From Astarion's breakout popularity in Baldur's Gate 3 to the searing disappointment of Redfall, it's been a varied year for video game vampires. On one hand, I don't know too many people who are still playing Arkane's vamp-slaying FPS right now in October (despite its recent 60 FPS update), but on the other, I also know that Redfall was enough of a letdown that it speaks to something deeper.
That something is, to my mind, the sad dearth of vampires we're currently seeing in new games. We all lost our heads over Resident Evil Village's Lady Dimistrescu back in 2021, but 2023 looked like a blunt-toothed year for your average vampire fan until Astarion reignited a dormant interest. Before Astarion came a fair few memorable video game vampires, but the truth is, there haven't been too many wins in recent years for these supernatural creatures. Werewolves and zombies have had the limelight for long enough – with 2024 just around the corner, not to mention Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 hot on the horizon, please let next year be the year of the bloodsucker.
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 the best RPGs ever, and when I first sat down to Sharkmob's recently-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 in Vampyr, 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.
I was sadder than I thought I would be after hearing that Sharkmob is moving away from Bloodhunt for now, but it does leave room for a promising future. Despite Bloodhunt's shelving and the write-off that was Redfall, 2023 managed to turn the tide in one fell swoop thanks to Larian Studios. The pale elf vampire Astarion's sometimes horny, always entertaining portrayal from actor Neil Newbon cements him as one of my favorite video game characters ever, let alone one of my favorite vampires. It's ignited a hope in me for a brighter future for vampires in the gaming world, one where they are finally given their due appreciation alongside werewolves and some of the best zombie games.
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 the best battle royale games, but it's a lot more besides.
