Creeping up

Grab a holy cross, maybe make some friends, and spray yourself with gross garlic water. Vampire-hunting shooterRedfallis only a mere week away, so developers Arkane have dropped a fun launch trailer to celebrate. It gives us another look at the titular rural town, haunted by fanged monsters, violent cultists, and psychic anomalies that distort the environment in weird and wonderful ways.

Nothing blatantly new there, but it’s another tease of whatRedfallis all about. Something that keeps catching my eye is how everyone’s abilities seem to combine well with the rest of your squad. Fling yourself into the air with an ally’s magical elevator before no-scoping a far-off enemy. Or send your pet raven into battle while the enemies are still freshly electrocuted. Looks like fun.

If youaregalavanting with a group of friends, Redfall’s open worldwon’t tether you together. That means four friends can travel to the corners of the map separately without the game teleporting you back together. Seems like a slightly anti-social way to playco-op, but tackling objectives from different angles will likely be easier thanks to this feature. Alas, hunters who want to soak in the spooky ambience alone still need to do so online, although Arkane are meant to be “fixing” the game’salways-online requirement.

We’ve yet to try Redfall in a group, but Ed’searly solo adventure impressionssound promising. Last month, he said Arkane’s “talent for storytelling and level design bubbled to the surface constantly, making exploration a genuine joy.”