New RPG Vampyr in Development at Dontnod Entertainment, Set After World War One
Focus Home Interactive and Dontnod Studio have just revealed a new game called Vampyr, which will be an RPG. There’s very few details but our reporter at the reveal event, good ol’ Stefan, has stated the game is set just after World War One and players will take on the role of a doctor. He returns home while the Spanish Flu is going around, and is bitten by one of his patients. That bite transforms this doctor into a vampire.
Apparently the Y in the name relates to the choices in the game where the doctor faces moral quandaries as his doctor side tries to heal, while his vampire nature wants to kill and feed. The tag line for Vampyr is ‘Take blood. Save a life’. Choices won’t be clear cut within the game either, but there are very few details on that. Vampyr also sees Dontnod trying to start up a second development team within the studio so more projects can be worked on. Vampyr is still in early development so no release date has yet been confirmed.
Dontnod are currently in the process of releasing Life is Strange.
Acclaimed game-development studio Dontnod and publisher Focus Home Interactive are pleased to officially announce their partnership for the development of Vampyr, a new role-playing game powered by Unreal Engine 4 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.
The studio behind Remember Me and Life is Strange unveils here a concept trailer for Vampyr, which sets the mood and universe of this new license, which promises to offer a unique, deeply immersive role-playing experience steeped in vampire mythology.
Vampyr is set in early 20th century Britain as the country is gripped by the lethal Spanish flu and the streets of London are crippled by disease, violence and fear. In a disorganized and ghostly city, those foolish, desperate, or unlucky enough to walk the streets lay prey to Britain’s most elusive predators: the vampires. Emerging from the chaos, a tormented figure awakens. You are Jonathan E. Reid, a high-ranking military surgeon transformed into a vampire upon his return home from the frontline.
Explore the darkly atmospheric streets of early 20th century London, and interact with a multitude of characters with their own identities and importance. Accept and fulfill the missions they give you, but don’t forget: sooner or later, you will have to feed, and make a difficult choice... who will be your prey? Absolutely all characters in the game are potential victims of your vampiric lust. Carefully study the habits of your next victim, his or her relationships with other characters, and set up your strategy to feed, unnoticed: seduce them, change their daily habits, or make sure they end up alone in a dark street…
Be careful who you choose to hunt, as they will be gone forever, and their death will impact in a meaningful way the world that surrounds you. Feeding on human blood will not just keep you "alive"; it will also unlock new vampiric powers to use.
There will be times when exploration and seduction will only get you so far, and you'll need to resort to engaging in Vampyr's dynamic real-time combat. It blends hard-hitting melee combat with ranged shooting mechanics and the supernatural vampire powers. You'll face many types of enemies: different species of vampires and creatures, as well as vampire hunters who want to hunt you down with their weapons, tools and traps. In Vampyr, your health and the "energy" that drives your supernatural powers are one and same! Using powers will drain your own blood, giving you an edge in battle but also leaving you weaker. You will have to find a way to feed during combat to replenish your strength.
Vampyr also offers a deep crafting system. Find and loot materials and components from the fresh corpses of your victims or during exploration, in order to craft and improve tools, melee and ranged weapons, as well as special ammunitions and coating to exploit the weaknesses of your enemies.
As you cling to what remains of your humanity, your decisions will ultimately shape the fate of your hero while searching for answers in the coughing, foggy aftermath of the Spanish Flu.
Vampyr will release in 2017 on PS4, Xbox One and PC.
Vampyr: Fox21 secures the rights to develop the TV series
Fox21 has secured the rights to Dontnod Entertainment and Focus Home Interactive’s hit RPG video game, Vampyr, for Wonderland Sound & Vision and DJ2 Entertainment to adapt for television.
Vampyr launched worldwide last June, reaching #1 on Steam, the internet’s largest video game distribution platform. Vampyr is game developer Dontnod’s follow-up to its Peabody and BAFTA Award Winning game, LIFE IS STRANGE, which DJ2 Entertainment is also set to executive produce.
As the developers of Vampyr, Dontnod CEO Oskar Guilbert goes on the record to say, “we believe it is a fantastic premise for a television show. This is a new and exciting way for fans of the game, as well as the uninitiated, to enter and engage with Vampyr’S rich, deep story. We cannot wait to see how the talented team at Fox21 will bring out the darkly atmospheric universe of our game into television.”
Focus’ CEO Jurgen Goeldner agrees and says, “we are delighted to partner with Fox21 for the adaptation of Vampyr into a TV series. Dontnod has created a uniquely dark, immersive world with deep narration, which has made Vampyr already a modern video game classic. We cannot wait to see Fox21 bring all of their talent and experience in launching a TV show that will allow an even wider audience to discover the fantastic universe of Vampyr.”
“The DJ2 team loves the creative vision Dontnod & Focus devote to all of their projects,” says DJ2 CEO,Dmitri Johnson. “The great relationship we’ve built with them since partnering on their incredible game, Lide is Strange, allowed us to get on board for Vampyr well before its release. Like them, we’re excited to collaborate with our friends at Fox21, Wonderland, and the rest of the creative team we’re assembling.”
Vampyr announces new difficulty modes for later this summer
Vampyr, Dontnod Entertainment’s narrative-driven action-RPG set in 1918 London, announces a content update coming later this summer on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. This will include two new game difficulty modes which add further replayability for existing players and more options for those who haven’t yet sunk their teeth into this dark adventure.
As well as bringing a host of optimization tweaks, the upcoming update will introduce a ‘Story’ mode that de-emphasizes combat and a cranked-up, more challenging Hard mode. The Story mode places a greater focus on narrative, allowing players to experience Dr. Reid’s journey with less challenging combat. On the other end of the scale, Hard mode makes combat much more difficult. Players will receive less experience from killing enemies too, forcing them to rely even more on embracing citizens to grow in power.
In advance of the update Vampyr has a 25% discount on Steam, available now!
Vampyr is out now on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. To order the game and for more details, visit vampyr-game.com.
Vampyr celebrates release next week with bloodthirsty Launch Trailer!
Vampyr, the narrative-driven action-RPG from Dontnod Entertainment, releases next week - take control of newly-turned vampire Dr. Jonathan Reid from Tuesday, June 5th, on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. Today, prepare to stalk or save the streets of 1918 London with Vampyr’s Launch Trailer!
In Vampyr you play as Dr. Jonathan Reid, a famous surgeon and blood transfusion specialist freshly turned into a vampire after arriving back in his home city of London following the Great War. A man of logic and science, Reid’s firm beliefs are turned inside-out upon awakening to a once-hidden world of secret societies, ungodly creatures and ancient orders set upon ending his existence. All the while, London’s population crumbles under the pressure of a terrible disease – and Dr. Reid may be the city’s last hope to stop it.
Every one of Vampyr’s citizens is part of an interconnected social web, and the fate of one citizen in a social circle will impact the everyday life of the others, as well as the direction of the narrative. Each citizen has their own story, life and personal quests – and every last one can be spared or sacrificed in Reid’s quest. Reid is a vampire, and the fastest way to evolve and unlock new supernatural abilities for combat is by drinking the blood of the living. In Vampyr, it’s not “Do I kill?” but “Who do I kill?”. Deadly encounters plague the doctor’s journey, and each citizen offers a tempting source of power… but there will be consequences.
Each of the four main districts have health status linked with the number of living, dead and sick citizens. By feeding sparingly and keeping the populace healthy with crafted medicines, balance can be maintained. However, if the health status drops too low, the district will be lost to supernatural creatures along with every quest, shop and citizen that once lived there. If every district of London falls, the game can still be played to completion, though with an outcome that suits such recklessness.
Your actions will save or doom London.
Learn more about Vampyr in a live Q&A stream with the developers on June 4 on Twitch!
Vampyr releases June 5 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.
Feed and evolve in Vampyr's action-filled new gameplay trailer
Vampyr, the upcoming action-RPG from Dontnod Entertainment, explores tortured protagonist Dr. Jonathan Reid’s growth in power through savage combat gameplay in today’s Becoming a Monster gameplay trailer. By sacrificing the very citizens Reid swore to protect, players will learn and evolve powerful vampire abilities in their struggle to defeat London’s deadly foes. Vampyr releases June 5 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC, with preorders now available.
In Vampyr, the greatest source of XP to learn and enhance abilities comes from the blood of London’s citizens, who Dr. Jonathan Reid has set out to save from the epidemic sweeping through the city. The question is less “Do I kill?” than “Who do I kill?” Investigating citizens’ lives will allow Reid to decide who is more ‘deserving’ of sacrifice – or he can simply give in to his hunger and treat the mortals as blood bags. Either way, killing certain citizens will have a greater impact on the local ecosystem than others, while simply killing too many may cause an entire district to collapse.
After draining the blood of his victims, Reid can learn and evolve powerful combat abilities. Close combat abilities allow Reid to close gaps quickly, pouncing from afar before slashing with deadly claws, while others such as Bloodspear allow him to deal damage from a distance. At the higher levels of power, some abilities are feared by even the vampires themselves. Abyss allows Reid to unleash the shadows from within, while Rage targets and strikes entire groups of enemies with a terrible fury. Learning and evolving these abilities will aid in the doctor’s quest to save London – but at what cost?
Vampyr releases June 5 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. Preorders are now available at vampyr-game.com.
Fear the Reaper and dive into a strange new world in Vampyr's Story Trailer
Vampyr, the upcoming action-RPG from Dontnod Entertainment, will release June 5 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. The game's wider narrative arcs are unveiled today in a captivating Story Trailer, brought together with an eerie cover of (Don’t Fear) the Reaper. Returning from the frontlines to a London devastated by war and disease, Dr. Jonathan Reid awakens to a once-hidden world of ungodly creatures, secret societies and vampire hunts.
In Vampyr, you play as Jonathan Reid, a doctor in 1918 London newly-turned into a vampire following his return from the Great War. His convictions blown away, Reid discovers the existence of a dark new world where supernatural creatures and secret societies live together in the shadows... and he is now part of this world.
As a newborn vampire shattered by an irrepressible thirst of blood and thrust into a strange new world, Reid attempts to interpret the supernatural in the best way he knows how: rational thinking. However, between ancient societies, mysterious murders and an imminent large-scale vampire hunt, his scientific assurances are challenged like never before. Driven by a personal desire to learn who caused his transformation and why, Jonathan Reid continues working to find a cure to the devastating disease that decimates its citizens.
But doing so, he must confront his nature as a blood-drinker and the terrible temptation to feed on those he swore to protect…
Vampyr releases June 5 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. Preorders are now available at vampyr-game.com.