Redfall Joins The Long Line Of Broken Game Releases

The year continues as we see the launch of another highly anticipated title fall flat due to various technical and gameplay-centric shortcomings. Redfall, Arkane Austin’s latest project, saw its release earlier today but the reviews paint it in a disappointing light. According to review aggregator Metacritic, Redfall currently sits at 62 and 64 on PC and Xbox Series X respectively.

Some of the common points across several critic reviews talk about Redfall’s story, performance, level design, and gameplay elements. Some have also discussed the subpar AI present here. One of the reviews mentions how Arkane’s signature immersive simulation and level design aren’t present in Redfall. Furthermore, the problem is exacerbated by persistent performance issues and poor gunplay.

Such sentiments are all too common across the average of thirty critic reviews that Redfall has received. On the PC side, however, performance is far worse which led to it having a mostly negative rating on Steam. With only 30% positive reviews, players have commented on the game being bad citing poor AI, clunky controls, average visuals, bland world, and the $70 price tag.

One review by Steam user, Sean, reads, “Why do developers think they can charge $70 for games like this?.” Among the first things you see after landing on Redfall’s Steam page is a recommendation by PCGamesN. They state, “As long as you don’t mind the truly daft AI making things a bit mindless, Redfall is a good-enough co-op action game, but it makes us sad for the vampire-hunting immersive sim Arkane could’ve made.”

Prior to its launch, Redfall generated a fair amount of controversy due to an underwhelming gameplay showcase by IGN. This was made worse when it was confirmed that Redfall would not be launching with a 60fps mode. Further proof of this surfaced online when retailers were selling copies with a sticker on the back stating the same thing about the 60fps mode.

After a solid start in 2023 with Hi-Fi Rush, a game that was shadow-dropped and took everyone by surprise, it’s disappointing to see one of Xbox’s highly anticipated titles in a state of mediocrity. Following the 60fps controversy, many fans felt that the game should be delayed in order to allow Redfall to be in the best shape possible. 

2023 has been fairly underwhelming for video games from a performance perspective. Last week, we saw the launch of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor which fell in the same boat and suffered for it in terms of reviews. Last month, we had The Last of Us Part 1. Two broken launches followed by a third within such a short timespan raises the question of whether games should be delayed to ensure maximum performance.

Great games are often held back due to performance hiccups and Redfall is seemingly in a similar position. As of now, we do not have an official state from Arkane Studios regarding these problems but they are sure to address any and all issues as time goes on.

Redfall is out now on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox Game Pass, and PC.