I'm hesitant to call Vampire Night bad, but it's really disappointing, especially with how much I adored it as a kid. What once transported me to a grim and gothic but beautiful snowy world revolving around awesome vampire hunters and their evocative struggle to coexist turned out to have some of the most baffling, hilarious, nonsensically stifled and pointless dialogue I've seen in a hot minute.
The environments are mostly cool, with the ethereal and practically blinding (but in a cool way) semi-final level being the most memorable parts of the game for me. All of the bosses are fun and have some cool ideas attached to them, especially insofar as aesthetic goes. I like that the core of those fights comes to "shoot them fast enough so they don't use their crazy ass attack on you." There's a good reason why I have such fond memories of this game's world, as it has standout moments that push its good ideas to the forefront.
But when I wasn't facing a boss, it's hard to say I had fun. It's hard to put my finger on it, especially due to my limited experience with light gun games, but I didn't feel much when running through this world shooting shit. Like I said, I could appreciate the cool environments on display, whether I was running through an old Victorian town or a nightmarish tower adorned by metal halls and grates as hot magma peered through certain facets of the level. I do wish these inspired visual moments were more plentiful, as I didn't get much joy out of the light gun action. Just having a pistol is kinda boring? You can't really do much else but spam it, and when I was a kid I vividly remember having other weapons (which is only available in the special mode).
Beyond the game itself being just whatever, there's not much game here after you get through the campaign (which can be beaten in like an hour). The secondary "special" gamemode (which is where most of the playtime probably comes in) just forces you to replay the game over and over again to unlock different items and weapons. I remember having a lot of fun doing this as a kid, but now? Redoing these immensely average levels was absolutely exhausting and it quickly soured the game for me.
I just kinda wish there was more here. The base campaign isn't bad but the special components that make this a full game are not implemented well and don't utilize the content in a compelling way. It's an attempt to incentivize replaying the game over and over, which does not sound fun imo.
The environments are mostly cool, with the ethereal and practically blinding (but in a cool way) semi-final level being the most memorable parts of the game for me. All of the bosses are fun and have some cool ideas attached to them, especially insofar as aesthetic goes. I like that the core of those fights comes to "shoot them fast enough so they don't use their crazy ass attack on you." There's a good reason why I have such fond memories of this game's world, as it has standout moments that push its good ideas to the forefront.
But when I wasn't facing a boss, it's hard to say I had fun. It's hard to put my finger on it, especially due to my limited experience with light gun games, but I didn't feel much when running through this world shooting shit. Like I said, I could appreciate the cool environments on display, whether I was running through an old Victorian town or a nightmarish tower adorned by metal halls and grates as hot magma peered through certain facets of the level. I do wish these inspired visual moments were more plentiful, as I didn't get much joy out of the light gun action. Just having a pistol is kinda boring? You can't really do much else but spam it, and when I was a kid I vividly remember having other weapons (which is only available in the special mode).
Beyond the game itself being just whatever, there's not much game here after you get through the campaign (which can be beaten in like an hour). The secondary "special" gamemode (which is where most of the playtime probably comes in) just forces you to replay the game over and over again to unlock different items and weapons. I remember having a lot of fun doing this as a kid, but now? Redoing these immensely average levels was absolutely exhausting and it quickly soured the game for me.
I just kinda wish there was more here. The base campaign isn't bad but the special components that make this a full game are not implemented well and don't utilize the content in a compelling way. It's an attempt to incentivize replaying the game over and over, which does not sound fun imo.