Redfall looks like it won’t leave solo players to dry out. The co-op shooter should be as comfortable for lone wolves as it is for groups of up to four players, confirms developer Arkane.
Arkane talked more about Redfall in a blog post on Bethesda’s official website (opens in new tab). The game, released on PC, Xbox Series X|S and Xbox Game Pass in 2023, will have a “huge emphasis” on the solo experience.
Redfall “can go solo with any of the heroes,” the blog post reads. “The pace becomes more exploratory; you can use reconnaissance and stealth to gather information about encounters and avoid enemies or take them down.”
The post emphasizes that solo players will also not be accompanied by AI teammates. Fortunately, this could make Redfall a more immersive game when played alone, giving players the option to take it slow and really scour the environment for secrets and vantage points.
Did Arkane solve a co-op shooter issue?
Similar co-op games like Back 4 Blood offer solo play as an option, but generally emphasize multiplayer as the preferred way to play. Also, co-op shooters tend to feature AI substitutes when the roster is not populated by real players.
Arkane appears to be taking the opposite approach while maintaining its strengths as a developer. Games like Prey and Deathloop showcase the developer’s prowess for single-player-driven experiences. It’s understandable, then, that Arkane wants to keep that DNA embedded in Redfall.
Having co-op play as the focus of a game is not a bad thing. But this focus makes it much more difficult to stop and smell the roses. In comparison, Redfall’s open-world design appears to be perfect for a solo adventure. As such, we are happy to see that Arkane aims to make the single player experience as compelling as the multiplayer component.
Co-op and multiplayer games also live and die for their community. If Redfall didn’t have a strong single player component to back it up, it could easily be forgotten post-launch when players switch to different games. Arkane seems to be avoiding this issue simply by not pouring cold water on solo players.
We were quite impressed with the gameplay Redfall showcased during the Xbox and Bethesda showcase. What was revealed was far more convincing than the CGI trailer that wrapped up last year’s show. As a result, we’re feeling more optimistic about the game now than we were a year ago.
