Vampyr

Dontnod surprised us for a third time (after the beloved Life is Strange and the charming Remember Me) by delivering a game full of superb atmosphere and a unique take on the “vampire genre”. Vampyr is a game with great design and originality, something that we sorely miss from most modern games.

With great combat, compelling characters, and a mission structure that ensures the players sees the direct effects of their actions, Vampyr is one of the best action-RPGs I’ve ever played. While it may not offer the sheer size of a Witcher or Fallout, it tells a resonant and consequential story that’s married it to some of the best open-world quest design around. This is one that’s absolutely not to be missed.

Vampyr sets a new standard for Dontnod's already excellent narrative. Combined with a fine action RPG mechanic, it offers an immersive and difficult-to-forget experience.

In a market saturated by AAA titles, Vampyr is an excellent example of why we need more AA games. It's not the prettiest or the smoothest experience, but then again, it's really not trying to be. What Vampyr wants to do is tell the story of a newborn vampire who holds the fate of post WWI-London in his hands; the focus is on story, atmosphere, and making hard decisions that have hard consequences.

Even with its noticeable flaws, Vampyr has the potential to be the new cult gem among vampire lovers. If you can see beyond technical limitations, the story and characters will trap you within their arms and suck until the very last drop of... your time.

Witnessing a studio succeed beyond what their audience expects of them is always a pleasure, and DONTNOD Entertainment has done just that with Vampyr. Whether you're intrigued by the idea of stalking London as a bloodthirsty vampire or expressly fancy a rock-solid ARPG, consider sinking your teeth into this gem.

Vampyr is unique. It’s not beautiful, its combat leaves much to be desired and its limited budget shows, but if you choose to turn a blind eye to these flaws, it will captivate you with its mature, morally ambiguous story and a series of dilemmas that usually lack a “right” answer. [07/2018, p.60]

It has an interesting story and well written characters that kept me playing through. Even with some less than stellar battles. The setting is fantastic and is quick to draw you in with great atmosphere.

Vampyr is a captivating title with a fluid mix of narrative and game mechanics that, although not always successful, impresses with its boldness and dedication. With a fun combat system, simple but effective role mechanics and a difficulty system that enters into direct symbiosis with the temptation for blood of the vampire myth.

Dontnod is back with a brand new franchise. Vampyr is an Action RPG with rich narrative and interesting gameplay design.

Sluggish combat aside, Vampyr will provide hours of blood-sucking entertainment. You can be the vampire you always wanted to be, as ruthless or benevolent as you desire. Weighty life-or-death decisions all but ensure that players will want to run through the campaign multiple times to see how things would play out differently by killing or saving certain individuals, or by upgrading certain abilities earlier or later. Vampyr is a cinematic, single-player experience well worth your time and money. A harrowing adventure awaits those who are willing to sink their time into Vampyr.

Vampyr is a great experience. Its fun story will keep you intrigued for hours upon hours, and refined and simple gameplay will keep you hooked for even more.

Vampyr is a moody, dark game, centering around a very charismatic vampire. Through him, using an ingenious cause and effect system, the player can exert a great deal of influence on a gloomy part of London in the early 20th century, which should have all matter of emotional effects on them. Too bad the combat is far from perfect and technically it’s no masterpiece, but the emotional resonance and originality of Vampyr make it quite unforgettable in its great ambition.

Extraordinary.

As seductive as the creature it depicts, Vampyr is as good as we would have hoped for it to be. Content-rich and original, this action RPG unfortunately does suffer from a few graphical and narrative shortcomings. Featuring a solid, yet not thrilling combat system, Vampyr is still able to clearly showcase the talents of its development team members, in all of their bloody creativity.

I want to like this game, I really do. But it's holding me back from doing so. Reading into it, I find a lot of near-depth, but nothing that the game actually employs has much depth to it. There are a ton of amazing aspects that boost the game, but its larger ambitions lies just outside the reach of its execution. But it is worth a try, and an admirable achievement. In truth, I think this game is more a 7.8, but I feel the current rating it has adequately describes its qualities, while acknowledging its flaws.

Vampyr is the most unique RPG we've played in years. It may not be the slickest or most beautiful but it has a charm that makes the game much more than the some of its parts.

Vampyr drives the desire of the player against the will of its protagonist. It creates sharp edge, and the ensuing conflict has the power to bore, excite, and infuriate an audience. Depending on your admiration (and patience) for its rampant ambition, Vampyr is either an unassuming action game or a garrulous gothic network of austere vampire folklore.

Dontnod worked hard to create an immersive, dark world to explore and it succeeds in doing so. Despite some boring conversations, most of the world of Vampyr is an exciting, dangerous place and if nothing else, being a vampire in here is also very fun.

Exploring London and uncovering secrets is always an engaging affair, and the combat never fails to get the adrenaline pumping. But trumping it all is the freedom that Vampyr grants you to be a devious agent of the undead or a doting doctor. Often the choices you make won’t be so clear cut, but that’s what makes Vampyr so interesting. It doesn’t simply deal in absolutes, but many shades of grey.

Vampyr might not be what many wanted after Life Is Strange, but it’s still an enjoyable – well, as enjoyable as its grim nature allows – game nonetheless.

An amazing game full of darkness, vampires and blood in the London of the first quarter of the 20th Century. A great mix of exploration, conversations and difficult encounters with dangerous creatures of the night.

With Vampyr, Dontnod gives us a true RPG with an complex story, especially for people who take care of the citizens. The combat system is very good, but the crappy AI, a few bugs and a lack of freedom have to be taken into consideration.

There's no denying that Vampyr has some mighty rough edges to it and combat that is decent, but unspectacular. Yet there's a delicious sense of place to it that makes it undeniably interesting to get stuck into. Many of the game's flaws melt away as you get lost in the moody grime of this alternate version of wartime London...The most important job Vampyr had to do was to present a compelling game about the tragic romanticism of being a vampire, and the fight for retaining humanity or embracing the unnatural power it brings. Vampyr does drop the ball on many small things, but it does that important job superbly.

My hope is that it finds its audience so that we might yet again see Dr. Reid on an even grander scale in the future.

Vampyr is a smart action game that poses regular moral dilemmas as you decide to either heal or kill characters in a wonderfully dark city. With decent melee combat and an interesting story, there are not many vampire games that taste as sweet.

A sublime atmosphere combined with a well thought out narrative along with the recurrence of moral dilemmas is Vampyr's biggest selling point. Combat leaves a little bit to be desired however and there is a fair amount of glitches to be found. If you can see past these things, then you'll have a grand ol' time with Vampyr.

When it comes to feeling like being a Vampire, Vampyr really shines. Story is great and NPCs play a huge role in gameplay. But the problem is that Vampyr tries to be an all-around, perfect game, and that’s where it starts to fall through, as lame combat and graphical and technical issues prevent it from becoming a hit.

Fighting in Vampyr is just painful. On the other hand, the game has a great story, developed characters and immersive atmosphere.

Vampyr is an epic adventure set in London during the Great War. Its original take on a vampire tale delivers, with deep storytelling and an awesome setting. Sadly technically the game suffers a lot from stuttering and loading screens.

If you’ve been searching for a story-driven, narratively engaging vampire game with plenty of atmosphere, Vampyr is right up your alley. If you’re looking for a snappy, tightly controlled ARPG, you might want to look elsewhere.

Vampyr is a rough but interesting game. The story starts off in an intriguing manner, and the character interactions show that Dontnod still knows how to make them the most compelling part of any game. The quandary of whether to give in to your base desires seems like a good moral dilemma, until you realize that the combat heavily favors you upgrading early to make the progress less of a grind. That means the game leans heavily toward an evil ending before you attempt a good one. Due to the lack of good vampire games in the market, Vampyr is worth a look, but don't expect a masterpiece out of the gate.

Vampyr is good — flawed, but very good — and pleasurable.

In its best moments Vampyr is an atmospheric action roleplaying game with great dialogue and motivating battles. But you also get your fair share of limited exploration as well as all-you-can-loot-mentality that is more constricting than helpful.

For those looking for a unique, dread-filled experience in the RPG realm, Vampyr offers a type of game seldom seen. But much like the streets of 1918 London, expect a few bumps along the way.

Ultimately, Vampyr is definitely a game worth playing, even if just for the moral choices and the fine character building Dontnod managed to achieve. Don't get this one if you're expecting a combat-heavy RPG with your favorite vampire character.

Awkward at times, the developer's ambition is obvious but the effort never quite comes to fruition. In other words, it doesn't suck but it lacks bite. [Issue#151, p.81]

Vampyr is a far more interesting social simulator than it is an action game.

Vampyr would’ve been far better as Jonathan Reid’s Point and Click Tale of Moral Adversity than what we got, which was essentially Jonathan Reid’s Mashy Exercise in Combat Frustration Sparsely Sprinkled With Plot. Games do not need combat sequences if those sequences do not serve the game’s themes and story.

An inspired use of the usual vampire clichés with some fascinating moral decisions to make, that always impact the game world and its combat in unexpected ways.

Vampyr has a great universe, a great narrative and a great concept, although the execution is a little bit flawed. We’ve enjoyed it even with its flaws so, if you are just a little bit interested in the story and the setting, give it a try.

Vampyr is a slow burn of an RPG, taking its time to ramp up its intriguing blend of science and the supernatural in an elaborately gloomy version of London. When it gets going you can see the potential of the way it offers you more power if you consume its interesting citizens. But Vampyr never commits to this idea to the point where I felt I needed to make that sacrifice to succeed in its relatively simple combat, which leaves it feeling toothless and vulnerable to having a lot of its fun sucked away by technical issues, despite its genuinely engaging story.

Vampyr serves delicious ladles of angst and drama with a hearty slice of excellent, morally grey choice system that will genuinely surprise you, all wrapped up in a wonderfully gloomy London. It's just a shame the combat turns a bit sour.

And yet, the credits roll on Vampyr with the realization of how seldom we see an open-world RPG experience like this, where being a citizen with a responsibility to a place and its people feels personal, even if that investment lies in who looks delicious tonight. Vampyr is certainly shaggy and rough in the technical department, but its narrative successes still make for an impactful and worthwhile experience.

As much a detective story as a horror one, Vampyr rewards you for taking an interest in the people around you and tests your moral compass with a lack of black and white options.

Vampyr is very ambitious and presents a lot of cool and interesting ideas, but just doesn’t quite hit its mark.

Despite the strikingly different premise from Life is Strange studio Dontnod, the team's expertise in characterisation and world-building dovetail neatly into this vampire romp. Reid's world is full of detail and flavour, its cast fully-realised and three-dimensional. It's just frustrating that its clumsy combat and limited loot detract from its otherwise unique ideas and exhilarating story.

A compellingly macabre adventure let down by so-so combat and a few niggling flaws.

Vampyr's social web is intriguing, but bland combat and a conflicting premise hold it back. [Aug 2018, p.70]

Vampyr is both amazing and irritating. Yes, the fighting system is very forgettable and the level-design is frustrating, but the world and the NPC are so great you’ll have a good time anyway.

Vampyr is a collection of wonderful ideas held back by a limited budget and a dated engine.

Through the fog awkward mechanics and unsatisfying decisions (not to mention some dumb story twists), the fun and intriguing core of Vampyr is sometimes visible. Unfortunately, that fog lifts only rarely, leaving most of the experience shrouded in darkness.

Although this gives us more of a grounded portrayal of Reid’s character, it makes the game frustrating and overwhelming at times. Vampyr is full of promising concepts, excellent character building, and lifelike communities, but ultimately Reid's bloodlust can't help but get in the way.

Vampyr has a ton of interesting ideas, an intriguing world, and a great cast of characters, but is ultimately let down by its narrow-minded focus on unnecessary combat.

Although flawed and at times painfully inconsistent, Vampyr manages to offer relatively engaging gameplay in spite of a lack of overall polish. Combat is stiff and quite mindless, but Jonathan's progression deeper into Vampiredom is handled well and the abilities at his disposal go a long way towards masking some of the more mundane aspects of the battle system.

Much like its early 20th century setting, Vampyr feels like a bit of a throwback to a past age of action RPGs. In a time where the genre is evolving Vampyr holds on to past ideas for much of its tenure, and it doesn’t have a story strong enough to overcome that fact. The world itself is ripe for lots of stories to be told within, with Dontnod having done a good job with world building, but while Vampyr isn’t a bad game, nor is it as great as it could be.

The story may be a tad lackluster, and the combat may be clunky as hell, but Vampyr does offer a compelling adventure for those looking for some blood-sucking fun.

Vampyr wastes its setting and premise on tedious combat and a story that’s much longer than it needs to be. Technical problems and dimwitted AI make progression a chore, while the striking locations become mundane. Just a few standout characters and excellent story moments help Vampyr claw out of the grave from disaster to mediocrity.

Vampyr is a set of ideas that cohere on paper but not in practice, coupled with a dreary setting that becomes less atmospheric the longer you spend with it. [Issue#322, p.114]

Vampyr competently displays an understanding of combat, dialogue, and narrative choice, but it never rises above mediocrity, and is an utter failure on a technical level. The aesthetic of the world is the best thing on display, but beyond it lies a derivative title that fails to leave a lasting impression.

Vampyr sports an interesting cast and a compelling morality tale with unexpected twists and turns, but it's horribly weighed down by performance issues, dull combat at best and a city that's a chore to traverse.

With my review, I set my sights on putting this to the test. Could I save London while resisting the temptation to feed? During my time with Vampyr, a more important question emerged. One that strikes at the heart of the matter. The killing blow, as it were. “Does it really matter when everybody in this town sucks?”

Vampyr has a bold and ambitious concept at its heart, but the execution is sorely lacking, so while it may be packed with good intentions, it's not really worth the effort. [July 2018, p.68]

For every inch of innovation, there is endless, effortless copycatting.

Dontnod Entertainment have so far delivered three riveting universes and stories in a row with Remember Me, Life is Strange and Vampyr. Seen from the outside it seems obvious that its their game designers that are holding their writers and artists back. With their most mechanically complex game so far they have also delivered their worst.