Picking a character in Redfall is much more important than most other looter shooters that follow a service model. Picking a character is often a purely cosmetic or flavor choice while other games give a perk here or there. But each of these four characters fundamentally changes the way the game is played.
With three unique abilities and skill trees than invest in them, Redfall makes the biggest choice in the game the first one that players make. Those who don't like their character will need to start over with a different one. Each one can be great in some aspects, but there is some clear favoritism from the community toward a couple of characters for a good reason.
4 Remedios "Remi" De La Rosa
Remi does have some perks. In a group, Mobilize will heal squads that have run out of medicine and have taken a beating. Siren is a bad choice to use off the bat since it will alert enemies to Remi's presence as well as her party, but in the thick of combat, it's a good distraction to have.
The trouble is that her entire ability set is often wasted. Most groups will try to kill enemies from afar instead of running in immediately, negating the need for any of what she brings to the table. Her robot, Bribon, sometimes interferes with shots and doesn't have the damage or health pool to be relied on even when getting a respec to try and boost it.
3 Layla Ellison
When it comes to ultimate abilities, Layla is impressive. Vampire Ex-Boyfriend summons Jason who will systematically take out enemies one by one. He can sometimes get in the way of shots, but it's a small price to pay for his instant-death strikes.
After playing the game for a long time, though, some of Layla's weaknesses show. Umbrella is really too small to block enemies shooting from multiple angles which is a common situation. And while Lift is fine for positioning, it's a pretty direct downgrade to Dev's Translocate skill.
2 Devinder "Dev" Crousley
Dev's abilities are three strong gadgets that cover a variety of scenarios. Blacklight is perhaps the most devastating attack against the game's toughest foes, freezing vampires in place and setting them up for easy kills while stunning other opponents.
For even more stuns, the Arc Javelin is a projectile with a great range that will freeze enemies up for a few seconds, plenty of time to wipe out anyone near it. Translocate is also usable by teammates, so the entire squad can get an immediate positional advantage over their foes. These become a big deal when cranking up the game's difficulty.
1 Jacob Boyer
Jacob is in a class of his own and would top this list in either solo or group play. The ideal way to attack a point is to mark everything and take it out from afar before getting up close. Jacob's Raven marks everything. His ultimate, Heartstopper, auto-headshots when he aims. And the Cloak ability allows him to get in without detection or out if things go south.
His level one feels akin to some of the other survivors at max level. Jacob is lethal in all situations and, if for some reason the plan goes south, he has no issue running away to safety with a single press of a button.
Redfall is available now for PC and Xbox Series X/S.