Vampyr is an action RPG created by Dontnod, the Life is Strange development team. The game is set in Victorian London - more precisely in 1918 - at the end of World War I and during the Spanish flu. Players take the role of Jonathan E. Reid, a medical officer who became a vampire and wants to discover everything about these creatures and their origins.
Although all the conditions were present to be able to create a solid title, unfortunately, this was not the case with the recently updated Vampyr. The various technical issues divided the audience, with some considering it an underrated game. However, its full potential was ultimately never met.
Vampyr's Plot and Positive Aspects
The release of Vampyr dates back to 2018, but unlike other titles that carry a legacy that spans several years, this title is often forgotten. Unfortunately, even though the game sold well enough, it did not receive good reviews from the public, even if some critics did enjoy it.
Despite Dontnod's legacy as the team behind Life is Strange, a series that has achieved great success worldwide and across its four different chapters - the most recent of which is called Life is Strange: True Colors - Vampyr failed to reach the same level of success. With Vampyr, the developer wanted to try its hand at a completely different type of game from Life is Strange, and while the ambition is respectable, the result was an average product. However, some aspects of it deserve praise.
Vampyr is an open-world action RPG in which gamers control Dr. Jonathan E. Reid, a medical officer returning to London after serving during World War I. Unfortunately, however, something darker than war awaited his return. Jonathan soon discovers that he has turned into a vampire and that he has killed his sister in the act of bloodlust.
The setting of Vampyr means that, in addition to the war, the threat of a severe Spanish flu epidemic was also decimating the population. As a doctor, Jonathan had the moral duty to save the townspeople, but as a vampire, he needed to feed himself in order to survive.
This duality is well represented within the game, allowing each player to decide whether to be faithful to the Hippocratic Oath and provide help to anyone who needs it or indulge in the vampire nature and take innocent lives. The player's choices are reflected in the conditions in which London and its neighborhoods find themselves, as well as the type of relationship that the protagonist will have with the NPCs present in Vampyr.
Every action that the player decides to carry out or avoid, even the one that seems to be the most insignificant, will lead them to obtain one of the four available endings, divided as follows: very good, good, bad, and very bad. Of course, it goes without saying that to get the very good or good endings, the player will have to make Jonathan avoid killing. On the contrary, the other endings occur when the player gives into his vampiric fury.
The setting of a decadent London in great suffering due to the war and the epidemic is memorable and well-designed, as are the interactions that the player will have with the other characters. Being an action RPG, the dialogue with the other NPCs is plentiful, but mostly interesting since it highlights different facets of the story alongside the lore hidden within the game.
Vampyr's Cons
However, where Vampyr struggles to stand out is in the role-playing aspect of the game. Although it is not meant to be an RPG the size of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, the RPG aspects of the game are lacking during the entire adventure. It is in this context that players can see Dontond's strength is in creating games where the plot is the focal point, as the storyline is the best thing about the whole experience. Although it refers to a classic figure of media, vampires, it takes a nuanced approach that somehow makes the product original.
Alongside half-baked RPG mechanics, another criticism that was leveled against the title was the lack of quick saves, which would have been more than useful in several sections of the game. Fast travel was also missing from the game. Due to this, the player often has to retrace the same roads to complete missions, both main and secondary. Since Vampyr is not a game improved by ignoring fast travel, this was a major flaw.
However, the biggest downside of the entire game was its performance. This is what has made many gamers who decided to buy the title frustrated, with the PlayStation 4 version holding the distinction of being the least successful. The various technical issues, including different types of bugs - some of which made the game unplayable - ultimately caused its review scores to drop.
Indeed, Vampyr is a game with excellent potential, something that could have resulted in creating a more than a niche title. Unfortunately, there is no information regarding a potential sequel, with a Vampyr TV series announced but seemingly scrapped. Still, given how the story of Vampyr ends, it seems that Dontnod has decided to leave the door open to continue to tell stories about Jonathan E. Reid. Without a shadow of a doubt, if Dontnod chooses to continue the story, it will have to make note of the mistakes made during the development of the first chapter to craft a sequel that is more than a cult classic.
Vampyr is now available for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X | S.