The classic Vampire trope may have seen its fair share of usage throughout the course of digital media. However, time and again, it may have lost some of its appeal in recent years, and games with vampires in them have become quite rare.
We’ve compiled a list of video games that share the vampiristic theme we’re so fond of, thanks to the recent release of Redfall. The game has certainly sparked interest in the genre, but it has been bashed by critics and fans alike. So to save you some time, we want you to try some of the best vampire games of all time.
Legacy Of Kain: Soul Reaver
Release Year: 1999 | Platforms: Dreamcast, Microsoft Windows, Playstation
The title of ‘one of the best vampire video game franchises’ has been claimed several times by the Legacy Of Kain series. It mixes extraordinary lore with a grand narrative. The second game in the series, Soul Reaver, is one of the most cherished installments. The main character can switch between the physical world and the astral dimension since he is a mysterious vampire.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodhunt
Release Year: 2021 | Platforms: PlayStation 5, GeForce Now, Microsoft Windows
The battle royale genre seemed to be on the verge of saturation until a title came in with a dashing sense of novelty and interesting mechanics. While most games have come off as shoddy imitations of the genre’s biggest successes, few have stood out with distinctive design elements, intriguing gameplay, or both. In the “both” category, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodhunt is one of the finest competitors.
V Rising
Release Year: 2022 | Platforms: Microsoft Windows
Sometimes, a vampire game tries too hard to make itself stand out, with perhaps some interesting characters thrown in. Such stories are perfectly acceptable, but they don’t offer much opportunity for delving into other facets of a vampirisitic existence. For instance, all that a player can do with their immortality as a vampire. The ambitious open-world game V Rising tries its best to solve this equation.
A Vampyre Story
Release Year: 2008 | Platforms: Microsoft Windows, macOS, Classic Mac OS
A vampire game that has simple controls and a lot to deliver? We follow the adventures of Mona, a lady vampire (not by choice) who has to live in a castle with a life she never imagined. Mona embarks on a journey to return to Paris after her “husband” has intimate relations with a woman. A Vampyre Story is a puzzle game with a somewhat sappy sense of humor that significantly benefits from having a seductively sinister aesthetic.
Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds
Release Year: 2003 | Platforms: PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox
Buffy The Vampire Slayer has to be one of the best vampire series on television, and the video game industry tried to do some justice to that. The Xbox title is a good action-adventure game, and it ties into the series remarkably well. Providing something more rewarding than mere fan service, it takes place during the fifth season of the show and involves the “First,” the personification of absolute evil in Buffy’s reality.
Infamous 2: Festival of Blood
Release Year: 2011 | Platforms: PlayStation 3
Cole MacGrath is undoubtedly one of the most charmingly powerful characters in the history of video games. Infamous: Festival of Blood introduces vampires into the mix of Infamous’ setting, as if getting abilities wasn’t bizarre enough already. This is the kind of game you need when free-roaming; blasting around with your supernatural powers just doesn’t feel enough.
Lunar Knights
Release Year: 2006 | Platforms: Nintendo DS
When we talk about the legendary Hideo Kojima, most people start a conversation around the Metal Gear Solid games. However, there are other titles that may stand out from Kojima’s regular style, and we think it’s worth a shot. Lunar Knights is an action role-playing game in 2006 with a focus on vampire hunters on the bloodlust for hunting other vampires. The original Japanese version included a unique mechanism that employed a sun sensor and a microphone, which were later changed for the international release.
Dawnguard (The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim DLC)
Release Year: 2012 | Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Skyrim is one of the most loved RPGs of all time. Adding any content to it only makes it better (unless it’s the creative modding community with bizarre ideas). With the Dawnguard expansion, which offered a new faction for the Dragonborn to join, players got a chance to live the vampire life in Tamriel. In the DLC, The Volkihar vampire army is fought by the Dawnguard.
Blood And Wine (The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt DLC)
Release Year: 2016 | Platforms: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Linux, Xbox Series X and Series S, Nintendo Switch
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a mighty game with a lot of stories to tell. However, this experience only gets better with the Blood and Wine DLC. It is long enough to stand alone as a game on its own, with the main story’s gameplay clocking in at over ten hours and the side missions clocking in at approximately fifty.
The Duchess of Toussaint hires Geralt to look into and slay the creature that is stalking her lands. This leads to a lot of vampire action and new narratives that emerge within Geralt’s journey as a Witcher.
Blood Omen 2
Release Year: 2002 | Platforms: PlayStation 2, GameCube, Microsoft Windows, Xbox
Although Soul Reaver was a fantastic new game in the series, the third installment went back to the series’ humble beginnings. Once again, Kain is the main character, and the presentation is top-notch. The story is told through Kain’s powerful vampire skills, and we believe it has some of the best narrative developments in the series.
BloodRayne 2
Release Year: 2004 | Platforms: PlayStation 2, Xbox, Microsoft Windows
The sequel, a vastly improved game compared to the first, focuses on Rayne’s bloody pursuit of her father, Kagan. Rayne battles through hordes of enemies in order to prevent Kagan’s followers from taking over the planet in the present day. The gameplay mechanics are at their best because it has been significantly improved over the first game.
Vampyr
Release Year: 2019 | Platforms: PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows
Imagine if a narrative like Mass Effect’s had a vampiric rendition to it- that’s Vampyr for you. We’re sure that you will be captivated for hours by the game’s numerous dialogue options, story choices, and RPG features. The game’s visually magnificent Gothic theme is a bloody cherry on top, further sweetened by the setting in London in 1918.
