Arkane Studios, best known for creating the acclaimed stealth series Dishonored, has made a name for itself by realizing game worlds with rich lore, environmental storytelling, and curious, interweaving levels. Its specialty is developing immersive sims, a niche it’s helped cultivate since 1999. On May 2, Arkane releases its next project, Redfall, an open-world first-person shooter.

I’ve been a fan of Arkane Studios’ rich single-player worlds for years. Naturally, I had questions about Redfall’s position in the developer’s portfolio. However, after interviewing Studio Head Harvey Smith and playing the game for 90 minutes, I have the answers I was looking for – and I’m excited to share it all in this week’s episode of The Game Informer Show.

In this week’s episode of The Game Informer Show, Alex returns from New York City to share his thoughts on Redfall after a lengthy hands-on session. Blake breaks down his Resident Evil 4 Remake review, and Marcus shares his thoughts on the Diablo IV closed beta. Then the conversation switches to lighter subjects when Kyle talks about what makes Tchia an open-world game worth exploring. Lastly, the podcast closes with a short interview between Arkane Studios’ Harvey Smith and Game Informer’s Alex Van Aken, who talk about creativity, serialization, and how Redfall morphs into a different experience when playing with friends.

Follow us on social media: Alex Van Aken (@itsVanAken), Kyle Hilliard (@KyleMHilliard), Marcus Stewart (@MarcusStewart7), Blake Hester (@MetallicaIsRad)

The Game Informer Show is a weekly gaming podcast covering the latest video game news, industry topics, exclusive reveals, and reviews. Join host Alex Van Aken every Thursday for a chat about your favorite games – past and present – with Game Informer staff, developers, and special guests from around the industry. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app.

Matt Storm, the freelance audio editor for The Game Informer Show, edited this episode. Matt is an experienced podcast host and producer who's been speaking into a microphone for over a decade. You should listen to Matt's shows like the "Fun" And Games Podcast and Reignite, a BioWare podcast. 

Jump to the timestamps to get to a particular point of discussion:

00:00:00 – Introduction

00:08:32 – Resident Evil 4 Remake

00:24:19 – Tchia

00:38:44 – Redfall Hands-On Preview

00:54:41 – Diablo IV

01:11:24 – Listener Emails

01:24:40 – Harvey Smith Interview