Vampyr Review

Remember how cool vampires used to be? They were undead, yet intelligent. They had amazing abilities despite handicaps to sunlight, garlic, and other items and emblems.

At some point in time, vampires regrettably began to do things like glitter in the sunlight, read poetry, sing songs that encourage cooperation in children’s cartoons and even fall in love. Repulsive, right?!Fortunately, Developer DONTNOD has introduced us to Dr. Johnathan Reid- an anti-hero set to swoop in like a bat and save the mythology associated with the carnal creatures of lore and maybe London as well, if you choose not to feed on the city you once swore to save. Visuals and PerformanceVampyr’s original release on PS4 and Xbox One might’ve flown under the radar if not for the impressive visuals. Brilliant facial mapping and lighting effects brought the plague-infested streets of London to life with a haunting perspective.

Vampyr review – anaemically scripted undead prowl. Through this setup, Vampyr aims to explore the conflict between Reid’s desire to save lives and his newly acquired bloodlust – a little.

Vampyr for Switch is a straight port, and it certainly takes the expected graphical hit in comparison to its current generation counterparts. The decrease in facial features are most noticeable for anyone that may have played the other versions. Wrinkles and blemishes give way to more simplistic models on the Switch.

This is unfortunate, considering games like Wolfenstein and The Witcher (another port handled by Sabre Interactive) didn’t seem to lose as much facial detail as Vampyr. This may seem insignificant, but this game focuses heavily on emotion. There are many occasions in which a line of dialogue or a decision will result in an unspoken emotional reaction. The devil is in the details within these situations, and they tend to lose a bit of gravity if the NPC involved is somewhat potato-faced.

Outside of character detail, I still think Vampyr is a beautiful game. The darkened streets and poorly-lit rooms still look great by Switch standards in docked mode, though the decrease in resolution is very noticeable in handheld mode. If you choose to pick up Vampyr for Switch, I recommend playing in docked mode as much as possible.There are some glaring issues to discuss in regards to Vampyr’s technical performance on the Switch outside of the expected graphical hiccups. The greatest hindrance are the massive loading times as you transition from one area to another. I never actually timed the loading phase myself, but 30 seconds or less of loading time started to become a relief after a few hours of playing the game. Even after long periods of loading, I still noticed that some objects in the environment would appear after another brief phase of in-game slowdown due to loading.

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How in the world did these objects not have enough time to load within that extended loading screen a few seconds ago? Vampyr has one of the most gripping stories I’ve ever played- it’s a shame that my anticipation and excitement had to be tempered by frustration from long periods of waiting. StoryThe story is without a doubt where Vampyr builds its legacy. You play as the aforementioned Dr. Johnathan Reid, one of London’s most renowned physicians, who has been working countless hours to stave off what is thought to be a devastating Spanish Flu epidemic. Reid has returned home from World War 1 and has pioneered a new blood transfusion technique that seems to show some promise in combating the epidemic.

One night, Dr Reid finds himself regaining consciousness in a mass unmarked grave. He remembers who he is and his determination to help London overcome the outbreak, but he has no recollection of how or why he has found himself waking up among an avalanche of bodies, nor does he understand why he suddenly has a carnal craving for the blood of the living. Reid inevitably discovers his fears have become reality- he has become a vampire. Now he is faced with a new, gut wrenching conundrum: how can he save a city he is sworn to protect while balancing the need to feed on the very citizens he is fighting to save? The choice is left to the player, and the story unfolds depending on the path you choose.

This isn’t a revolutionary standard of storytelling in gaming any longer, but Vampyr executes the gravity of choice more heavily than any previous franchise(including Mass Effect), in my opinion.Killing is a necessity, and there is no way around it. This is the essence of what it is to be a vampire- even for a war hero who has dedicated himself to saving others. The scenario is beautifully grim, and DONTNOD deserves all the credit for creating a story that clearly defines the chaotic, primal and downright depressing reality that would come with this overly-fantasized condition. Reid sets out for answers for himself and his city, he’ll discover that the two are more intertwined than he could’ve ever imagined. I can’t reveal any more without spoilers, but it’s important to convey just how well this dark tale is crafted. Vampyr is simply the best story telling experience I’ve played in 2019. GameplayDONTNOD has carried the reputation of being excellent story tellers since the release of Life Is Strange, but the studio had yet to gain any notoriety for innovative game mechanics.

The team brought all of its cards to the table in hopes of changing that perception with Vampyr. There are standard melee and shooting mechanics that incorporate a wide array of weaponry, including blades as well as guns. Controls are smooth and responsive during combat, the Pro Controller easily being the most comfortable choice. Vampyr distinguishes itself from fellow action RPGs with the addition of “blood skills.” These skills include some of the coolest in-game animations you’ll see in an RPG.

Provided you’ve leveled up enough, Dr. Reid can hurl spears of blood at his enemies or transform into an iridescent black mist capable of teleporting around the battle field. More and more skills become available as you advance through the story, and each skill can also be leveled up using blood points. This is where the main mechanic of Vampyr hooks its fangs into you- the more you choose to feed on the citizens of London the more powerful Dr.

Reid and his skills become, and boy, is that power addictive. The beauty of Vampyr is that it puts the player into the exact state of mind of an actual vampire, forced to balance the need for survival, and the thirst for power with what little is left of a conscience.Combining RPG mechanics with the idea of choice and consequence takes delicate balance. In my first play through of Vampyr on Xbox One, I chose to play in normal mode.

I wasn’t very pleased with some of the balance, however, as I felt a little too much pressure to kill in order to become powerful enough to advance the story. This becomes a problem, as every citizen of London is an integral part of the community, meaning feeding on one citizen does have ramifications. Perhaps that citizen won’t be around later to save another at the local hospital- there are a myriad of other similar situations that all depend on the choice of the player.Dr.

Reid eventually levels up to gain the skill to read just how pure (powerful) that the blood of a particular citizen can be. The purer the blood, the more EXP provided for leveling up. Sounds like a convenient ability, until you realize that the citizens with the purest blood have the most impact on the development of the story. I felt that I missed out on far too much of the story during my first play through, so I chose to play the added “Story Mode” on the Switch edition, and I came away very pleased. Difficulty is ratcheted down, but it’s not a walk in the park. It’s been well-worth being able to enjoy a larger portion of the story.

Vampyr is the type of title that previous Nintendo consoles needed to be more successful. It’s addition to the mature RPG library on the Switch is a welcome one, joining contemporaries like The Witcher, Skyrim, and Warframe in offering well-developed Western RPG experiences for a more mature crowd. However, it carries a $45 USD price tag at this point in time, which is a little steep considering it can be bought at around $15 USD on both Xbox One and PS4, presently. To make matters worse, Vampyr is currently on Xbox Game Pass. There are more cost efficient ways to play Vampyr right now, and the other editions offer a better version of the product, unfortunately.Even as I emphasize these price issues, I can’t help but acknowledge the obvious benefits of buying the Switch version- mainly due to convenience and portability. I’d go as far as saying that Vampyr should be a must play for RPG fans, especially those who love to play on the go or use the Switch as their exclusive console. The story alone garners a look for Vampyr, but the game as a whole is a fun experience despite its performance issues.

If you’re reading this and you’ve been on the fence about playing this game, let me reiterate what I mentioned earlier Vampyr is the best story I’ve experienced on the Switch this year. For that alone, it might be worth a taste.

DONTNOD's undead yarn is more skal than ekon in this Switch port.

DONTNOD has a penchant for storytelling, and their 2018 title Vampyr was an attempt to marry their narrative chops to a more open-world format. It was a good game for what it was, and we even gave it 3.5 stars out of five in our review. With their port of Vampyr for the Switch, DONTNOD is hoping to sink their teeth into new blood, but unfortunately, this version isn’t an apex predator.

Rather than handle the port in-house, DONTNOD gave the reins to Sabre Interactive, the same company that recently ported The Witcher 3 to the Switch. As expected, that game was a blurry, low resolution affair, but it ran well enough to justify the graphical cuts. It was The Witcher 3, arguably one of the best games made in the last ten years, now portable! Surely if Sabre could conjure such black magic with CDProject’s baby, then Vampyr would be a surefire success.

And it probably could have been, but issues with performance keep Vampyr for the Switch confined to its coffin.

Graphics are on par with what you’d expect.

Graphics are downgraded in ways one would expect: textures are as low as they can go, losing any sharpness and definition they once had. Faces look like potatoes, which would be easy enough to ignore if the game wasn’t so focused on conversation. Textures take ages to load, with most only upgrading from “mud” to “clearer mud” within a few feet of Dr. Reed. Everything in the game looks blurry whether the Switch is docked or in handheld, and dynamic resolution scaling compounds this issue.

The shadows and lighting take the largest hit of all, with dynamic shadows proving rare. What few do exist are faint strands of pixels. To be blunt, even among equal company, the Switch port of Vampyr is one of the uglier ones I’ve seen.

To be fair to Vampyr, however, I have to concede that The Witcher 3 on the Switch won’t be winning beauty pageants any time soon either. Like that port, Vampyr’s cuts seem to prioritize maintaining the game’s atmosphere more than they are with making the game easy on the eyes. In this regard, the graphical cuts are the sort any average person could make peace with. I’d argue the blemishes are better masked in handheld mode, but that’s a bit of a moot point at this point in the Switch’s lifespan. If I have to be reductive, then I’d say Vampyr looks exactly how you’d expect a Switch port to look.

So, Vampyr at a surface level looks the part: it’s art style and design are retained, the dark alleyways of London still appear gloomy and foreboding, and Dr. Johnathon Reid’s tale is the same as it was on other consoles. Nothing has been cut from this release, and nothing has been added from a content point of view. Cool, so far the port is appearing exactly as I expected it to. Yet, upon looking deeper beneath the skin, I found the organs rotting in such a way that I could no longer overlook the bruised exterior.

Inconsistent performance drags the whole experience down.

Here is the naked truth: we make peace with graphical cuts in Switch ports because we know the hardware isn’t powerful. Everything I noted above generally falls under the “no crap” category, as far as Switch ports go. Sure, some do look better than others, but that has more to do with art design than technical prowess. At the end of the day, we absolve these ports of their ghoulish looks, so long as the games run well.

And here is where I will have to put a stake through Vampyr’s dark heart: performance is, without a doubt, abysmal.

The game’s framerate is not living anywhere near the word “stable”, with drops below the game’s targeted thirty frames-per-second occurring frequently. Turning the camera to view the grimy world around Dr. Reid is enough to cause frames to plummet, and God help you if you’re near fire, or a bunch of NPCs. Combat is especially janky due to the inconsistent framerate, because dodging and using your vampiric abilities only adds to the strain. Walking around the hospital was painful enough, but upon leaving it you soon learn there are greater nightmares.

Whitechapel, and the other boroughs of London are all too much for this port to handle, and in the few areas in the game where the framerate stabilizes and reaches the thirty frames-per-second bar Vampyr for the Switch can’t help but stutter more than Bill Denbrough from Stephen King’s It. The framerate issues were so damn dramatic I felt myself becoming motion sick, which as someone who has more than 2000 hours logged flying in an old Boeing 707, isn’t something I experience often. Frame drops and stutters are such a norm here, that anytime I found myself in a smaller, instanced area (like the sewers) I thanked the maker for the reprieve (considering these are the only areas the game seems to run well in).

Add in frequent, long load times over a minute in length that occur not just when transitioning between different instances, but whenever you are running around the world, and menus, dialog, and intractable objects that can all take upwards of ten seconds to load, and you have a port that looks like the average vampire on the outside, but has the guts of fallen beast.

Tis a shame; the base game is good.

It’s a damn shame the performance is utter trash, considering the underlying game is enjoyable to play. Those few moments Vampyr on the Switch works, it’s a fun action role-playing romp across London as you guide Dr. Jonathan Reid either towards salvation or damnation. DONTNOD’s gem is here in all it’s unholy glory, but Sabre just couldn’t get this port over the finish line.

I even delayed this review to see if there would be a day-one patch; anything coming that would alleviate my concerns and alter this port’s course. I waited in the dark of night, and found the effort was in vain. I hate to say it, but either Sabre put all of their effort into The Witcher 3 port, or DONTNOD insisted Vampyr for the Switch be out by Halloween and didn’t afford Sabre the time they needed. This port is being sent out into the daylight, where it will be burned to ash.

Don’t buy this port until the performance issues are addressed, assuming they will be. For a full $50 USD this port is nowhere near ready. Hell, even at a modest $20 Vampyr for the Switch would be a hard sell. I can’t recommend it as it currently exists to fans of the game, or those with only a Switch in the house: I can’t recommend this port to anyone. Skip Vampyr for the Switch; there are better ways to play a bloodsucker out there.

Vampyr

• Available On: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
• Published By: Focus Home Interactive
• Developed By: DONTNOD Entertainment, Sabre Interactive
• Genre: Action Role-playing
• US Release Date: October 29, 2019
• Reviewed On: Nintendo Switch
• Quote: 'Don't buy this port until the performance issues are addressed. I can't recommend it as it currently exists to fans of the game, or those with only a Switch in the house: I can't recommend this port to anyone. Skip Vampyr for the Switch; there are better ways to play a bloodsucker out there.'

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