Director(s) Philippe Moreau Writer(s) Stéphane Beauverger Initial release date 2017 Engine Unreal Engine Publisher Focus Home Interactive | Artist(s) Grégory Szucs Mode(s) Single-player Developer Dontnod Entertainment Genre Action role-playing game | |
Platforms PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows Action role-playing games | ||
Vampyr is an upcoming action role-playing video game developed by Dontnod Entertainment and published by Focus Home Interactive. It will be available for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in Q4 2017.
Contents
The plot revolves around vampire doctor Jonathan Reid who is coming to terms with his undead condition. He must deal with being torn between the Hippocratic Oath and his newfound bloodthirsty nature. The player is under no obligation to kill to finish the game. Dialogue options can be used for hunting prey to feed on, which replenishes strength and levels up the lead character. Weapons and supernatural abilities are employed while combatting enemies. London serves as a fictionalised semi-open world composed of four districts, all amenable to destruction should the average health of its citizens diminish.
Vampyr is based on the 1918 London Spanish flu pandemic. The setting was researched by travelling to London and the visuals were made with fictional and factual reference points in mind.
Gameplay
Vampyr is an action role-playing horror video game played from a third-person view. The player controls the game's protagonist Jonathan E. Reid, a vampire doctor whose thirst for blood compels him to kill innocent people. To do this successfully, he must gather information about his targets—study and change their habits, collect clues and maintain certain relationships by communicating with the inhabitants of London, which serves as a fictionalised semi-open world built around hubs of neighbourhoods tethered to other interlinking areas. It is possible to finish the game without taking a life, which best preserves the character's cover as a doctor but leaves him incapable of levelling up. Killing no one unlocks one of four different endings in the game.
If one so chooses, anyone in the game could be targeted, which will have consequences that affect the citizens of London. Reid can turn people into vampires and will only be able to enter a house with an invitation. Locals each have their different backgrounds, relationships and daily routines. If killed, they will impart to Reid their last thought. The "Mesmerise" ability can determine the behaviour of weaker targets, like coercing them into revealing important information or guiding them to less conspicuous areas so as to feed without resorting to combat. Feeding on human blood will unlock new vampiric powers in addition to providing nourishment. One can heal injured or sick victims, and if eaten, gain more from them in the process; the rate of their affliction can be viewed using Reid's vampire senses. Each of the four districts will have a score based on the average health of its citizens.
Reid can wield improvised melee weapons, such as a saw, as well as ranged weapons including the Webley Revolver. He will fight against other vampires like him—aristocrats who go by the name of Ekon; sewer-dwelling vampires known as Skals; the Vulkod—a stronger breed of vampire resembling werewolves; Nemrod—vampires who hunt their own kind; and the Guard of Priwen—a secret society of vampire slayers. Reid is adaptable to other vampire features, like the claws of a Vulkod. Weapon improvement through crafting is made possible by looting items from the bodies of victims. While using vampiric powers in combat, the character's health and energy drains. This forces him to feed so he can immediately replenish his strength. With the vitality attained from killing a human being, he is able to boil the blood of his enemies and cast blood spears. Reid uses his control of shadows to hide himself and to strike at his opponents. He can utilise "Spring" to scale locations otherwise out of reach and charge more rapidly across gaps, which once upgraded can do damage on impact and grant temporary invincibility. Rushing forward at unusual momentum may be deployed to avoid combat altogether.
Development
The development began with a team of 60 people – later expanded to around 80 – many of whom worked on Dontnod Entertainment's previous project Life Is Strange. For a short time, the developer considered to set the game in 1950s America, but to inspire a more gothic mood it was discarded in favour of the 1918 London Spanish flu pandemic. The paintings of Phil Hale influenced the art style, also for the purpose of atmosphere. Television series Casualty 1900s and The Knick were turned to for medical information. Dontnod conducted field research on the setting by visiting London and taking photographs, but since the city had been largely rebuilt, history books and documentaries concerning Whitechapel, the London Docks and the Isle of Dogs were also consulted. Events surrounding the period were studied using both factual and fictional reference points to create the visuals, realised with photorealistic lighting, and post-processes running on the Unreal Engine 4. The killing of innocents in the game as the price for immortality is intended to explore the dualism of the protagonist's survival as a vampire while also being a doctor, either by adhering to the Hippocratic Oath or capitulating to the vampiric nature.
In August 2016, Dontnod had overcome the major obstacles in developing the game on Xbox One and assured that there would be no downgrades despite its hardware disadvantages.