Redfall

Redfall places the player in a fictional coastal town in Massachusetts that has been cut off from the rest of the world after being taken over by vampires created by secret genetic experiments conducted by a local corporation hidden beneath the town's surface. Arkane Austin, the second studio behind the Dishonored and Prey series, bet for the first time on a co-op shooter for up to four players, each controlling one of four characters with unique abilities – ranging from telekinesis to sniping talent to temporary invisibility from enemies and their packs.

The game combines shooting with weapons specially adapted against vampires, such as rifles that fire wooden stakes and lamps emitting ultraviolet radiation, with character abilities and an open world full of side quests, abandoned houses to explore, and vampire nests filled with loot and recordings from missing residents. The atmosphere thrives on the contrast between an idyllic, seemingly peaceful New England town and horror elements such as giant vampire bosses capable of controlling the weather and shrouding the entire region in permanent darkness without any sunlight.

The Xbox Series X|S launch was marred by significant technical problems – low and unstable framerates, a missing split-screen mode, and unbalanced difficulty for solo play, which led to a very cold reception from both critics and players despite the studio's strong reputation and its previous successful titles. Although the developers tried to gradually improve the game with additional updates and fixes, Redfall remains remembered more as a cautionary example of a failed live-service experiment than as a solid entry in Arkane's otherwise strong portfolio. Even though the game later received a substantial update removing paid microtransactions, it never achieved full rehabilitation with critics or the player community.

Why play it: Given the persistent technical problems with solo play, it makes more sense to pick this up with two to four players in full co-op – and even then, go in aware that it's one of Arkane's weaker titles.