Vampyr Reviews
Vampyr delivers top-notch story and atmosphere, but it's held back by serious technical issues, frustrating exploration, and dull, uninspired combat sections.
Dontnod takes a thrillingly Gothic perspective on early 19th century London, but squanders it in a dreary and indecisive adventure.
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.
There are some brilliant, original ideas in here, but Vampyr tries to do too much at once and suffers for it.
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.
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 attempts to deliver a gothic fantasy, and while it has bright spots, too much goes wrong to let them shine through
Dontnod follows up Life Is Strange with a surprisingly enthralling supernatural thriller.
The easy way out for Dontnod would have been to take the most time-worn tropes from dime store horror novels, season to taste with period melodrama and serve it all up for players to enjoy. Vampyr reaches for more, and I'm very interested to see if the finale does it all justice
Vampyr unfortunately flounders after building some solid foundations in the opening hours. London feels like a city on a knife edge, and the citizens prove to be an inviting cast of creative characters. But Vampyr then lures you into sacrificing these characters, cutting out a key part of the game, all to have a hope of standing up to the horrors that await you in the shadows of London.
The underlying game mechanics require a certain amount of suspension of disbelief, but those that can will find an entertaining penny dreadful.
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. It also manages to effectively make you feel like a creature of the night at times. Unfortunately, the frequent technical issues sapped just about every ounce of joy from the experience, leaving this digital world a dry, lifeless husk.
This port of Vampyr is the perfect way to investigate yours sins wherever you are. Great job for a great videogame.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
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.
Even with it's 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.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
The developers did a lot of work to keep the immersion intact, like not allowing me to use abilities while in areas with NPCs for instance. This makes the map feel unnaturally bare when moving between districts and also makes one particular series of option quests feel off. Occasionally, I came across helpless humans that I had to save from enemy creatures. When I did so, the NPCs didn't seem to have noticed that I totally vamp'd out and ripped their assailants apart.
A bundle of great ideas and characters, shackled by some abysmal mechanics. Try it, or buy it on sale.
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 hard ecounters with dangerous creatures of the night.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Vampyr is an ambitious masterpiece with forgivable flaws