Even in single-player, Redfall is an always-online game
(Red)Falling over
Arkane’s co-op, vampire huntin’ shooter is only a couple of months away, but there's some eyebrow-raising news in Redfall land. 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 a Bethesda FAQ page 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, and Deathloop - which had some online elements - still worked offline.
When Back 4 Blood was launching in 2021, its always-online requirement was the subject of some controversy. Graham turned the question to you guys, the readers, to ask “How much do you care about always online?” The replies were mostly negative, highlighting the loss of some games and long queues for games that should be playable alone. But, let me know if anything's changed in the comments. Back 4 Blood eventually received an offline mode, so maybe Redfall will follow suit.
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's Xbox Developer Direct. It did indeed look more like Far Cry than Left 4 Dead, to me at least.
