Redfall isn't Arkane's Left 4 Dead – it's the studio's spin on Far Cry
tl;dr
- Open World is dense and based on-foot scale, so no vehicles and probably not as large as other open worlds - Stealth is a valid option, which was obvious but now hard confirmed
- Draws inspirations from STALKER and Far Cry 2, major emphasis on simulated events rather than predefined activities
- Id left some feedback on gunplay originally, now they're very happy about how it plays
- uh. D&D? and Borderlands served as inspiration for co-op
- home base where you can talk to NPCs, get side-quests
- story-driven missions & freeroam
- They'll eventually go back to doing hardcore immersive sims thanks to Game Pass
some quotes
"In terms of freedom, there's what you would expect from other open worlds, but Redfall is an on-foot game – the scale and the pace is a little slowed down in that respect," says Bare. "We want you creeping through a cornfield at night in the fog, hearing vampires whisper in the dark. Maybe you'll spot a farmhouse in the distance and sneak over to it, only to find that it's full of cultists and a few trapped survivors who you can save. That's the kind of vibe that Redfall has."
...
These examples barely scratch the surface of what you'll find in Redfall's world, which is divided into two distinct districts – one is a sprawling urban area, and the other more rural in design. There are neighborhoods held hostage by vampires; liberating these parts of the town for the people will open up Safe Houses, and make it more comfortable for the citizens who couldn't escape before the island was cut off from civilization. You'll encounter survivors who may ask you for a favor or two, with the opportunity to level up or earn new gear waiting as a reward. Nests can emerge in a shared psychic-space, should a group of vampires fall into a Blood Trance. Storms form gradually over time, signaling the arrival of powerful Vampire Gods called Rooks. Bellwether Security squads patrol the island, and cultists set up roadblocks to bottleneck any who remain committed to the land of the living. And then there's the story campaign that underpins the adventure, which follows the fallout of a scientific longevity experiment gone exceptionally wrong.
...
"Redfall sometimes feels like what you'd get if you blended the Arkane creative values with Far Cry 2 or S.T.A.L.K.E.R.," Smith continues. "That's the kind of thing that we have wanted to do for a long time." You may find instances of combat, story vignettes, or countless chaotic results as Arkane's systems clash together. One part of this complex puzzle is the day-night cycle, which remains despite a powerful Vampire God – the Black Sun – having established a local Eclipse. "The sun sets and the sun rises, and we have different times of the day," says Smith. "It changes the feel of the game radically."
...
"I feel like with Xbox Game Pass, the potential is here for us to say: This is Arkane, and these are our creative values – we can expose a lot of people to the way that we make games. I hope we can turn people onto what we do: Deep world creation, environmental storytelling, the emergent results of combat and your powers, and creating lovingly crafted worlds with a real sense of history and character."