can catch the show on Xbox’s YouTube or Twitch channel at 12pm PT/3pm ET on January 25. We’re unsure how long the show itself will be and if we can expect any secrets, but we’re hoping to get release dates on some of Xbox’s biggest games.
Bethesda recently announced Redfall has been officially delayed until the first half of 2023, along with the highly anticipated Starfield. According to the post, Arkane has “incredible ambitions” and want to make sure players “receive the best, most polished versions of them.”
Redfall was originally set to launch in summer 2022 on PC and Xbox Series X|S, but has now been pushed back to early 2023. While we still don’t know any specific dates, the announcement states we can expect to see some gameplay soon; possibly at the upcoming Xbox and Bethesda Game Showcase on June 12. If not, it might appear at the extended Xbox showcase on June 14.
Release dates are just estimates anyway; Deathloop was initially set to launch at the end of 2020, but instead came out on September 14. And Ghostwire: Tokyo launched on March 25 after initially being an October 2021 game. After noticing the trend (these are all Bethesda games), it doesn’t come as a shock that Redfall won’t be out by summer this year.
Redfall gameplay
Redfall received an in-depth gameplay demo at the June 2022 Xbox & Bethesda showcase. Atmospheric horror, bloody floors, and flies buzzing around piles of some sort of gunk made up the introduction of this demo. We saw one of the main characters fend off a series of tall vampiric creatures with some sort of rifle in the attic of a church.
Afterwards, we got treated to exposition on what’s going on in the story and how these vampires pretty much caused a sort-of apocalypse. The protagonists are searching for answers on how to make things better in this city.
We also got a first look at a part of the city the character’s invaded, which is like a carnival at the sea shore. The protagonists use many of their powers to fend off the zombies, including gigantic electricity sticks that someone stabbed into the ground and spectral purple lances that can be shot at enemies. We also got brief snippets of what the skill trees would like.
Redfall is a first-person shooter set in an open-world Massachusetts, where players slice and dice a Vampiric threat that has overtaken this small town. Redfall is in development at Arkane Austin, the team behind Prey, which means we can expect a similar style of play.
Leaked images have revealed very early information on what Redfall looks like. It appears our early thoughts regarding it being similar to something like Borderlands is actually true. There will be customizable loadouts, special abilities, level requirements, and plenty of loot. For example, players can seemingly have up to three weapons equipped, along with armor, a memento, a medkit, and remnants. It’s hard to say what some of these do yet, but it’s safe to assume they modify your stats in some way.
Redfall characters
Redfall will feature a diverse roster of heroes, each with their unique abilities. Jacob Boyer carries a sniper rifle in the trailer and has the power to turn invisible. His eye glows with a misty white essence at some point, perhaps giving him enhanced aiming abilities when activated.
Remi de la Rosa is carrying an automatic assault rifle, and she runs around with a cute little robot that can fire bullets or use its weight to crush vampires. Whether there will be more robots to choose from is yet to be seen. She also has a freeze ray that can turn vampires into ice dust.
Layla Ellison is wielding a semi-automatic assault rifle and possesses some sort of cosmic power that allows her to shift gravity and temporarily float above the battlefield. She uses this to scale a building at some point in the trailer, which likely means the game will have an element of verticality. She also channeled that power into some sort of death ray umbrella that demolished a vampire.
Devinder Crousley has a stake launcher to skewer enemies, and he’s someone who enjoys recording his encounters with these vampiric creatures; he seems fascinated by them. He is also shown with a flare launcher of some kind.
Redfall trailer
Redfall’s reveal trailer gave us a good idea of the dynamic we could expect from the game. Sure, this town is being overrun by vicious, blood-sucking vampires, but it seems the general tone will be quite humorous.
This trailer shows each character’s weird personality, and it gives off a chemistry that harkens back to something like Left 4 Dead. It also paints an interesting picture on how playing each character could feel, from their general character traits to each specific ability.
A 20-minute developer interview with the team at Arkane Austin is available, going over some of what players can expect from Redfall. It seem clear that the team wants to keep Arkane’s freeing immersive sim roots intact with this game, even though it’s multiplayer.
Redfall setting
Redfall takes place in the island town of Redfall, Massachusetts. A vampiric presence has overtaken the town and made itself the dominating leader. As Redfall is an open-world game, players are encouraged to fully explore this town.
I hope Redfall has enough environmental diversity to keep things fresh. Being stuck to one location, especially an island town in Massachusetts, risks the game being plagued by a lack of unique settings. However, as long as the set pieces are memorable, it should stay interesting. Prey is full of diverse areas, so I imagine Arkane Austin can manage.
Redfall story
Redfall revolves around a slightly bizarre concept; these vampires aren’t ancient, powerful beings. They’re the result of a failed science experiment, and they’re continuously growing stronger.
We also know that this presence has mostly taken over the island, and there are even cultists who worship the vampires. We don’t know much else about the story besides that, but it seems our characters have come to this place to put a stop to this vampiric invasion.
Redfall genre
Redfall’s genre is somewhat of a mystery. It could go the Left 4 Dead route, where players are mowing down vampires with weapons pick-ups to surviving scripted levels. However, considering the game is open-world, this is unlikely.
It could also be a looter-shooter in the vein of Borderlands. A co-op, open-world FPS where each character has its unique powers is certainly the foundation for something like that. However, there was no mention of it being an RPG in official press releases.
The official website states, “Redfall brings the studio’s signature gameplay to the co-operative action and FPS genres.” This might mean the game will play similarly to Prey, with a focus on giving players a collection of gadgets, abilities, and weaponry to overcome obstacles in creative ways.
If this is true, it beckons the question: How will elements from the immersive sim genre play into a co-op experience? It’s hard to say, but we’re stoked to see Redfall gameplay.
Redfall multiplayer
Redfall features co-op with up to three other players. Since there were four characters shown in the announcement trailer, this cinematic reveal was likely trying to emulate what an intense vampiric encounter might look like when you’re patrolling with your squad.
Thanks to info on the official website, we can expect multiplayer and single-player options to blend “seamlessly.” Players can equip different hero loadouts, which could mean there is some customization involved for how the player engages with each encounter. Perhaps there are skill trees or purchasable gadgets.
Redfall Xbox Game Pass
Redfall will launch on day one on Xbox Game Pass for Xbox Series X|S and PC. If you’re subscribed to the service when Redfall arrives, you won’t have to worry about purchasing it. As long as your subscription is active, you will be able to play the game for free.
With Microsoft having purchased Bethesda, players can expect that all upcoming Bethesda titles to come to Xbox Game Pass for Xbox Series X|S and PC.
