Leading up toRedfall’s release in early May, there’s still much that remains to be discovered. While Arkane Studios’ past games will undoubtedly bear resemblance toRedfall, comparisons toLeft4DeadandFarCrygames are all working inRedfall’s favor as well. At the same time, there’s one recent game thatRedfallcould learn from to bring it to the next level, as pulling concepts from it can help expand upon horror and gameplay elements.
Arkane Studios has plenty of experience in crafting environments that effectively offer multiple avenues for engagement, though stealth is regularly the most encouraged method. This translates to the enemy AI emphasizing player-detection statuses to determine their behavior, with not a lot of interactions beyond combat and searching. Giving enemy AI the same type of complex diversity as the environments would be an amazing improvement forArkane Studios’ games, which are already outstanding. This kind of attention to detail in the heat of gameplay would make the most of the horror elements inRedfall, and otherwise take Arkane Studios’ future games that much farther.
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Games that Redfall Should Learn From
Deathloopwas a great capstone of all things ArkaneStudios and it received plenty of high praise in reviews for the game, although the enemy AI has room for some improvement. Predictable enemy patrol routes and habitual behaviors make for an environment that is ideal for arcade-stealth gameplay, but that should change forRedfall’s immersive horror elements. IfRedfallreally wants to bring Arkane Studios games to the next level of immersion, it should learn fromSons Of The Forest.Sons of the Forestis a great example of a recent game with interactive and immersive AI performances that frequently take the spotlight.
On the same note,Deathloopis much more story driven thanRedfallneeds to be.Deathloop’s main mode of progress was uncovering themystery behindDeathloop’s story, and consequently, the combat was only one of many means to providing progress. This isn’t to say thatRedfallshould be a shooter sandbox, but it would help to drive the immersion farther than any Arkane game has done before if the game were to emphasize gameplay-driven experiences. Improving Arkane Studios' enemy AI by giving them diverse interactions with the player could lead to some intense horror experiences inRedfall.
Even Arkane Studios’ 2017Preyreboot is closer to whatRedfallshould relate to thanDeathloop, sincePreycompares well to what makesSons Of The Forestso engaging.PreyandSons Of The Forest’s stories very easily get pushed to the background as players have to frequently prioritize survival against the puzzles that enemy engagements consist of. Thedifferent types of vampires inRedfall, as well as what the developers refer to as “psychic spaces” are shaping up to be an immersive horror experience, but the horror elements shouldn’t stop there. This is especially true sinceRedfallwill allow for cooperative experiences, meaning the AI should be far from predictable.Redfall’s vampire-filled environment would do well to capitalize on the horror elements of interactive AI, otherwise, it could be as underwhelming as theDishonoredseries’ rat plague.
StrongFarCryinspirationsbode well forRedfall, especially with all of this in mind.Farcryalso shares a bit of the chaotic tendencies that AI can offer to provide above-average levels of immersion.FarCry’s AI behaviors aren’t nearly as responsive as those fromSons Of The Forest, but they still have plenty of unique interactions when it comes to responding to the world and other characters/animals. WhatFarCrylacks, though, is the level of horror that vampires and engagements with uniquely powerful enemies can offer. This is where horror games likeSons Of The Forestshould instead be used as an influence onRedfalland potentially future Arkane games.
Redfalllaunches on May 2 for PC and Xbox Series X/S.
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