The Y in Vampyr is a metaphor for your branching storyline
Word is that Vampyr is still a year, year-and-a-half away. But a trickle of screenshots are still coming out to keep this RPG on the radar. It looks like the developers are doing a good job of preserving the dark, brooding visuals first put out by the concept artists.
So, you're a vampire. You've got to balance your humanity with your bloodlust, as vampires do. At first I was concerned that killing people to level up wouldn't harm the city anymore than adding more rats to the landscape, like Dishonored, in a sense. But developer Dontnod (Remember Me, Life Is Strange) is making whom you feed on have deeper consequences for the city as a whole. The example they give in a press release today is that killing one of the city's top doctors will make you notice a marked decline in the populace's general health. Considering that Vampyr takes place during the 1918 Influenza Pandemic (aka "Spanish Flu"), actively making a population's health worse could spell disaster. And hey, if everybody dies, then what's a vampire to feed on?
That's probably taking it too far. But it's nice to know that it will (hopefully) matter when you take someone's life into your hands. Now I'm looking at the bloody "Y" in the name "Vampyr" and starting to wonder if that Y is indicative of branching paths in the game. As in, take this life, or save it? Drink this person's blood, or leave them alone? Butterfly effects are nothing new, but I like seeing where it goes with each new game. You're going to have to eat; there's no getting around that. But then what?
Below are three new screenshots to whet that sanguine appetite.
Vampyr aims for a late 2017 release on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Set in early 20th century Britain during a bout of the lethal Spanish flu, the streets of London are crippled by disease, violence and fear. In a completely disorganized and ghostly city, those who are either fools, desperate, or unlucky enough to walk the streets lay prey to Britain's most elusive predators: the Vampires.
Emerging from the chaos, a tormented figure awakes; as the player it is you who determines how to harness your new powers, by specializing in deadly, versatile RPG skill-trees that change the way you play. As a doctor recently turned into a Vampire, you try to understand your new affliction. Your quest of intuition, discoveries and struggles, will be filled with death and drama, while your attempt to stem the irrepressible thirst that constantly drives you to take human lives.
As you cling to what remains of your humanity, your decisions will ultimately shape the fate of your hero while searching for answers in the coughing, foggy aftermath of the Spanish Flu. Key Features
- Explore a darkly atmospheric early 20th century London.
- Play a tormented and powerful Vampire learning the rules of your new condition. A man of science, a beast of the night: Your toughest battles will be within yourself.
- Build your own combat style through a wide range of crafted weapons and powerful Vampire abilities to defeat a large and unique bestiary.
- Choose your fate: moral choices will shape your story. How human could a Vampire be, when he must feed?
