Vampire games are really few and far between, especially when compared to other games focused on creatures like zombies. Entertainment's fascination with zombies extends passed video games, and is common in movies and television shows as well. The vampire craze in film and literature about a decade ago didn't fully extend into the video game world, but fans always has classics like Castlevania to rely on. On the bright side, vampire fans can count on one major video game title next year to feature these creatures of the night.
Recently announced at this year’s E3, Redfall is an upcoming open-world co-op shooter from Arkane Studios. Instead of being developed by Arkane Lyon, the studio behind the time-loop game Deathloop, Redfall is being developed by Arkane Austin. In Arkane’s Redfall, players are part of an eccentric group of vampire hunters, and can experience the game solo or with friends. The town of Redfall, Massachusetts is overrun with the vampiric undead, and players have to save the day. Arkane’s trailer showed off strong personalities from its heroes, and mystic abilities from its vampires. Especially among other vampire games, Redfall looks to stand out.
Redfall's Vampire Origins are Unique
The first aspect that stands out with Redfall is its approach to the actual vampires themselves. Instead of being some ancient mythological creature that has existed for thousands of years, Redfall's type of vampire is fairly new. These vampires came to be after a scientific experiment went wrong, but are continuing to evolve after the fact. Once a vampiric transformation has occurred, some vampires even develop extra abilities and become even stronger.
Arkane’s cinematic trailer for Redfall was quite the spectacle, but it did a really great job of showing off different vampire with different abilities. Most vampires seem to have the power of flight. One vampire has the dramatic ability to conjure up a glowing red hook and uses it to reel in one of the vampire hunters. A multi-armed vampire might be doing something to literally block the sun from the town. Image descriptions name this creature as the "Vampire God," which is definitely foreboding.
However, even with a different type of origin for its vampires, Redfall plays into certain historical vampire tropes. Vampires in the trailer want to drink the blood of their victims, which is probably the one trope for vampires that has appeared in every iteration. Since Redfall's vampires are trying to block the sun, it's unlikely that all it would do to them is make them sparkle. It seems that the age-old way to kill vampire is still the same, as the trailer shows these vampire hunters shooting stake at the vampires' chests.
Similar to how many gaming fans flocked to Resident Evil Village's giant vampiric Lady Dimitrescu, there are many people in Redfall that have begun to worship powerful vampires. These cult members are one of the different adversaries players will face in the game, but it's unclear exactly how they will play into the story. While there are many stories about secret cults worshiping dark beings, it hasn't been a major trope in vampire media.
Redfall's Setting and Gameplay Look Unique for Vampire Games
In comparison to plenty of other vampire games over the years, Redfall also seems to be unique in terms of its gameplay. While shooters and multiplayer games are a regular occurrence in the gaming world, the enemies are typically other humans, aliens, or zombies. Developing a multiplayer-shooter based around eradicating supernatural vampires is far from a boring idea, and Arkane decided to run with it.
The setting choice of Redfall, Massachusetts is also very modern. Games like the iconic Castlevania or Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night often have rich, gothic castles as their backdrops. They can often play into the ideas solidified with Bram Stoker's Dracula about how a vampire lives. Or, games often feature vampires in Victorian settings, a commonly seen partnership. Though games like Vampyr put a player in the undead's shoes instead of just being a vampire hunter, it fits into this common trope.
However, just because Redfall happens to be in a modern setting doesn't mean it plays into some more modern vampire tropes. Games like Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt or Shadows of New York place players in modern cities, with vampires in an underground society of sorts. The vampires exist much like they would in ancient times, but will often try to hide away from humanity in order to keep secret. At least in Redfall, MA, the vampires have no desire to stay in hiding. After all, these vampires are literally trying to block the sun so they no longer have to sleep during the day.
The gameplay for Redfall looks to take all these tropes into consideration, positioning itself somewhere between sci-fi and supernatural fantasy. Players haven't gotten a look at all of the vampire hunters' arsenals, but it is clear that shooting stakes will be the main to take down the undead. Regular types of guns, robot buddies, and supernatural abilities seem to be at the player's disposal. There is even a moment in the trailer where a character, Layla, fends off a vampire by opening some kind of umbrella shield. Whether this type of item is more of a sci-fi energy weapon or some psychic fantasy power, Redfall looks to be an interesting mix of genres.
Players have seen games time and time again that have pit a team of survivors against monstrous opponents. Even more so, gamers have seen a plethora of games about zombies and characters fighting against zombie hordes. If Arkane Studios' track record is anything to go by, Redfall is lining up to be an incredible game. Perhaps, Redfall could even lead to a resurgence of vampire games in general, driven by a desire to break out of common tropes.
Even though Redfall has quite the interesting connection to Elder Scrolls 6, Arkane's take on vampires aren't solely fantasy. It's injection of sci-fi elements, both for its vampires' origins and for gameplay, helps make it unique already. Players that are interested in Redfall will probably have to wait a stretch of time before more information comes out about the game, since it doesn't launch until next summer. In any case, Redfall may be an exciting new adventure for vampire media.
Redfall is planned to launch in summer 2022 for Xbox Series X|S.