Summary
- RPG games like BloodLust 2: Nemesis let players be vampires, not just hunt them.
- Darkest Dungeon - The Crimson Court DLC adds vampiric elements and new challenges.
- Elder Scrolls games like Skyrim offer diverse vampire experiences with unique perks.
The aesthetic of vampires includes everything humans crave: tragedy, romance, beauty, and most of all, visceral horror. Plenty of writers and developers have caught on to this shadowy trend, and several popular RPG games allow players to become vampires instead of hunting or fighting them.
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Many of the following RPGs use the real-world lore of vampires mixed in with their creative ideas about the private lives of vampires. Even though this kind of undead is often connected to the usual fantasy medieval aesthetic, the developers of these various games have also used urban and science fiction settings to demonstrate that these compelling and dangerous creatures can appear anywhere, anytime.
BloodLust 2: Nemesis
Hack, Slash, And Suck
BloodLust 2: Nemesis
- Released
- March 26, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- t
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Action, Indie Games
BloodLust 2: Nemesis is a hack-and-slash dungeon crawler that gives players a chance to be a vampire in a society with a long and rich undead history. The main character is always a creature of the bloodsucking persuasion, and they can choose to be a Warrior, Witch, or Thief as they fight their way to discover the secrets of the hidden underworld.
Vampires in the lore of BloodLust 2: Nemesis have a backstory that includes complex bloodlines, clans, and dark secrets revolving around scientifically enhanced powers and synthetically produced blood substitutes. The game gives players enough freedom to veer from the main story and explore the world as they choose, and build a unique vampire character to fight through it.
Darkest Dungeon - The Crimson Court
It's A Big Dungeon, Have A Drink
Darkest Dungeon 2
- Released
- May 8, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- t
- Genre(s)
- Roguelike, RPG
The Crimson Court is downloadable content for those who have already invested in Darkest Dungeon 2, and unlike other DLCs, it runs parallel to the main campaign instead of something that's used to extend the game after the player has completed the main storyline. It keeps the same gritty and gothic aesthetic of the game on which it's based and uses the same RPG character-building system.
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The DLC includes a new section of the dungeon, complete with a crazed vampire hunter, and the "Crimson Curse" is the affliction that can turn a player's character into one of the undead. This makes them a target of both the existing vampires and The Fanatic, who hunts anyone who has the curse, including the heroes.
The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion
Vampires In Cyrodiil
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
- Released
- March 20, 2006
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Language, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence
- Genre(s)
- RPG
Vampirism in The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion was treated more like a curse than a blessing, and one of the longest and most complicated quests in the game was finding a cure for it. However, the player could choose to embrace their new undead affliction, even if the game was less forgiving than others when it came to vampire weaknesses like sunlight.
Also referred to as the Porphyric Hemophilia, characters in Oblivion have to be careful about how and when to embrace their thirst for blood. In-game warnings pop up about the progression of the disease, which is fairly easy to cure as long as they get it in time, but the limit is three days. If they get the cure, they should know that they won't be able to turn into a vampire a second time, closing that coffin forever.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong
A Unique Design In The Franchise
Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong
- Released
- May 30, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language
- Genre(s)
- RPG
All of the Vampire: The Masquerade games have some RPG elements, but this one also adds a story-driven questline in which the player swaps between three characters. Each one is a vampire with a different backstory, and each has their own reasons for opposing or supporting the Camarilla, the current ruling sect in Boston's World of Darkness.
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Players can change the stats and skills of the characters as they progress through the game, and in keeping with the main theme of the "masquerade," they have to hide their abilities from humans. Choices that characters have to make are always difficult and morally ambiguous, which isn't a surprise given the nature of the vampires and the politics driving their clans.
V Rising
Survive And Thrive
V Rising
- Released
- May 8, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
V Rising includes elements of survivalism and building, with the usual improvements to character creation in the form of gear, weapons, and abilities. This is an ideal game for those who want to play a vampire-based RPG that includes as much strategy and resource farming as it does adventuring.
As a vampire that was recently created, the player starts at a low level with virtually no gear or equipment. Their ascension includes building a home base, along with creating better gear and weapons, as they level their character. Instead of classes, a player has different attributes related to their Blood Quality, which gives them better skills and abilities.
Skyrim
Build A Unique Vampire Character
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- Released
- November 11, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
The Dawnguard DLC is the one that contains the extra quests that include either killing the vampire lord or becoming one, but the opportunity to embrace the lure of the undead was always present in the base game, as is tradition with games in the Elder Scrolls franchise. Unlike Oblivion and Morrowind, however, being a vampire in Skyrim has more perks, and many players see it as an advantage instead of a weakness.
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It's easier to cure vampirism in Skyrim if the player wishes, and there are more ways to mitigate damage from garlic and sunlight. The game is set 200 years after the events of Morrowind, and it seems both the undead and those who cure and fight them have made a few advanced discoveries, making it even more fun and interesting to be a vampire.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
A Cult Classic That Spawned A Franchise
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
- Released
- November 16, 2004
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
This was the second game adapted from the original tabletop RPG, and it spawned a cult following and an impressive franchise that continues the tradition of vampires as the main characters. It changes the trend of medieval or fantasy locations and places the story in the urban setting of 21st-century Los Angeles.
The main character of Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines is a newly-born vampire on a quest to find an ancient relic, recently discovered, which is rumoured to have the power to destroy all vampires. Players create and build their characters by choosing a vampire clan, which includes such groups as the deformed Nosferatu and the magical Tremere, and building their skills and abilities using a points system.
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