Since it was announced three years ago, we’ve seen the game be pushed back several times. Dontnod’s Vampyr is now only a few months away, coming to PC, PS4 and Xbox One in June. The vampire RPG filled with more moral dilemmas than wooden stakes is one that forces you to consider your values carefully. Do you want power or do you want to honour your Hypocratic Oath as a doctor? Who you choose to feed on and how long do you wait? That and many other questions are ones you’ll have to pose yourself while playing Vampyr.
In recent years we’ve gotten more and more info about Vampyr, so it’s more than just new blood, “that vampire game by the developers of Life is Strange”, now. We’ve got quite a few details about the game so before it grabs ahold of us in June, it’s time to strip the game to its bare bones in the form of a few simple facts.
1. More than just your daddy’s vampires
Vampyr is filled with several types of vampires. Of course, you’ve got the Dracula-esque moody seductive pale-skinned terrors of the night, called “Ekon”. These are the ones that easily pass as human, but they also happen to have a bit of an aristocratic society, meaning that essentially, not everyone is welcome, even if they are a vampire. All it takes is for them to be something “weird”, like, you know, a woman, like your mentor remarks begrudgingly. Thanks, 1918. As doctor Jonathan Reid, a war veteran, this is also the species you play as. Vampirism wasn’t the life he chose, but he definitely has trouble not giving in to it.
The next kind you’ll find is a much more aggressive and much less sophisticated. “Skal”, as they’re called, feed on as many humans as they can find, but also tend to live below the city of London, in the sewers, so that other vampires can’t find them. There seems to be a bit of bad blood between Skals and other vampires, so they won’t take too kindly to you poking around in their territory.
After that, you’ve got the “Vulkod”, which are exactly what vampires would look like if they entered Wrestlemania. They’re huge, buff, have grey skin, and will rip your throat out. It seems like they’ll be able to change their body, and have been confused with werewolves by humans from time to time, meaning that the Vulkod will surely be some of the more dangerous villains you’ll face.
Last, but certainly not least are the “Nemrod”, which are essentially the vampire-hunters every vampire game needs. Except the problem is that they’re vampires, too. This will be an interesting twist on the genre, with this group of vampires hating themselves and their species so much they essentially seek to commit self-genocide.
All of these vampires seem to have common ancestors, which will be one of the major themes of the game. It’ll be interesting to see how related the different kinds are, and how they evolved.
2. London is shaped by your decisions
Surprisingly, what you choose to do and who you decide to feed on doesn’t just affect how many police officers and vampire hunters are chasing after you, but also how the city around you changes. After seeing a murderer roam through the city, they might be the obvious candidate for your next fit of bloodlust, but what happens if you find out their old mother has a type of blood that is much more beneficial for you? Not only are they closer to dying, anyway, but you would be maximizing your profit. However, you have to decide if it’s worth letting the murderer go. Doing so would again, lead to more deaths in the city, which might possibly lead to more Skals roaming the city.
Pick your fights carefully, or you might end up with more.
3. The flu isn’t just backstory
As it says in the game, London is under the iron grip of the Spanish Flu. However, unlike one might think, the Spanish Flu isn’t just the backdrop for the story. The Flu itself is actually a mechanic that affects the city around you. When you decide to suck someone’s blood, you have to wait and hide so that your body can properly metabolize the new blood before your powers increase. In this time, or even partly in times before, the Flu can spread to different districts and cause many deaths, depending on what you do. You are still a doctor, after all.
4. Doctor You
In the game, you have various hideouts that you can unlock, at which you can craft all kinds of medicines and remedies. This is especially needed for during the day. For you to survive in flu-ridden and vampire-hunter-ridden London, you must keep your cover as the doctor you used to be and at heart, still are. Hopefully.
You need to make sure that no one even as much as suspects that you’re more than a friendly neighbourhood doctor, or else the stakes will rise. Literally, as much as metaphorically. If you really need to play it safe, sucking only the blood of the patients who are really close to death and have no way out will make your life easy, but if you want a challenge, living the true double life will be a lot of fun.
5. Every citizen in the game can die
The developers have explained that every single citizen in the game has a health bar. This can lower with time during the game, which can lead to major problems if entire districts are left with low health. If you want to, if you’re feeling bloodthirsty, you can suck the blood of and/or slaughter every single citizen in the entire city, and the game won’t directly punish you for it. There won’t be an error message saying “Warning: number of citizens reaching critical level”. You’ll just stop seeing citizens walk through the streets, you’ll stop being able to buy that stuff at the corner shop you always used to buy, and you sure as hell won’t be getting any quests from citizens of the city.
6. Death count: 0
It’s possible to go through the game without taking a single life. It’ll make your life a living hell and you won’t be able to level up, learn any new combat abilities or other skills, but it is technically possible. This would be the best way to keep your cover as a doctor, but the question is if it’s worth it. Completionists will almost definitely end up trying a pacifist playthrough, but it’s always hard to fight the temptation of wanting to get “just that one skill”, especially if you have perfectly guilty prey standing right in front of you.
Want more quick facts? Get your fangs on these:
– The Last of Us 2: 5 Quick Facts You Should Know
– Days Gone: 6 Quick Facts You Should Know
– Beyond Good and Evil 2: 7 Quick Facts You Should Know
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