It does annoy me that I can't give this game a neutral review, as I think there are good things and bad things in this game, and I feel many of my issues with the game are a matter of opinion, and I don't want them to necessarily drag down this game's value, but ultimately I'm sharing my thoughts and opinions here, knowing that it might or might not be how everyone might feel or want in a game. I have finished several playthroughs, BTW.
Pros:
- Well written, in that the characters seem fairly well fleshed out and considered (almost to a fault), and the writer had a clear vision in making this game which leads to a coherent story
- It's neither too long or too short
- The OST is really good!!
- The ideas within the story use common tropes in a unique and creative way that I haven't seen before
- Diverse set of characters
- Almost fully voiced
- It includes Christian themes (this is a pro for some and, as I said below, a con for others, including myself)
- 2010's nostalgia (in character design, mainly, specifically the twins and Nate being emo, and the design of Dameon & Zhenzhu (which I really liked and reminded me of being a teenager!)
Cons
- Whilst the choices [i]seem[/i] to be varied, in practice they aren't really that impactful, leading either to dead or bad ends, as the author clearly has a favoured goal/end to the story and the game kinda punishes you for not choosing it.
- Tied to this, there seems to be a very heavy handed emphasis on what ending is "best" (I mean, it literally calls it a "Best End") which is [spoiler] if Mark decides to renounce vampirism, be baptised and become human again, marrying and living happily ever after. If you choose to become a vampire and stay one, the narrative sort of judges you for doing so [/spoiler]
- There is an overtly Christian theme. Now I say this as a person of faith myself; this game truly feels like a bait and switch. Most people, myself included, tend to play vampire games to reckon with the inherent ambiguity of vampires being vampires, and play them so as to explore the grey morality of said vampire genre, and so that they can play characters and do things in-game that, arguably, no one would ever do in real life (aka one of the purposes of playing a video game in the first place?? especially as, y'know, vampires are fictitious...??). Heck, it [spoiler] makes Mark depressed if he listens to music at the club!? Like what, emo and rock are evil now?? Like it actually makes him call out to G-d instead of moshing and having fun..?? It literally says that the youth are "worshipping the chaotic cult of metal rock"....?? XD [/spoiler] It feels like something misplaced and judgemental I would've heard from scare-mongering, pearl-clutching mothers condemning emo music back as a teenager in the late 2000's, not in the 2020's...
- It feels like this game was made for--and to purposely target and to interest--those sorts of folks who are kinda gothic, or into dark fiction---y'know, those sorts who enjoy this kinda dark genre (... such as me, known vampire apologist!), but that it is [i]actually[/i] designed to get these kinda of people to play it... and then, instead of an expected vampire game/story, it's instead all about preaching to you Why Vampires Are Evil And Why You Should Be Christian To Avoid Being Damned(tm).
- And, furthermore, it actually [i]punishes[/i] the player if they choose to be all vampire-y (like you might expect... in a vampire... game....?). This might be obvious, but in my personal experience most people aren't super receptive to being told off for liking what they like, especially seeing as this game is [i] literally in said genre(????).[/i] The integration of Christian morality is certainly [i]unique,[/i] as I said above but, to ME, it feels really, really misplaced [i](at best!).[/i] In my own opinion, one's faith is personal, and thus between you and G-d, and having a vampire game that seemingly have [i]only be made to tell you just how bad vampire games are[/i] feels dishonest, disingenuous, judgemental and, frankly, hypocritical.
- Because of that, despite the fact that there are many endings, there feels like there are, truly, only two: [spoiler] Mark is Christian or Anti Vamp, or he is damned for all eternity and/or rightfully killed. [/spoiler]
Random gripes that are probably just me but I'm mentioning them just in case it helps you decide:
- I also think it's a bit overpriced. I bought it on sale, and it's about $10 too much, imo, for the amount of story you get (though the length itself is pretty good).
- Likewise, [spoiler] it introduces both Dameon and Zhenzhu as sympathetic characters but once you start playing it does a whole 180 and turns especially Dameon into an arse for no clear reason?? Also I wish there was a way for Shock to live[/spoiler]
- Mark has a very distinct personality that only really suits one style of playthrough, which is somewhat frustrating for what is set up o be/advertised as an open decision sort of game; whilst you do have choices, almost all of the "bad" options seem very much out of character for everything else Mark says which is kinda jarring and somewhat ruins the immersion
- there are too few save files. Most games made with the same engines have left and right arrows so that you can exceed ten pages of save games, even if it doesn't hyperlink to that number page; this does limit the number of easy playthrough saves for someone like me who likes to save at each decision point.
- I personally didn't vibe with the whole [spoiler] Johnny story line, and both Ricky and Shock felt like stock characters. I also wish you didn't HAVE to date Jody in the beginning, and that you could let her down without being a total arse![/spoiler]
Honestly? I wish the game was about Dameon, Zhenzhu, Ricky and the twins, maybe mark as a side character. Dameon and Zhenzhu are WAAAAAY more interesting than the actual main character and story plot.
Look, I really wanted to like this game but I couldn't get past the overbearing judgemental vibe, hence me saying I don't recommend it---though I'm aware that I'm saying this as someone who is more than a little obsessed with vampires and enjoys games with grey morality. This moralising aspect might be up some folks alley, however, which is totally fine! But for me? I don't recommend it because of these reasons but, as with most things in life, "your mileage may vary", as the kids say.
