Developer Arkane Studios has a long pedigree of carefully crafted single player experiences where freedom is key. In Dishonored or Deathloop, players can choose how best to eliminate a target, using the tools at their disposal and a little recon to find a solution that fits their playstyle. But for its new game, Redfall, Arkane is trying something a little different. A cooperative shooter set in a completely open world, Redfall is the studio’s biggest departure from its “formula” yet, but after spending some time with the game, it still boasts the Arkane DNA.

At an early preview event for Redfall, Game Rant went hands on with a short portion of the game. We were dropped in several hours into the main story and set on a main mission called House of Echoes. The goal of the mission is to gain intel on the Hollow Man, one of several vampire “lieutenants” that have taken over the various districts of the Northeastern town of Redfall.

There’s a familiar framework to the way that Redfall’s story appears to be set up. Each lieutenant controls a different faction, the player completes some missions to unlock a final showdown, and then they (presumably) defeat said vampire baddie. Much like the conspirators in Dishonored or the assassination targets in Deathloop, there is a goal at the end of a given set of objectives and that goal seems to be defeating a key villain.

Although Redfall offers co-op, the preview did not include it as an option. For our purposes, it would have pulled each previewer's attention in different directions and resulted in missed story beats and emergent gameplay. Crucially, the solo gameplay offering helped cement that Redfall can still be experienced and enjoyed singleplayer, even if it does require an internet connection to play.

Jumping into the preview, all four of the playable Redfall characters were available. Each has a set of two abilities and an ultimate that fits their specific style. Remi has a little robot buddy that can create a distraction or Layla can use her telekinesis to summon a magical elevator to lift herself/teammates to higher ground. We chose Jacob for our preview, a stealth-focused character that is good at range. His abilities include a magical raven that he can summon to do recon and mark targets, a cloaking ability that turns him invisible for a time, and an ultimate that works like a sniper version of Red Dead’s DeadEye – snapping to targets and dealing massive damage.

Although the four playable characters are distinct in their abilities, players are not locked into one specific playstyle. Each character has access to a variety of weapon types, some traditional like assault rifles and pistols, and others more vampire-focused, like UV beams and stake launchers. For those that might be wondering, Redfall is a loot game where players will be collecting weapons of different rarities, with different perks, and levels as well as some trinkets that offer passive buffs. It wasn’t clear how much that loot impacts the game itself or if it gates player progress, but the constant drip-feed of new weapons will satisfy those who love chasing the best build.

Alongside the loot, players can customize their hero through a pretty expansive skill tree. There are nodes that buff the abilities and ultimate, as well as some that offer more general benefits like carrying more ammo or health packets. Much like Arkane’s past games, it appears that players can use their skill points to further push their character into specific playstyles, or buff abilities that they find more useful. For example, Jacob has nodes that increase the scan radius of his raven and others that allows him to shoot without immediately breaking invisibility.

While players can customize their build and loadout anywhere in Redfall, the main HUB is a firehouse in the center of town. Here, the player can collect missions, talk to NPCs for lore, buy new weapons/items, or prepare for the next adventure ahead. After spending some time seeing what the firehouse had to offer, the preview turned us loose on Redfall with the Hollow Man in our sights.

The world of Redfall has an ominous undertone. There are sights to see, landmarks to explore, and danger seemingly lurking around every corner. While there are human enemies to tackle (our primary cannon fodder were cultists), the game’s premier foes are the vampires. These come in different flavors as seen in our preview and each offers a different challenge.

For starters, vampires are stronger than the average bad guy with a gun and will rush the player aggressively. Depending on the weapon, it can take several shots to truly weaken a vampire, but the killing blow is only possible via a few different ways. Some weapons have a stake on their tip (like a bayonet) and the player can finish off the vamp with a visceral heart stabbing. While other weapons, like the UV gun or a flare gun, will use light or fire to vanquish the bloodsucker.

Each small space will usually have at least one vampire roaming around and handling them as quickly as possible is imperative. They are menacing and extremely strong, but most importantly they are very aggressive and will charge the player to do massive damage if they are not careful. During our preview, we saw a few different vampire types: a basic version seen all over town, a sniper variation that oversees an area from high up, an exploding type with a massive sack of blood on its body, and the Rook a brute of a vamp that is very hard to take down.

As players kill vampires out in the world they will gain energy for their ultimate as well as loot and other crafting items. However, killing a special vampire enemy also raises a meter that, when full, will call down that Rook. It’s a system that creates a risk/reward for Redfall where engaging too many vampires can be a negative, especially if players are trying to complete a mission. Arkane seemed particularly pleased with the challenge of the Rook and our encounter with one happened at an inopportune time and led to our death rather quickly.

Because this is a preview, Arkane made sure that our character was properly leveled and our loadouts were strong. So, it isn’t fair to gauge difficulty or the level of enemy density within Redfall. What we played seemed more focused on giving a sense of the combat and how the story presents itself, without outright overwhelming the player. That being said, it did feel like the vampire enemies were fairly easy to take down in most circumstances, and there were plenty of sections of the town that felt empty save for one roaming vampire. The speed of combat also felt slow, with not a lot of quick movement options available beyond a slide.

There are side quests within the game that will have players exploring all corners of Redfall, as well as emergent activities like vampire dens. The one we played involved heading to a rundown theater to find parts for the broken popcorn machine at the firehouse. It’s an objective that, while not as bombastic as taking out a vampire god, allowed for Arkane to flex its design and narrative muscles. Each part of the cinema had a story to tell with its environmental detail and some vamps to kill along the way.

It’s also worth highlighting that this is a loot-based game where damage numbers will fly off enemies (unless players turn that off). Hitting headshots isn’t always a guaranteed kill and even using the stake launcher right at the heart of a vampire won’t instantly turn them to dust – depending on the vampire type. As someone that enjoys chasing loot, it was fun to pick up new weapons and get those incremental improvements, but it’s important to acknowledge what this game offers.

Where Redfall really feels like an Arkane game, though, is once players get to the Hollow Man’s mansion. This space could have easily been a level in Dishonored, where players could run in guns blazing if they are inclined, but where stealth is equally rewarding.

And as players are clearing the area of vamps and other enemies, they will gain lore on the Hollow Man and experience some really cool supernatural changes. We don’t want to spoil anything, but this felt the most like Arkane doing what it does best, but in an open-world setting. The pacing of the mission gives context to the Hollow Man’s actions, develops him as a villain, and it was just fun to run through.

There are obviously some questions hanging over Redfall like how fun its co-op will be, how the leveling and loot impact the experience, and how compelling the full world will be. But based on this short slice, players should be in for a bloody good time. If you are a sucker for vampires and Arkane’s signature design then May can’t come soon enough.

Redfall releases May 2, 2023 for PC and Xbox Series X/S.