(Red)Falling over
Arkane’s co-op, vampire huntin’ shooter is only a couple of months away, but there’s some eyebrow-raising news inRedfallland. On top of being a vampire-filled hellscape, Redfall will also require an always-online connection, even when playing the game in single-player without buddies. This comes courtesy of aBethesda FAQpage that states a “persistent connection is required” for co-op and single-player, and that a Bethesda.net account is also necessary to play the game. Many co-op and multiplayer games have required a persistent connection as of late, but it’s disappointing in Redfall’s case since the game is playable alone.
The mandatory internet connection is a little annoying for many reasons. For one, it puts an expiry date on games that don’t need it - when the servers go offline, so does the game. Competitive multiplayer games are reliant on big communities of players, but Redfall? Redfall’s single-player story should be accessible, regardless of any other factors. Persistent online requirements have become commonplace, partly due to anti-piracy checks, which is fair. But, I’m sure longtime Arkane fans will be a little deflated by the news. The studio’s older works, like Dishonoured and Prey, can be played fully without an internet connection, andDeathloop- which had some online elements - still worked offline.
Redfall is due to release on May 2nd for PC and Xbox consoles, and we just received an in-depth look at its spooky open world at last month’sXbox Developer Direct.It did indeed look more likeFar Cry than Left 4 Dead, to me at least.
