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"You are deserving of love, especially from yourself." says the 3000-year-old vampire man, as I sit on my sofa with tears in my eyes. This is a quote I didn't expect to affect me as much as it has, and it’s also not the kind of quote I'd expect from a vampire visual novel game set above a goth Leipzig night club where you play as a cowboy.
When I first heard of Vampire Therapist I knew it was a game I'd have to sink my teeth into. And boy howdy, was it worth getting my pointy little fangs on. Vampire Therapist is a new visual novel game made by Little Bat Games, and was inspired by the likes of What We Do in the Shadows, Monty Python and even Horrible Histories. You play as Sam Walls, a vampire cowboy who makes his way to Leipzig to become a therapist under the mentorship of a 3000-year-old vampire, Andromachos, or Andy, as our lovable cowpoke calls him. Under the roof of a goth night club, reminiscent of Nadja's for any What We Do In The Shadows fans, Sam is able to see clients with historic trauma and help vampires realize their true potential and find inner peace. In the process, Sam also learns more about himself and healthy ways to look at his past and future.
Our Cadaverous Clientele
The characters you meet are full of life (maybe a poor choice of words on my part considering some of them are undead and thousands of years old) and are all written very authentically, with a little theatrical edge. They really feel like actual people that would seek out therapy, and are complex with multiple layers of trauma to process. They're not simply two dimensional "I am a vampire and I hate it" characters. I actively found myself wanting to help them, wanting them to better themselves and see the light (again, an insensitive phrase). I even caught myself cheering on the characters you treat when they had a breakthrough, no matter how small. It was just nice and rewarding to see them realize something.
As you play and conduct therapy sessions, clients will have a cognitive distortion to which Sam glows red and you are able to click the matching distortion you believe they are having. If someone calls themselves a "vile monster" then it's Labeling, or if they say that they should have achieved their goals by now, then that's a Should Statement. As the game progresses you end up choosing four tailored cognitive distortions you believe the client will use the most so they can get the most out of their therapy sessions. There is no real repercussion in getting your answers incorrect, as your pal Andy will swoop in and stop you before you can talk so you can never pick an incorrect answer. It's a good learning tool, and I understand why, with such a sensitive topic, there's no good or bad story repercussions. The game wants you to succeed and help people, and I'm okay with that.
I think these characters are not only brought to life through the fang-tastic writing, but also the truly talented team of voice actors behind the roles. I especially have to give props to the creator of the game, writer, and voice actor behind Sam and several other characters, Cyrus Nemati, whose performances were a real stand out to me.
Helping the Haunted Ones
Initially I was dubious about how well the real world therapy aspect would work in a game with such humorous inspirations. Do sexy vampires, visiting a "kink room" and making jokes about farting on a chair Jesus Christ himself made, really go hand in hand with talking about CBT? Oddly enough, yes, and it pulls it off masterfully.
Little Bat Games clearly cares about getting the therapy aspect of the game perfect. It isn't just a gimmick or throwaway plot with meaningless made up language which was included for the sake of humor. Vampire Therapist was made in conjunction with real licensed therapists, and for that I can only applaud it. The fact you actively learn and begin to understand real life cognitive distortions and therapy techniques while playing as a gun slingin', blood suckin' cowboy is a testament to just how much Little Bat Games wanted to get right when approaching such a sensitive and complex subject. Therapy is confusing and serious, and I am so glad that the developer behind Vampire Therapist understands this and doesn't just make a gag out of it.
One thing I didn't expect to happen after playing this game was that I started to recognize my own behavioral patterns and the way I talk to myself. Sam and Andy seemed to have wriggled their way into my brain and I now catch myself when using Labeling language, or Nosferatu Thinking. I genuinely cannot believe a vampire visual novel has helped me use kinder language on myself, but I love it.
Now that being said, is this game a real therapy tool? No. I don't think any game, even one written in collaboration with a real therapist, could do such a thing. I also don't think Little Bat Games were trying to achieve that. There is no real replacement for therapy, but it's been a delight to game-ify my own way of thinking and relate what I learned to the wonderful cast of characters the game throws at you. Sadly, I do not share enough in common with a 400 year old vampire to have this game be my own form of therapy. Maybe if you're a 400 year old vampire with centuries old trauma it'll work for you though!
It's very rare that I play a game that has an emotional impact on me for reasons other than the dog died or my favorite cowboy has Tuberculosis. However, I came away from Vampire Therapist actively wanting to emotionally improve and be kinder to myself. I can't believe how quickly this game helped me realize I needed to just love myself that bit more… and I also came out of it with a new favorite cowboy who, luckily for me, doesn’t have TB.
"You are deserving of love, especially from yourself"... I cannot think of a more poignant quote from this game to sum up my experience of playing it.
Vampire Therapist was a bloody good time and I cannot recommend it enough.
Vampire Therapist is out now on PC. For more of our indie game highlights, check out our Indie Spotlight series in full.
