Vampyr Review

Now available on the Nintendo Switch, Vampyr originally released in 2018. In Vampyr, Dontnod Entertainment proves it doesn’t shy away from new ideas. Vampyr seems like a departure from Dontnod’s usual fair, which includes Remember Me and Life is Strange. The studio’s willingness to experiment can be felt throughout the game.

Story

Set against the backdrop of the 1918-1920 Spanish flu pandemic, Vampyr follows newly-minted vampire Doctor Jonathan Reid. Left for dead in a mass grave, he awakens as a vampire. In a fit of supernatural bloodlust, he accidentally kills his sister.

Reid finds himself alone and hunted on the rain-soaked streets of early 20th century London. He soon finds himself embroiled in the machinations of powerful vampires and ancient secret societies, both human and otherwise.

There are also plenty of mundane (but only marginally less conspiracy prone) citizens populating the streets of London. Each character has their own relationships, personality, and story — right up until Reid tears open their throats to feed his dark powers.

Health System

The game’s unique selling point is the district health system. The feature is somewhat reminiscent of the chaos mechanic from Arkane Studios’ Dishonored.

Killing NPC and taking other evil actions result in each of the four districts deteriorating further, as disease and disorder take hold. As district health decreases, people die or go missing, enemies become more numerous, and dangerous creatures spread to new areas of the city.

Unlike Dishonored, however, an effort has been made to flesh out individual citizens. Players feel like their actions affect the lives of actual people instead of an abstract global variable.