Redfall is Arkane defanged

polygon.com:

Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot opens with chapter upon chapter describing its cast of characters and the Maine town they inhabit. Before it becomes clear that a vampire has come to make their home its new feeding ground, King spends a lot of time sketching the history and culture of the populace. It’s an approach taken in plenty of monster stories: Give the audience a reason to care about a bunch of people before they’re preyed upon by bloodsucking ghouls.

Redfall, the latest from Arkane Austin, reverses this setup, introducing players to the titular, fictional Massachusetts island after vampires have drained most of the life from the place already. The result — roughly halfway through the story (our impressions are based on about 10 hours in a solo excursion) — is a game that struggles to warrant interest in the fate of its fallen town, and one that has a hard time finding fresh blood in overly familiar trends in the apocalypse genre.

As one of four characters, all of whom come with supernaturally tinged backstories and accompanying special abilities, the player sets out to investigate the nature of the vampire invasion, keep a group of fellow humans alive, and, hopefully, escape the island. The beginning isn’t very inspiring stuff. Redfall kicks off with the player establishing a safe base of operations — in this case, at a fire station — and helping a group of survivors settle into their new home. There’s a stern priest, a gentle doctor, and a grease-stained gun vendor, each with their own storefronts, and an attendant flock of other shallow NPCs. No member of this cast is particularly memorable, and it’s hard to drum up interest in their fates, mortal or not.

The town of Redfall itself makes a stronger impression. It