‘Vampyr’ Does A Darth Vader, Wants To Tempt Us Over To The Dark Side

 It’s always fun to be an asshole. Remember cult PC strategy title Dungeon Keeper? It cast you as an evil megalomaniac, training up an army of disgusting demon-dudes to take on the goodly hordes of knights, wizards and such who were invading to stop you. If you don’t remember, you’ll just have to trust me on the fact that damn, it was good.

My point is, this was a game that hit before this whole ‘moral choices’ thing hit the industry. It had no time for that BS. Today, this sort of thing is a big deal, in franchises like Mass Effect and Dragon Age, as well as god games. The story, characters’ experiences and all of that business is shaped by your decisions and behavior. To be a douche or not to be a douche, that is the question.

You wouldn’t think it from all the gamers who torture their Sims and the like, but apparently three quarters of us choose the path of good when given the option. This is what Life is Strange developer Stephane Beauverger’s research found. For his next game, he wants to tempt more of us over to the dark side.

Vampyr is set to hit in 2017. It’s the story of undead doctor Jonathan Reid, and his battle against vampire hunters –and more sinister beasts—in 1918 London. The twist is that the game’s harmless NPCs grant you much more experience than regular enemies, and can let you get darn powerful darn early if you kill them.

‘In Vampyr, much of the gameplay advantage will come from killing civilians,’ Kotaku reports. ‘The reason not to do so will simply be because it might feel wrong. That’s the idea behind giving each of the game’s civilians a backstory. You might feel bad about the families you’re hurting or, say, the child you’re leaving without a dad.’

“Each time you kill someone you have access to his last thought,” Beauverger said. “We want this to impact the player. We want them to not just feel like each kill gives them an amount of blood but that they’ve destroyed a life, [a person] who was worrying about something.”

Damn it, Vampyr. What do you think we are, monsters? That’s a devious mechanic, right there. Still, I think you’re underestimating the average gamer’s need for an overpowered character build.