Creatures of the night rejoice! Developer Dontnod has revealed that action RPG Vampyr will release on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on Jun. 5. The news comes from the final episode of the developer’s Dontnod Presents Vampyr video series. The fourth episode gives a glimpse into the creative process behind the game, which will see players filling the shoes of Jonathan Reid, a World War I veteran, doctor, and vampire.
The game takes place in a version of early 20th Century London, which has become plagued by the Spanish flu and a rise in cannibalism. To top it all of, people are being turned into “skals” via a mutation which eats away at the mind and gives them a taste for human flesh.
Dontnod is responsible for the first Life is Strange game and Vampyr follows a similar focus on narrative. Dr. Jonathan Reid is a troubled man struggling to come to grips with his vampiric urges as he seeks refuge from an order of vampire hunters out for his head. According to Narrative Director Stéphane Beauverger, Vampyr is said to consist of “exploration, investigations, citizen encounters, combat and hard-hitting choices” with an emphasis on player agency.
Players will have to make difficult choices throughout the game such as deciding which victims to feed off of. Some characters will have higher quality blood which in turn will boost the player’s stats but will always come at a higher moral cost. Making selfish choices and allowing one of the several districts to suffer will lead to the flu and subsequent skals taking over, losing all related story objectives and quests in the process.
You can sink your teeth into the fourth episode of the Dontnod Presents web-series below which features comments from the developers as well as some closer look at gameplay and the design of 1918 London. For our thoughts on Vampyr after attending its E3 presentation last year, click here.
Published: Feb 8, 2018 09:03 am