Highlights
- Blade should learn from Redfall’s mistakes and avoid using the same monotonous staking system. Players found it too easy and repetitive, taking away the thrill of slaying vampires.
- Redfall’s lack of variety in weapons and enemy weaknesses made stake finishers the norm, resulting in a boring arsenal. Blade should offer more unique strategies and resistant variants for a more exciting gameplay experience.
- The staking mechanic in Redfall made vampires vulnerable before reaching zero health, making them less threatening. Blade should avoid this flaw and create more challenging enemies to keep players engaged and immersed.
Arkane’s upcoming Blade game was just announced at The Game Awards, based on Marvel’s iconic vampire-hunting superhero. With the memory of Arkane’s Redfall (also a title focused on fighting vampires) still fresh in players’ minds, there’s a lot the upcoming Blade can do to learn from its predecessor.
Redfall released in May 2023, and it was already weighed down by the pressure of Arkane’s spotless record and its need to carry Xbox’s AAA first-party output. Disappointing on both counts, Redfall was review-bombed by players and panned by critics. Players and critics were outspoken against the title’s monotonous gameplay and the sheer quantity of bugs found within. Its unexceptional graphics and lack of Arkane’s typical innovation only further cemented Redfall as a disappointment for gamers, and among the various features it came with, there’s one that Blade should sidestep.
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Blade Needs To Ditch Redfall’s Staking System
How Staking Works in Redfall
Though Blade is being developed by Arkane Lyons rather than Arkane Austin, the reputation of Redfall will inevitably follow the studio’s next vampire venture. If there’s going to be any hope of Blade redeeming Arkane after Redfall, the game will have to take some lessons onboard. One of these lessons surrounds the mechanics of killing vampires, namely that Blade should skip Redfall‘s staking system. Despite allowing the player to fell vampires with a great deal of flair, the staking mechanic (and the combat tied to it) makes the game far easier than it ought to be, leading players to wonder how these creatures of the night ever took over in the first place.
Staking in Redfall is a simple system. After reducing a vampire’s health low enough, they’ll stop still and jerk wildly in place. Their flaming heart will expose itself, allowing the player to drive a staked weapon into the creature—reducing their mark to a torrent of brimstone on the wind. It’s certainly a stylish way to kill a child of the night, providing a great deal of satisfaction with a brutal finishing move. This will likely be how a player feels after staking their first vampire, but the effect produces diminishing returns. Players have to use this same technique to kill just about every vampire in Redfall. Since the island town of Redfall is overrun with these monsters, the method is prone to getting old fast.
Staking’s not the only way to finish off vampires in Redfall. UV light weaponry can also do the trick for many of them. In addition, stake launchers do the same job as melee staking, only from a distance,
Staking’s dramatic presentation (engulfing its target in fire before disintegrating them, their bones and shrieks on full display) gives the impression that it ought to be a special glory kill. Instead, it becomes indicative of Redfall‘s boring arsenal; the lack of variety in arms and enemy weaknesses makes these flashy stake finishers the norm. This takes away any thrill that could’ve come from slaying monsters that the intro cinematic hyped up to be nigh unstoppable. Of course, Blade will likely not have the average vampire be too much of a threat, given that the titular character fights them in multitudes, but there should at least be some more resistant variants that require unique strategies.
On the subject of threat, staking also impedes the ability for vampires to challenge the player much. One of the reasons for Redfall‘s lackluster reviews is the ease by which its systems can be exploited. This is not only down to glitches, but the staking mechanic as well. Vampires become completely vulnerable before they reach zero health, as this is the window within which they can be staked.
The game’s core enemy essentially waiting to die after a few shots gives the impression that they’re more hapless than the average cultist. There’s a great deal of pressure on Blade to redeem Arkane. It will likely be a long period before Marvel’s Blade is released, so there’s a lot of time for Arkane to regroup and reflect.
