While it’s still too soon in the game’s lifecycle to expect footage, developer Dontnod has peeled back the curtain on the lore underpinning its new IP, Vampyr.
Pitched as a vampire horror game set during the fallout of World War I, Game Director Philippe Moreau offered new insight into the studio’s dark title via PlayStation Blog, covering mechanics, gameplay and the core story.
Crucial to creating that story is the setting itself — Vampyr will be situated in Victorian London, at a time when scientific breakthroughs opened up exciting new frontiers in technology. For Moreau, it now comes down to tapping into that rich history lurking within the English capital.
We wanted to tell a truly gothic story about vampires – a far cry from the glittery vampires you see on TV and in movies nowadays. The mood had to be just right.
England was recovering from the aftermath of the World War I, and the Spanish Flu was making its way through London’s winding alleys. The streets were rife with death and crime, but England was also going through many social and political changes, as new sciences sought to re-envision the way we see the world. Superstition was becoming less socially relevant, but it was still in the streets, folklore, and politics of London, so science was on the rise, but the world was still a dark, scary place.
Moreau goes on to reveal that there will be an element of player choice threaded through the narrative, with each action and kill having “consequences on the fragile streets of London.” There’s also talk of players having the ability to tap into vampiric powers upon taking control of the protagonist Jonathan Reid.
Familiar with a new blood transfusion technique used in the war, Reid is quite the skeptic of all things supernatural, so as you can imagine he’s finding it rather difficult to come to terms with his new… condition.
Vampyr has been tentatively slated for a release on PlayStation 4 in 2017.
[Sources: PlayStation Blog]
