Baldur's Gate 3 and Redfall are two different kinds of proof that we need more vampires in video games
Oct. 9, 2023Opinion | Bloodhunt is just a start, but it shows how well vampires can work in action games
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From Astarion’s breakout popularity inBaldur’s Gate 3to the searing disappointment ofRedfall, it’s been a varied year for video game vampires. On one hand, I don’t know too many people who are still playingArkane’s vamp-slaying FPS right now in October (despite itsrecent 60 FPS update), but on the other, I also know that Redfall was enough of a letdown that it speaks to something deeper.
Bloodless
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The appeal of the immortal vampire in pop culture goes back centuries, but in games, they’re something of a dying breed. Aside from half-human dhampirs in BloodRayne to The Witcher 3’s Regis, I find it hard to think of specific vampires that made a huge impression on me in video games. Far less so than in TV and film, anyway, where vampires have long been a point of fascination and intrigue for viewers. Castlevania and Legacy of Kain helped carve out a strong start for vampires in action games, so why is it so hard to find a decent one these days?
We’ve been waiting years for a proper sequel to Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines, widely regarded as one of thebest RPGsever, and when I first sat down to Sharkmob’srecently-abandoned Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodhunt, the future was looking bright. Sure, the third-person battle royale shooter is a far cry from the lore-dense, narrative-driven likes of Bloodlines, but it is proof that creating functional vampires, with requisite powers and abilities, is more than possible as far as game mechanics go.
Taking a bite out of a civilian grants a temporary buff, but causes you to get hunted down – and what good would super-speed and super-strength be if you couldn’t leverage them against your foes? Combat-wise, Bloodhunt feels like a run-and-gun improvement on what Don’t Nod was inching toward inVampyr, fine-tuning its clunkier mechanics to find a sweet spot between an RPG and a shooter.
Creating functional vampires, with requisite powers and abilities, is more than possible as far as game mechanics go.
Bloodhunt is a bloody good time, if a little rough around the edges. It has a lot of RPG-like quirks that appealed to me, with a comprehensive character creation menu and faction-specific archetypes to customize your perfect build, that made me intrigued for what a Bloodlines sequel could look like. This speculation is probably what fuelled my interest in Bloodhunt, and aside from the pricey battle passes, I really enjoyed running amok as a creature of the night.
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If Astarion is anything to go on, it seems all we need to be happy as fang-loving gamers is a well-written story and some fun ways to interact with vampiric powers. Hopefully that won’t be too much to ask from Bloodlines 2 developer The Chinese Room, but for now, I’ll be waiting in my coffin for more news.
Bloodhunt never did make it to our list of thebest battle royale games, but it’s a lot more besides.
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