Arkane has given fans very little information on Redfall since it was announced at E3 2021. That's a shame, because the game's concept is compelling. Redfall is a team-based FPS that belongs to the family of Left 4 Dead successors cropping up in recent years, but like many of its peers, it doesn't go with zombies like Left 4 Dead. Redfall pits players against a blend of the supernatural and sci-fi forces as a legion of vampires threaten to destroy the world. Such an intelligent and powerful army of monsters ought to offer fans a worthy challenge.
Unfortunately, for the moment a main source of Redfall details is unofficial. In September 2021, several images of Redfall in early development leaked, giving players their first look at what gameplay might look like. Development stages aren't representative of any game's final product, and while Redfall has hopefully progressed beyond these leaked images, they do inspire some hope for how the game will turn out. As far as early screenshots go, the leaked Redfall images look good, so Arkane might be able to deliver a compelling final product in this vampire hunting game.
Assessing the Leaked Redfall Images
The leaked Redfall screenshots cover a variety of gameplay elements. A few focus on menus, giving fans a glimpse at gun stats and character loadouts, while others show off parts of the town of Redfall where the game takes place. Some images are grainy, but they still give a good sense of the world Arkane has in mind. A couple of screenshots hint at a highly detailed, formerly sleep New England town now fallen into ruin, while others hint at claustrophobic scientific facilities hidden within the town. The foliage in leaked screenshots is pretty impressive for early development, too. Arkane seems to be well on its way to capturing Redfall's blend of atmospheres.
The screenshots show more potential than graphics alone, though. They also hint at Redfall's unique mechanics, especially its weapon systems. A couple of images show statistics for a weapon called the UV Beam M01, which supposedly fires concentrated UV light to petrify vampires. There's no telling how this weapon actually handles in Redfall yet, but it's at least an encouraging sign that Arkane is cooking up some original firearms suited toward targeting a vampire's weaknesses, which will make Redfall's combat stand out from the crowd.
Redfall's Inevitable Reemergence
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Redfall's leaked images won't be representative of the final version of the game, nor should they be. Even if they're impressive for development images, there's a lot of room for polish through adjusting the lighting, adding more details, and so on. It's unclear how old the leaked Redfall screenshots were when they leaked, but multiple instances of sample text within the screenshots make it clear that Redfall was still in the thick of development. Redfall has had a lot of time to grow since the images came out; it could look entirely different by now.
With its summer release window approaching, Redfall's return to the public eye seems inevitable. Unless Arkane decides to delay the game, odds are good that Redfall will reappear and show off how it has grown soon. Until that happens, fans should remain optimistic that Redfall will impress. After all, Arkane just delivered fan impressive game with Deathloop, which picked up several nominations and accolaids at The Game Awards 2021. Redfall is undoubtedly a very different game, but Deathloop shows Arkane's potential to deliver a graphically beautiful and mechanically unique game. Redfall could very well inherit that legacy.
Redfall releases in summer 2022 for PC and Xbox Series X/S.