Redfall is a monster-filled sandbox with big immersive sim potential

polygon.com:

After playing Arkane Studios’ Redfall, I was left somewhat puzzled about how to classify the strange new co-op shooter spawned from the minds that brought us Prey and Dishonored. The closest thing I can equate Redfall to is an expansive immersive-sim sandbox that attempts to keep its narrative front and center.

Redfall is definitely not a horde-based co-op shooter akin to Left 4 Dead or Warhammer40,000: Darktide — studio director Harvey Smith has already stressed that.

Yes, Redfall incorporates co-op elements, but like other Arkane games, it’s a solo experience first. In fact, Smith encourages players to play the game solo first, and to invite friends for an encore performance. (Unfortunately, co-op wasn’t playable in a recent 90-minute hands-on demo with the game in New York.)

For the demo, I played Layla, whose drip and attitude made her the obvious choice for me. She’s a med student with witchy powers and an ultimate ability that lets her to summon her absolute snack of a vampiric ex-boyfriend for assistance. It would be easy to dismiss Redfall’s four characters as class archetypes; their spread of abilities makes them all equally suited to solo or support roles. Each character has two abilities on cooldown in addition to an ultimate ability that recharges by killing bad guys.

Moreover, each character feels distinct in their attitude, motivations, and interactions with the world. Layla, for example, coaxes shells into her shotgun using her telekinetic powers when she needs to reload and offers a fist bump to her former bae whenever he’s pulled from the veil.

Before setting off into the open world, I got to examine my loadout and allocate a handful of skill points, getting a starting block equivalent to what players