With the frenzy of Halloween comes increased affinity of the consuming public to weird occultic titles. Horror is a niche in media, as not many people are comfortable playing or watching it. However, with Halloween only just in the rearview mirror, horror gaming franchises have taken advantage of the boom the festival brings for business. Some household names in the industry, like Silent Hill and Redfall, released trailers for their hotly anticipated games over the period, garnering millions of views across social media platforms. In Redfall's trailer, the fictional town of Redfall in Massachusetts has been overrun by a horde of vampires in the aftermath of a failed scientific experiment.
Redfall thrusts players into a world where they must fight to survive against different types of vampires. The four-player co-op first-person shooter, which also has a single-player campaign, allows players to experience a vampire-themed zombie apocalypse with friends. Arkane is exploring a different angle than the traditional stories of vampirism, removing the barrier of human empathy that plagues gamers when playing these games - that these vampires were once human too. While these characters used to be human, Redfall's creative director states they were already exceedingly evil on the inside, so their vampirism was more of a metamorphosis than a disease. Not all vampires featured in Redfall come in Count Dracula from Castlevania size, as Arkane and Bethesda seek to bring unique ideas to the vampire industry. Redfall categorizes its vampires into different tiers, and even the lowest of these creatures shouldn't be scoffed at by players.
Human Cultists
In almost every form of survival or apocalyptic media, there's usually a group of stragglers who would do anything to stay alive, and nothing is off the table - even to the point of selling their humanity. This group of characters in Redfall forms the Human Cultists, who are lending the vampires their support to bring the rest of humankind to its knees in servitude. It is unclear whether every member of this group got brainwashed by the vampires or is operating of their free will, but they are heavily armed, mentally deranged, and hostile to any human outside their ranks.
The theory is that this group wants to ascend into vampire-dom after offering their service, but the vampires in Redfall have different plans in mind. As a rule, vampires need blood to function, and lots of it too. The Human Cultists in Redfall can undergo modifications by vampires higher in ranking to serve as blood bags, capable of growing large blood boils on their bodies for their masters to snack on when they get hungry. The Human Cultists should be the easiest enemies to defeat in the game purely based on human nature.
Minions
These are the lowest-ranking of actual vampires in the game. While there's no official name for this tier of vampires yet, they are the most common enemies gamers will face in their Redfall journeys. Although nowhere near as powerful as some other announced vampires in the game, base vampires are superior in strength, speed and agility to regular humans, so players would do well not to underestimate this vampire type. From the gameplay trailer in the Xbox Games Showcase, these enemies are intelligent - a heads-up to gamers who are used to battling brain-dead zombies from Left 4 Dead. These vampires can dodge gunfire and bounce off walls, making them more than ordinary kill-streak meat for gamers.
Watcher
This vampire type will be a major source of irritation for players moving stealthily across Redfall's map. The creature - almost all skull-and-bones - serves as an alarm system for their vampire buddies in the game, alerting them to movements from players. Beams of light shoot from its eyes as it scouts for the slightest sign of human activity, and the Watcher is stationed at strategically advantageous positions in the official gameplay trailer; on balconies, rooftops or trees. Players must be careful in their vampire-hunting journey or risk an ambush of a horde of enemies hot on their heels.
Angler
Above the minions comes the serious business of Redfall. The Angler was the first specialized vampire type revealed in the initial trailer for Redfall back in 2021. Like something out of nightmares, the Angler has pale skin that screams death and literal eyes of fire. The pitch-black clothing completes the haunting attire, and the Angler is sure to haunt a few gamers' dreams with its erratic mode of flight and harpoon-esque weapon.
The weapon is composed of glowing energy, for lack of a better way to put it, which it can launch at a team to cause damage or trap a teammate and drag the unfortunate player to itself, isolating said teammate temporarily. Players can free themselves from the Angler's spear (albeit with some effort), so it's not an immediate teeth-to-neck sentence. Defeating the Angler will require teamwork, so players should bring their A-game and get ready for what the vampire has in store for them.
Vampire Gods
Survival games would be incomplete without final bosses. As players progress in Redfall, Arkane says these Gods are the boss encounters that break up chapters in the game. The Vampire Gods are responsible for darkening the world in the game by blotting out the sun and receding the water from the Redfall island's shores, effectively trapping players on the map. This type of vampire endured the most transformations from the failed scientific experiment, making them develop special abilities to become the apex vampires in the game.
Redfall releases in 2023 for PC and Xbox Series X/S.