This game is a surprisingly good AA RPG and had me hooked all the way to the end.
After hearing that Vampyr got a next-gen patch that solved many of the technical issues that people had complained about in the past, I gave it a try on my PS5. Movement felt great with the 60fps patch, and combat was smooth, if a little generic. The game isn't much of a looker, but it's to be expected with a game like this from a smaller studio. Load times were pretty good overall, even though there would be occasions where you'd get a long one.
As for the game itself, I really enjoyed the story, the voice acting, the NPCs (each one felt really fleshed out), and the music. The way the music changed depending on how you were deciding to play your character was a really great touch.
Now, as a completionist, this game is a bit of a nightmare. There is no manual saving, and the game autosaves immediately after any big decision - usually the kind that make you question whether you really just did what you wanted. I understand why the developers went with that design - they want every action to count, and they want you to really role play here - but I have to admit I found myself backing up my save file nonetheless every few hours just in case I wanted to change my mind about anything.
It was also difficult coming to terms with the fact that it was impossible to get everything in this game - you can't get all the hints for everyone and get all the collectibles in the same playthrough, and you can't get all the weapons without playing completely evil. It's actually a really great game design choice, but it was killing me as a completionist.
The only thing that really didn't work for me was the romantic relationship - it felt out of place and never felt earned. It seemed like much more of a plot device, and the characters didn't seem to have much chemistry. I was actually shocked when the relationship started and wondered if I'd missed something.
All in all, though, this is a really underrated gem that's definitely worth playing on next-gen systems. I think a lot of the lower ratings were based on technical issues from last gen hardware.
After hearing that Vampyr got a next-gen patch that solved many of the technical issues that people had complained about in the past, I gave it a try on my PS5. Movement felt great with the 60fps patch, and combat was smooth, if a little generic. The game isn't much of a looker, but it's to be expected with a game like this from a smaller studio. Load times were pretty good overall, even though there would be occasions where you'd get a long one.
As for the game itself, I really enjoyed the story, the voice acting, the NPCs (each one felt really fleshed out), and the music. The way the music changed depending on how you were deciding to play your character was a really great touch.
Now, as a completionist, this game is a bit of a nightmare. There is no manual saving, and the game autosaves immediately after any big decision - usually the kind that make you question whether you really just did what you wanted. I understand why the developers went with that design - they want every action to count, and they want you to really role play here - but I have to admit I found myself backing up my save file nonetheless every few hours just in case I wanted to change my mind about anything.
It was also difficult coming to terms with the fact that it was impossible to get everything in this game - you can't get all the hints for everyone and get all the collectibles in the same playthrough, and you can't get all the weapons without playing completely evil. It's actually a really great game design choice, but it was killing me as a completionist.
The only thing that really didn't work for me was the romantic relationship - it felt out of place and never felt earned. It seemed like much more of a plot device, and the characters didn't seem to have much chemistry. I was actually shocked when the relationship started and wondered if I'd missed something.
All in all, though, this is a really underrated gem that's definitely worth playing on next-gen systems. I think a lot of the lower ratings were based on technical issues from last gen hardware.
Nodima
2 years ago
That aside, wow, I never heard about a PS5 version! Makes me a little hopeful we might not have heard the last from this franchise, because I found it pretty interesting overall - I played it as a PS+ release during 2020, so the Spanish Flu parallels to COVID along with the free went a long way - and would love to see a sequel. Hmm. Maybe I'll have to replay it during a lull this year...