Remember the Last Open-World Game Where You Just Killed Strangers and Moved On? That Can Screw You Here
Our latest coverage for Dontnod’s Vampyr follows a series of interviews wccftech and God is Geek had with Narrative Director Stephanie Beauverger. We learn that the Life is Strange developers are infusing complete historical accuracy into their gritty depiction of London. As we follow Doctor-turned-vampire Jonathan Reid, we shall encounter a meticulous mix of history and vampire strife. There will be in-game conflict between vampire factions. This will be part of a narrative in what Beauverger calls a “Semi-open” world since parts of the map will be blocked for story reasons. Outside the story, however, characters and your interactions with them shall play a crucial role.
As stated, players will experience a very historical depiction of London. In order to achieve this, Dontnod dug up a series of relevant documents illustrating the true likeness of 1918 London. In this accurately crafted world, players will find many characters that issue sidequests. Moreover, Beavurger emphasized that every NPC has an identity whether or not they’re essential to questing. In incorporating character across the broad span of NPCs, developers also rendered importance to communities. As the player character explores and works toward leveling, he or she must face consequences to overfeeding. That is to say, killing too many characters can lead to the collapse of a community, bar side-quests, and more. This adds an interesting dynamic to player choice, as their only mode of acquiring exp is feeding on people.
And speaking of killing, there are multiple ways to go about this. Beavurger brought up classes in Vampyr; abilities derived from your choice. Hence, you can choose between one of three: “Shadow Vampire,” “Instinct Vampire,” and “Blood Vampire.” Shadow facilitates the stealthy playthrough, as players sneak up on people with the ability to manipulate them. Instinct, as it sounds, assumes a primal form where you mutilate enemies with aggression and large claws. Blood entails creativity as you manipulate enemies, boil their blood, or impale them on blood stakes.
It is possible you’ll see one of two vampire factions using these abilities. Of the Vampire factions in-game, one is comprised of a breed of “lesser vampires” while the other is “aristocratic.” The former are essentially vampire rejects who live underground in sewers, while the latter actually exist in the British hierarchy and even manipulates world events.” Neither likes the other.
Happy to mention that the compelling narrative of Vampyr will be available for PC, PS4, and Xbox One later this year. We’ll keep you updated as we learn more. But we’re curious; does this info make you more interested in the game? Feel free to comment down below and let us know.