Arkane’s upcoming vampire co-op shooterRedfalllooks as though it’s wearing its inspirations on its sleeve, and that can be both a blessing and a curse. Naturally, as all four-player co-op shooters are,Redfallhas been compared to theLeft 4 Deadseries throughout its marketing, and thankfully it seems to be learning the right lessons from it, providing four truly distinct characters with some extremely unique abilities. EvenRedfall’s developer has commented on these comparisons, saying that it was actuallymore influenced byFar Cry 2than anything else. But to some, certain aspects ofRedfallseem to take inspiration from a different game entirely: indie horror iconPhasmophobia.
Released on Steam Early Access in 2020,Phasmophobiabecame an overnight sensation when it launched, reaching the sixth top spot on Twitch during its first month. Afirst-person horror game,Phasmophobiaputs players in the quaking boots of a team of paranormal investigators as they attempt to make contact with a spooky entity inside of a house, find a series of eerie artifacts, and identity the specific ghost haunting the location. While the two games have completely different gameplay mechanics, it seems as thoughRedfallcould be taking inspiration fromPhasmophobiafor its interior design.
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Redfall’s Interior Sections Could Capture Phasmophobia’s Suffocating Atmosphere
Phasmophobiashot to fame in 2020 for a number of reasons. After a timely October early access launch,Phasmophobiamanaged to capture streamers' attention immediately by offering a genuinely unique and terrifying horror game experience. When sneaking around an environment, players are forced to communicate either through walkie-talkies or proximity chat, and when a player gets separated from the rest of the group, those points of communication become a desperate lifeline. So, when the ghost starts messing around with the in-game sound, like cutting off the walkie-talkies mid-sentence, the tension immediately ramps up. Combine this withPhasmophobia’s speech recognition mechanic, where ghost AI can understand key phrases and act accordingly to best spook the player, andPhasmophobiabecomes one of the scariest games ever made.
WhileRedfalldoesn’t seem to be taking any ofPhasmophobia’s core mechanics, it does seem to take some inspiration from its eerie environmental design.Phasmophobiahas a variety of different locations to tentatively explore, and every one of them is equally terrifying thanks to realistic lighting and design. Every moment ofPhasmophobia’s gameplay looks like a screenshot fromaParanormalActivitymovie, with only a flashlight guiding the player’s way through the pitch-black interiors of a house, farm, or prison. This type of realistic design makes every creaking door sound like an impending threat, and every shadow look like a horrifying monster.
From what fans have seen fromRedfall’s trailersso far, it seems as though the game’s interior segments may be borrowing a little fromPhasmophobia’s visual style. During one trailer, the player-character is shown carefully making their way through a small suburban house. It’s pretty dark inside, and the player’s light is guiding their way. When they reach a room full of glowing objects, they pick up an artifact, and they’re jump-scared by a vampire behind them. While this type of gameplay isn’t exclusive toPhasmophobia, the overall look and feel of this sequence definitely seems inspired by it.
Based on all of the trailers released so far, it seems like Arkane is trying to strike a balance between horror and comedy withRedfall, with four quirky characters and plenty of lighthearted dialogue to break up the game’s spookier moments. Striking this balance isn’t the easiest feat. It may be better forRedfallto adopt a kind of alternating tonal shift with its levels, where exterior exploration is kept lighthearted, and interior gameplay is kept spooky, that wayRedfallcan help to balance both horror and comedy.
Redfalllaunches July 29, 2025, for PC and Xbox Series X/S.
