Vampyr Reviews
Although Vampyr's combat system is thoroughly satisfying, it's the dark atmosphere and narrative that genuinely makes the game a must-have. Your choices define the experience, altering a world full of discovery and intrigue all around you. Do you give in to your blight and feast upon the weak and unworthy inhabitants of London or do you become their salvation? It should take you anywhere from 20-30 hours to complete the narrative, but if you want to see all of the possible endings, you'll have to play through multiple times, altering your choices and decisions regarding the lives of the citizens.
It can feel faintly embarrassing one moment, and then do something unexpected and with surprising confidence just a few seconds later. There's probably an equal chance that you'll hate it or love it. In an industry that constantly obsesses on trends and often disrespects the taste and intelligence of its audience, Vampyr is as refreshing and anomalous as Dontnod's other cult games.
Vampyr is a hard game to review, because there is enough to warrant a low score, yet the experience is satisfying enough to make up for this. For better or worse, giving answers and explaining things make it easier to invest in the story, with the conclusion certainly being worth the time. The ability to interact with NPCs, heal them, figure out more about the world and extract new information also adds a lot. It's just, when it comes to gameplay, Vampyr falls short. With loading screens being common when players move too fast, combat often being more about managing stamina, difficulty stemming from how willing are you to kill innocent people and a needlessly frustrating waypoint system, it's easy to get frustrated. With this in mind, anyone looking for a vampire romance story or just want to experience a world filled with answers should consider picking Vampyr up, where as action-RPG or open world fans can probably skip it.
Vampyr is a dark thriller with an interesting story. Sadly, other elements are not on the same level of quality.
Review in Polish | Read full review
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.
Vampyr is one of the year's most interesting games, cementing Dontnod as one of the most interesting developers around. Go get your teeth into it.
Vampyr is another fantastic concept from DONTNOD that falters ever so slightly in its execution. The story, the world and its characters are all oddly compelling, despite some visual and technical shortcomings. Despite its issues, Vampyr is a rare instance in a game where I felt like my choices meant something and had consequences. It's a huge shame that repetitive combat and exploration means it doesn't keep up that momentum from beginning to end.
Vampyr is rich with great characters and story moments, however combat and frustration will be a deterrent to many.
Vampyre's issues lie deep within the core gameplay design. DONTNOD shouldn't have attempted making an RPG. Vampyr would have been much better off as a shorter, adventure or action-adventure production such as Remember Me. It's a great shame that this exquisite artistic vision and superb atmosphere were in the end squandered.
Review in Polish | Read full review
A tasty, dialogue-heavy RPG with an innovative levelling up system, but performance limitations prevent the port from reaching mouth-watering appeal on the Switch.
Vampyr has a lot of good ideas, but its execution is sorely lacking in most areas. It is a game that is competent in terms of its systems, but ultimately fairly boring to play.
If you can fight your way through some technical issues, a good story and interesting action RPG mechanics can make for a bloody good time
It takes some doing to find a middle-ground between two such conflicting genres, but Dontnod have done a terrific job marrying Adventure and Action RPG elements into a pleasant and modestly cohesive whole.
Vampyr may very well be the video game personification of the phrase "diamond in the rough".
If you enjoy your story a bit on the darker side and making choices that matter, than give Vampyr a try.
In Vampyr your choices have a strong impact on the story, the game diffculty, the skills you can acquire and many other parameters. Dontnod has given proof of an impressive care for writing and dialogues, and has given special attention to many cultural, sociological, anthropological and historical themes of the early '900.
Review in Italian | Read full review
A solid entry in the all-too-small Vampire RPG genre
A compelling story and premise bogged down by some bad design decisions
It may not be a perfect game but it knows how to execute on its unique premise and gameplay concepts well enough that it's one I can't help but recommend.
Vampyr is worth digging up out of its crypt and giving it a go. It will satisfy the fans of all things Vampire.