Redfall ain’t good. I’m not going to explain why right now, but if you need me to back up that claim you can read about it here, here, here, here, here, and here. Suffice to say, I don’t much like it, and I’m not the only one. This is one of those rare occasions where critics and gamers unite to mutually condemn a game for failing in almost every conceivable way. Redfall is so poorly received that it has shaken many people’s faith in Xbox as a brand,༒ and while that may sound a bit dramatic at first, I’m not so sure it is.
Redfall isn’t just another triple-A game for Microsoft. It is the first current-gen only Xbox exclusive, and it’s also the first $70 game on Xbox Series X/S. Though the current-gen Xbox has been available for several years, this is the first time players have been required to upgrade to the latest hardware and pay a premium. Those demands come with an understandable expectation from the public. It’s reasonable to assume that Redfall is next-gen, cutting edge experience thaꩵt’s worth more because it costs more, but nothing could be further from the truth.
If Microsoft is willing to position a dud like Redfall as the poster child for what to expect on Xbox going forward, why should anyone trust that Microsoft will deliver worthwh☂ile games at this point? The brand is already at a deficit of goodwill thanks to Halo Infinite, and if we look back at the history of the current generation, it’s difficult to find a single game the Xbox Series X/S can hang its hat on.
I’m not saying there aren’t any good Xbox games. This year’s Hi-Fi Rush was a hit, and though it didn’t do i🐷t for me, it’s clear thatဣ a lot of people love that game. Pentiment also earned a strong positive reaction when it launched last year, and while the reviews were fairly middling, a lot of people liked Psychonauts 2, and Minecraft Legends too. Age of Empires 4 also has great reviews, though I imagine most of its players are on PC.
Those are good games, but where are Xbox’s signature games? Where are the big triple-A experiences that define the console generation and give the Xbಌox brand its identity? If the only massive and successful Xbox game is Forza Horizon 5, I think Microsoft has a huge problem.
You can argue that delivering triple-A hits isn’t as important to Microsoft as it used to be, now that it’s focus is on the Game Pass sercive and pushing streaming technology into the mainstream, but there’s problems with that argument. Microsoft has sold almost 20 million Xbox Series X/S consoles, and the company is well aware that its customers expect big expensive games to play. In 2020, Xbox head Phil Spencer even said that the company’s goal is to ship four or five triple-A games every year. That hasn’t happened y♕et, and the one we just got is terrible.
Players expect a lot from Xbox that they aren’t getting, but it’s hard not to when Sony is consistently delivering hit after hit. It’s impossible to imagine PlayStation ever launching a game like Redfal🧜l - not just because its unpolished and buggy, but also because its so poorly designed.
The PS5 has almost 20 console exclusives, and that’s not counting PSVR2 games. This year will see three major launches in Final Fantasy 16, M𝔉arvel’s Spider-Man 2, and (hopefully) Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, all of which follow Horizon Forbid𒉰den West: Burning Shores’ launch last month. From God of War to The Last of Us to Ratchet & Clank and Demon’s Souls, there’s a level of quality and polish you can always expect from a first-party PlayStation game. Part of the strength of Sony’s brand is that its players can count on lots of big-budget games that aren’t rushed out the door, full of bugs, or half-baked the way Redfall is.
Redfall isn’t just one bad game, and I don’t think the people that are second-guessing Xbox now are overreacting. It’s been a long, long time since Xbox dominated the console market, and there’s just no reason to trus𝔉t that an Xbox game is going to be any good these days. The fact that we can all confidently believe that PlayStation will never release a stinker like Redfall only makes Microsoft’s position worse.
