Summary of "Redfall - It Sucks"

Summary — Redfall (video: “Redfall - It Sucks”)

High-level story

Setting: Redfall is an island overrun by vampires that have altered or blocked out the sun and made travel impossible. Survivors are holed up in safe locations; the fire station becomes the player base.
Player role: Choose one of four heroes (a sneaky sniper, a psychic, a techie with a small robot, and a tank‑style fighter) to hunt vampires, rescue civilians, and scavenge supplies to survive and push back the infestation.

Gameplay highlights and systems

Genre/feel: Open‑world co‑op shooter with stealth elements, class/ability mechanics, loot and supply crates, safe houses, and upgradeable skills/perks.
Single‑player support: Fully playable solo—AI companions replace other players—or host/join multiplayer.
Vampire mechanics:
- Vampires are vulnerable to sunlight and certain “stake” finishing weapons. You often have to equip a stake or lead a vampire into sunlight to finish them.
- Some vampires can teleport or use special attacks; tougher fights may require explosives, special launchers, or environmental hazards.
Combat and weapons:
- A variety of guns (shotguns, assault rifles, sniper rifles). Some named weapons (e.g., a “Firebird” assault rifle, stake launcher / butcher bird) are presented as special/legendary items.
- Weapons show strong damage falloff (notably pistols and shotguns at range).
- The robot companion can be upgraded to distract enemies and increase damage dealt to distracted foes.
Progression and world systems:
- Skill points to upgrade health, abilities, and the robot.
- Collect supply crates and capture safe houses for ammo/meds and respawn points.
- Missions can include main objectives plus side objectives (crash sites/supplies); mission logs may change mid‑mission.

Practical tips & strategies (from the playthrough)

Always carry a stake weapon or an ability that provides finishing stakes—basic guns won’t kill some vampire types outright.
Use sunlight as a weapon: lure vampires outside or into lit areas to weaken/kill them.
Upgrade the techie’s robot early (it distracts enemies and boosts damage against them).
Use explosive barrels, C4, and the stake launcher on bigger vampire threats and helicopters.
Scout before engaging groups—enemies may spawn or teleport in and overwhelm you.
Activate safe houses when found (they provide ammo/meds and a fast return point).
Be mindful of weapon choice: shotguns are powerful up close but suffer at range; use sniper positions for long engagements.
Don’t rely heavily on AI companions—the playthrough found them frequently ineffective.

Bugs, technical problems and design issues observed

Numerous and severe technical issues:
- Geometry clipping, flickering windows, missing doors and unloaded rooms.
- NPC head twitching, bad animations, cursed lighting (sun shown then gone).
- Inconsistent world population (areas empty then full), broken audio/cutscene playback.
- Climbing and movement bugs, severe frame‑rate and visual issues, and at least one crash to desktop.
Gameplay annoyances:
- Objective/mode oddities (optional objectives becoming mandatory without clear notice).
- Sparse open world with many empty roads/areas.
- Unreliable enemy detection and inconsistent AI.
- Misplaced map markers and other UX issues.
Overall impression from the reviewer: the game feels unpolished, buggy, visually poor in places, and mechanically underwhelming for an Arkane title.

The reviewer characterized Redfall as the most technically broken experience they’d played in some time and advised caution given the state it shipped in.

Step-by-step of the first session (condensed)

Pick a character (the playthrough chose the techie for the robot).
Start at the boat/shore and head to the fire station (becomes home base).
Rescue civilians and clear cultists/vampires out of the station; obtain weapons and find a stake for finishing blows.
Upgrade the robot to distract enemies and increase damage, then use it in fights.
Explore the open world, loot crash sites and houses, unlock safe houses, and complete supply objectives—watch for mission updates that may add objectives.
Use explosives/stake launchers against helicopters and big vampire encounters (but beware of instability/crashes).