Vampire Dynasty is gearing up to release its demo on June 10 during Steam Next Fest. It contains over two hours of content from the beginning of the game, along with 17 achievements. After playing through the demo twice, these are my thoughts on Vampire Dynasty.
Vampire Dynasty’s Story Sucks You In
The most intriguing part of Vampire Dynasty is the story. Initially, I thought it would be similar to V Rising, being a survival game where you build your castle and hunt enemies to become stronger. And on Steam, it’s compared to titles like Enshrouded, another open-world survival crafting game.
Instead, you’re in charge of a village after defeating the previous ruler. Along with a human and your vampire brother, Razvan, you can build your castle, learn rumors from villagers, and explore the wilderness in the area. It’s clear this is more of an RPG game where you’re tasked with caring for a kingdom as opposed to just surviving.
What really piqued my interest was the built-in backstory. The previous ruler was mentioned multiple times, there’s tension with your sibling, and the village is plagued by… something. There are a variety of forces at play that you’re also introduced to.
In the Vampire Dynasty demo, you’re only given a taste of what’s going on in the world, which is just enough to get you hooked and wanting more. I need to know what happened a year ago, how Dragos ended up in a coffin until the game starts, and what’s going on in the village.
Morality in Vampire Dynasty
Another feature I really like is the impact of your decisions on Vadim, you’re human companion, and the villagers. You can attempt to abstain from human blood, which increases your Beneficiation while killing the thief increases your Tyranny.
Being seen killing villagers increases the hamlet’s fear, which causes people to cower or run as they pass by. Slay an important member of the community, and you’ll lose Wealth and Productivity. You don’t get into the mechanics of having thralls or human workers, but you can imagine the impact of draining the wrong human.
Vampire Dynasty Graphics
While the mechanics and story are solid, Vampire Dynasty‘s graphics aren’t without issues. During cutscenes and various interactions, it almost seems as if the image is doubling. Characters are blurry and fuzzy, losing fine details on the face. It’s as if motion blur was in effect even though you’re not moving.
There’s also some collision, getting stuck in areas due to inaccurately depicted stairs, and seeing through objects at certain angles. These are all things that can be fixed in the final version of the game. After a couple of specific moments, I didn’t even notice the graphics, and they didn’t negatively impact my playthroughs. During a long gaming session, however, it may lead to eye strain or migraines for those susceptible to them.
Overall, Vampire Dynasty is a title I’m definitely interested in getting the full game of. The demo was enjoyable and let me test out many mechanics, from crafting to exploration to combat. There’s a lot to do in a small area, even with a limited amount of quests to complete, so I expect the full version to be packed with hours of content.
Gameplay tested on PC.
