Xbox's latest major exclusive slated as 'shockingly poor' by critics

Xbox’s latest major exclusive has been slated as ‘shockingly poor’ by some critics.

Redfall, the next highly anticipated game from Arkane (the studio that brought us the Dishonored series and Deathloop), is seemingly failing to live up to the expectations set by its predecessors. Released today, Arkane’s latest game was supposed to be another hit by the Bethesda-published developer and despite Redfall having solid gameplay mechanics, some reviewers are feeling less than impressed with the shooter.

Take a look at Redfall in action below.

At the time of writing, on Metacritic, Redfall has a quite mundane score of 64 from critics. This is in stark contrast to the Dishonored series which averages scores between the low to high 80s, with Deathloop scoring consistently in the high 80s.

In a review published by Hey Poor Player, the website described Redfall as having “shockingly poor" optimisation. Ouch!

A review from GameSpot didn't fare that much better either, saying: “Redfall is a game that should not have been released yet. Its litany of bugs hampers the gameplay loop of exploring its world with friends, and that loop itself feels compromised by elements that are poorly executed and ill-suited to the team implementing them.”

Whereas WellPlayed said, “A disappointing take on open-world first-person shooters, Redfall has none of the flavour or mechanical finesse that we’ve come to expect from Arkane Studios.” To offer a fair balance, it wasn't all doom and gloom for the co-op multiplayer shooter. We Got This Covered described it as a “masterpiece”, while XboxEra said Redfall is “fantastic in most ways,” adding that it’s a game “any fan of the genre should play".

Prior to its launch, Redfall didn't have the best of starts to charm fans. Firstly, it was originally a game that required a constant online connection. Thankfully, Arkane made a U-turn on that decision. What’s more, it launched with a 30fps Graphics Mode and not the additional 60fps Performance Mode, which will reportedly launch at a later date.

Redfall is out now for PC and Xbox Series X/S. It is also available on Xbox Game Pass.