(PlayStation VR 2) Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2 (Windows PC, full launch) May 11 Another Fisherman’s Tale (PlayStation 4, Xbox One) May 8 Darkest Dungeon 2 (Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X) May 5 Hogwarts Legacy The open-world co-op shooter takes players to a benighted New England seaside town - literally, the sun is in permanent eclipse - to rid it of the vampire horde that has taken control. Snark aside, Redfall sounds like one of those Arkane concepts that plays like a page-turning best-seller, taking up all your time until you finally finish it. Redfall is a monster-filled sandbox with big immersive sim potential (Windows PC) Image: Arkane Austin/Bethesda Softworks Redfall Here is what’s coming, among the major video game launches, for May 2023. But it does feel like everyone is getting out of Nintendo’s way this month. There are plenty of other intriguing releases, releases out of early access, or previous-generation platform launches. It’s just, comparatively speaking, the only one remotely facing Zelda-sized expectations for its platform. Nintendo picked May 12 for The Legend of Zelda : Tears of the Kingdom all the way back in September, and Xbox took its chances back in January when it picked the 10 days in May before TotK dominates the gaming conversation.īut it’s not like Redfall is the only other game launching in May. There, skills could shine in concert with one another a bit more.Arkane Studios’ Redfall already delayed out of 2022, drew a tough pinch-hit assignment when Microsoft gave it a May 2 launch date to appease Xbox Game Pass fans wondering when they were gonna get some day-one first-party hits. I feel like these abilities probably all shine better together in co-op, which I played a few hours of for this review but ducked out of after, since co-op story progress only goes towards the host’s file. But it’s a pretty straightforward set that, looping back to a previous section, doesn’t open up a lot of interesting traversal options. I personally gelled a lot with my chosen vampire slayer, Remi, and her tool set. Skills, themselves, can also feel lackluster in single player. ![]() It felt like there was a whole third of the ability tree I purposefully ignored. But other options in the tree include upgrading ammo capacity, a very boring upgrade, or an upgrade for reviving teammates, which did nothing for me in solo play. Some upgrades for each character’s abilities feel a bit meaningful, like adding an extra healing circle of Remi’s ultimate, centered around the robot dog Bribón. This carries over into skills and levelling up, too. But it’s slow to reload, low in ammo capacity, and only really dispatches one enemy at a time. Stakes offered an interesting dynamic they’re incredibly powerful, often able to one-shot normal vampires, and quickly deal with heftier varieties. Racking stakes into the launcher port feels good, and even the little touches like the key on the body of the launcher add this DIY aspect that I love. The stake launcher says, “Why not launch the stakes into their heart?” And it really works. See, vampires can be put into a stunned state with normal bullets, but need to be fully done away with through petrification (through UV or sunlight), fire, or a stake to the heart. My absolute favorite, far and away, is the stake launcher. ![]() The flare gun is a neat addition, and the UV beam cannon adds an interesting weapon type. My favorite chunk of the arsenal was the vampire-specific weaponry. ![]() Some, like the shotgun and sniper rifle, feel good. So how is Redfall as a shooter? It’s got a decent number of guns, and many usual suspects. As it turns out, I needed to accept a main mission later on in the story’s flowchart, which would then open the pathway to said key. But after turning the church over several times, I couldn’t find the key. The aforementioned mission is just one case in a church in the game’s second area, while knocking out a safehouse mission, I found a locked door that led to the attic, with environmental art making me wonder what could possibly be up there. And there are hints of that here in Redfall. Immersive sims are one thing, but games with multiple paths or options are what I often relate to Arkane. Maybe you sneak in through an old bootlegger’s tunnel, or you take out the UV lights keeping the vampires out and take advantage of the ensuing chaos. There’s a barn with intel on one of the vampire gods inside, defended by a sniper tower, turrets, and a ton of guards. You’ll have an objective (which I frustratingly had to keep setting as a personal waypoint so I could see it on my HUD compass), and several potential avenues of approach. These are mostly in the main missions of Redfall, which will feel the closest to an immersive Arkane game.
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