Even though vampires are perhaps the most popular mythical characters in popular culture, there have been surprisingly few games about them, and even more good ones. Therefore, we have selected the best vampire games for PC, collecting the best projects in one place.
Legends about immortal bloodsuckers are found in many peoples’ folklore, while in each culture, they are completely different. These are Sumerians who kill babies, the merciful Dahanavar from Armenian mythology, which never harms people, Indian vitals who inhabit dead bodies, Chinese chains who feed on qi energy instead of blood, Romanian strigoi are former witches.
Writers and filmmakers have given us a huge variety of vampire imagery. What are only the great and terrible Dracula and the lonely, eternally tormented by philosophical questions? If people experienced fear and disgust for these creatures in ancient times, now we admire them, imagine ourselves in their place. Why? The answer is simple – immortality, strength, power.
So, choose a game to your liking and try on the image of a powerful vampire or a hunter of ruthless bloodsuckers.
List of best vampire games for PC
DILOGY VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE
Hardly anyone would have expected the Vampire: The Masquerade dilogy not to be at the top of the list. “Masquerade of Vampires” could not surpass any vampire project.
Both parts of the dilogy are based on the popular board game. Vampire mythology ties to Cain’s biblical story, who brought the first evil to the world by killing his brother. God punished the murderer with the curse of vampirism. Since then, Cain forces to wander the world, fearing the sun and languishing with a thirst for blood. He founded his city and created other vampires, whose descendants became the founders of thirteen great vampire clans.
First part
The plot of the first part, Redemption, is set in the Middle Ages and is built around the confrontation between the Brujah and Tzimizu clans. The main character is the crusader knight Christophe. After being wounded in battle, Christoph finds himself in a Prague monastery, where the vampires’ story begins. Having volunteered to destroy the bloodsuckers, the hero does not realize that he is destined to become one of them.
Bloodlines take place in the modern world. At the very beginning of the game, you offer to pass something like a psychological test, according to the results of which the most suitable clan will select for you. However, you can independently choose any of the seven clans of the Camarilla.
Being still quite a green bloodsucker, you will have to run errands for the local prince, and as the plot develops, everyone who is not lazy will try to take advantage of you for their purposes. I must say that the plot is one of the main advantages of the upcoming Bloodlines; it is practically devoid of standard hackneyed moves and leads to a very unexpected ending, but let’s not spoil it. The game easily draws into its gloomy and mysterious atmosphere, supported by gorgeous soundtracks, often surprises, and sometimes even scares in earnest.
LEGACY OF KAIN SERIES
The Legacy Of Kain games were released from 1996 to 2004. Their action takes place in the fantasy world of Nosgoth (under this name, an online project based on the Legacy Of Kain universe was released, but the developers, unfortunately, had to close it).
Main characters of the story
The main characters of the story, whose guise you have to take on while traveling in Nosgoth, is a former nobleman bearing the sonorous name of Cain, who was killed by robbers and returned to life thanks to necromantic magic, and Raziel is one of Cain’s lieutenants, who also managed to deceive death and return in guise ghost. You have to manage Cain in both Blood Omen and Raziel parts in Soul Reaver and Soul Reaver 2. In the final game of the series, Defiance, you will have to try both images alternately.
All parts of Legacy Of Kain have received a warm welcome and overwhelmingly positive feedback from gamers.
CASTLEVANIA SERIES
Castlevania is one of Konami’s largest and longest-running projects. The entire series bases on the unforgettable novel by Bram Stoker. The main characters are members of the Belmont family, endowed with special abilities that allow them to destroy vampires with enviable success. Of course, the brave Belmont’s main enemy is Count Dracula, who periodically wakes up from sleep with a thirst to spawn hordes of evil spirits and plunge the world into darkness and chaos.
Addition to vampires
In addition to vampires, there are other creepy creatures in games – zombies, mummies, werewolves, sometimes; you can even bump into a deity from someone else’s mythology.
The first game in the series was released back in 1986 for the Famicom Disk System and gained popularity due to its gloomy mystical atmosphere. Since then, Castlevania has confidently ranked first in every top vampire game and has been released on multiple platforms, including the PC.
BLOODRAYNE SERIES
You have to control the main character throughout three games: the beauty of Rain, half-vampire, half-human. In the first part, the secret organization Brimstone Society, for which the Rhine works, sends her to fight the Nazis and scout the Third Reich’s occult organizations’ secrets. Continuous action, sophisticated murders, rivers of blood, mystical riddles are waiting for you, and the most attentive will find several Easter eggs.
Events
The events of the second part unfold in 60 years. It seems that during this time, Raine learned to kill even more brutally and colorful. At a reception hosted by her stepbrother, Raine discovers a secret about Keigan, her father. Naturally, the search for answers to Rhine’s troubling questions is associated with a bloody massacre of everyone who turns up at hand, and our beauty will go to her goal, leaving behind mountains of corpses.
Part of the series
The third part of the series will take us to the world of the future, looking like a bizarre mixture of the century’s traditions before last and cyberpunk. This time, Rain is faced with a global goal – to forever rid humanity from vampires’ threat.
You can easily buy the English version of the entire series, but if your native speech is more dear to you, you can download the Russifiers:
SKYRIM: DAWNGUARD
In the Dawnguard expansion, you will have to forget about dragons for a while and fight other creatures that threaten the world. Or not fight, it’s up to you to decide.
Story begins
The story begins with the rescue of the pretty daughter of Lord Harkon, the patriarch of the powerful vampire clan. Having volunteered to take the girl home, the unlucky hero does not even know that he will go to the vampire den. For the return of his daughter, the lord offers him the most valuable gift – turning into a vampire. If you like wine more than blood, there is a pick-up option.
Choosing vampire path
Choosing a vampire path, you will turn into something ominous and winged, suck out vital energy from victims, give orders to gargoyles, and become a cloud of fog, which is not afraid of any attacks. If you decide to join the ranks of the Guardians of the Dawn, you will be equipped with a crossbow and sent to do good to this world. However, there is no great difference between passing for a toothy monster and playing for a newly made fighter against evil spirits.
CODE VEIN
In this Souls-like action-RPG in anime style, we have to go to Vein’s gloomy post-apocalyptic city . It was once a thriving metropolis but then survived the invasion of terrible monsters. To fight the bad guys, people created the Revenants – vampires revived by science’s power, capable of fighting Evil on equal terms. It just turned out that the Revenants need to drink human blood periodically. As a result, Vein is now a ruin ruled by vampire gangs.
As one of the Revenants, we will have to investigate the city’s secrets and try to find a compromise between the interests of the bloodsuckers and the people who survived in this hell.
BLOODLUST SERIES
So far, this series consists of BloodLust Shadowhunter, released in 2015, and BloodLust 2: Nemesis, which visited gamers’ screens in the spring of 2020. Both projects are classic hack-and-slashers with a focus on exploring and clearing dungeons.
Events
The events of the games in the franchise occur in a dark fantasy world in which vampires almost enslaved humanity. One of the bloodsuckers gained such great power that he began to stand out even against his fellows’ background in non-life and proclaimed himself Emperor. To resist such a powerful enemy, the former hunters for evil spirits will have to master the Dark Arts and turn into a real clan of vampires, replenishing their ranks at the expense of bitten mortals.
VAMPYR
A game from Dontnod Entertainment, which gave us Remember Me and Life is Strange. Doctor Jonathan Reed returns after the First World War to his native London and almost immediately becomes a vampire victim. The bite of a bloodsucker turned him into a monster: now Reed has to fight a constant lust for blood and fulfill his professional duty as best he can – an epidemic of the Spanish flu is raging in the capital, so the doctor, albeit turned into a vampire, comes in handy here.
Vampyr is an action RPG with non-linearity and freedom of choice. The game constantly has to make difficult decisions that affect the characters’ fate and the ending of the plot. Moreover, every resident of London is not a simple dummy NPC, but a full-fledged member of society, so that, having “drained” it, the player will later face the consequences of his action. In general, we have a good, albeit not without flaws, game that tells about a newly converted vampire’s moral dilemmas.
FORSAKEN WORLD
Forsaken World is a project from Perfect World, the mainstay of Chinese gaming. The game’s plot develops around the ancient gods’ legend: Dios and Nikos, who are responsible for creation and destruction. Among the endless space of the universe, Dios found a beautiful world called Eira. He brought several more deities into him, called to fulfill his will. But Nikos wanted to destroy Eira, the war of the gods began.
In addition to traditional people, gnomes, and elves, the world inhabits by the Frangors – warriors with a stone body and the Vesperians – immortal beauties who live separately from other races, adhering only to their relatives. Forsaken World classes are available warrior, mage, marksman, defender, bard, priest, assassin, and vampire. Perhaps the most interesting is the last of the above because of its novelty. Mechanically, a vampire is a cross between a heal and a debuffer mage. However, his ultimate specialization determines by developing one of the three talent trees at the player’s discretion.
Like almost all MMORPGs, Forsaken World suffers from grind quests, but it has all the good things we love the genre: dungeons, PvP arenas, interesting events, and more.
DRACULA SERIES
The game continues the story of Bram Stoker about the notorious Count Dracula. Dracula: Resurrection takes place seven years after Jonathan Harker and his friend Quincy killed a bloodsucker. However, it turned out that it is not so easy to destroy the vampire – the count is still alive and in good health. The insidious bloodsucker lured his beloved Jonathan to his castle. Naturally, Jonathan will do his best to save her.
From then on, a news story about a bloodthirsty vampire begins. Each part of the game is a new plot, new heroes, and new terrible secrets.
LOST CITY OF VAMPIRES
For many years, thick fogs enveloping the Lost City hid the battles between the three powerful clans of the undead from the eyes of the Vampire Council. Even the immortals’ patience is reaching a limit, so the Council decided to send a representative to the city to “resolve the conflict.”
Now we have to kill about a hundred bloodsuckers and their henchmen single-handedly. In the process of the genocide of the undead, we will be able to learn several secrets of this dark place and meet a couple of colorful characters. Overall, the basic gameplay of Lost City can describe as a “procedurally generated battle royale with no multiplayer.”
DEVOID OF SHADOWS
Being the heir to the throne in a fantasy kingdom is not a very safe business. It’s good that our character, thanks to vampirism, has superhuman capabilities and can turn several people into bloody mince in a couple of seconds. It’s bad that our main rivals are not people at all, but the same bloodthirsty, super-strong, and very insidious vampires, striving to take the throne due to our hero or heroine by right.
The creators of the project, during its development, were guided by the classic action RPGs and roguelikes, which means that we are waiting for a nostalgic isometric projection, a dark plot, and hardcore battles with no room for error.
A VAMPYRE STORY
A Vampyre Story is a wonderful gift for adventure game lovers.
The story’s main character is the beauty Mona, kidnapped by a baron and a vampire in love with her. Naturally, the kidnapper turned his victim into a similar one, but poor Mona doesn’t even know what kind of metamorphosis happened to her. She is sure that the glass presented to her every day is not blood, but wine, and she is not sleeping in a coffin at all; it’s just a bed so unusual. Finally, the baron fell at the hands of religious fanatics, and Mona had a chance to escape from captivity and go to Paris – the city of her dreams.
Neither Mona nor you will be bored. Together with a faithful companion – fly mouse Froderika sitting on your shoulder, you have to complete quests and go to meet adventure.
Main Advantages
One of the main advantages of the game is its graphics. It immediately becomes clear that the characters and the world are drawn not only with care but also with love. Sparkling black humor and excellent voice acting add fun.
NOSFERATU: THE WRATH OF MALACHI
Having started the game, you can complain about the graphics for a long time, but gamers who have learned all the delights of old games understand perfectly that happiness is not in the schedule. And what in this sense can you expect from a 2003 release? Nevertheless, Nosferatu: The Wrath of Malachi is on the list of those vampire games destined to become almost an immortal classic.
So, events unfold in the century before last. An impoverished family of aristocrats finds a way to solve their financial problems, which was quite familiar for that time – to marry their daughter to the son of a rich count. The family arrives at the castle, but instead of preparing for the celebration, these unfortunate people were in for real horror. Only one of the sons can now save them from the bloodthirsty creatures, who, by the will of circumstances, arrived at the castle a day later and immediately realized that things were bad.
The main feature of Nosferatu:
The Wrath of Malachi is an unsurpassed atmosphere of chilling horror. On gloomy levels, where terrible bloodsuckers await you, even a seasoned horror lover can shake his veins.
LAST HALF OF DARKNESS: BEYOND THE SPIRIT’S EYE
The horror story Last Half of Darkness: Beyond the Spirit’s Eye by the master of the genre, William Fisher, was published by Akella in Russia under the title “Time of the Vampires.”
You have to delve into the tangled legend about the city and its inhabitants, whose souls are ruled by a certain “Eye” – an ancient black stone. In search of this rare gem, you have to go to an abandoned village shrouded in terrible secrets. It soon becomes clear that the protecting “Eye” evil is not asleep, and in the village, you can stumble not only on this rare artifact but also on bloodthirsty vampires eager to produce more and more of their kind. After them, then you have to chase.
They will not tell you what tactics you need to adhere to; they will not give you practically any hints; you will have to figure out everything yourself. Unfortunately, the game has withdrawn from the official sale, but let’s hope for the best.
Where to buy:
The game has been retired from official digital services.
DARK
To say that DARK resembles Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines is an understatement. Much here is practically copied from the legendary vampire action RPG, which is only the Vault Club, ripped off from everyone’s beloved Asylum. But first things first.
At the beginning of the game, our hero wakes up with a terrible headache in an unfamiliar club. It would seem that there is something wrong with that, but the trouble is that he only remembers his name and does not even know about belonging to the bloodsuckers until the kind mistress of the club tells him about it. The move is interesting, but not new for a long time.
There are many opportunities in DARK, but they are not all implemented in the best way. It seems that the game was made in a hurry. The plot is flat; the control may seem inconvenient, the graphics are also a little pumped up. But there are also many advantages. As you progress, you can meet really interesting characters, for example, a sculptor using parts of human bodies as material. The fact that any rustle can betray you when you are trying to sneak past the enemy unnoticed looks quite realistic. The levels are spacious here; you can find many hiding places, loopholes, and other exciting places.
THE SIMS SERIES
The developers ‘decision to introduce vampires into The Sims’ peaceful life simulator may seem strange. However, the sinister bloodsuckers appeared in addition to the second part of Nightlife and then migrated to the next parts of the series.
Playing as a vampire is not much different from playing as an ordinary mortal. You need to create a character or a whole family, move into a house, build your own, and live for yourself. But vampires have other needs; they cannot stay in the sun for a long time unless a special reward is purchased; they can turn other characters into their kind. At the same time, bloodsuckers can give birth to children, which is not very canonical, and with the appropriate additions, they can have pets.
With many customization options for the character’s appearance, tools for construction, furniture, and decor, you can build an ancient gloomy castle of Dracula, which brings fear to the entire district.
THE MASQUERADE – COTERIES OF NEW YORK
In December 2019, we saw a new game in the “World of Darkness” setting. But this is not the long-awaited sequel to Bloodlines, but a text quest from the small Polish studio Draw Distance. Even though the game belongs to an almost extinct genre, and its developers are trying to catch the hype from the expected release of a much louder project, the idea itself looks at least worthy of attention.
character
Having chosen a clan of our character at the start, we have to go to New York streets full of secrets and intrigues and take part in a showdown between the keepers of the Masquerade Camarilla and the freedom-loving Anarchs.
VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE – SHADOWS OF NEW YORK
Shadows of New York is a standalone addition to the game described above. It is also a visual novel, but with a different plot – it focuses on the story of a rogue vampire who chose to investigate the murder of the leader of the New York clans. You have to look at the familiar metropolis from a new angle, get imbued with the spirit and foundations of the Lasombra gang, and make decisions that will affect the storyline.
IMMORTAL REALMS: VAMPIRE WARS
Immortal Realms: Vampire Wars is a strategy game that revolves around a war between three vampire clans. Bloodsuckers here do not terrify people but solve conflicts within their race – they fight for power, wage fierce battles, and try to grab a tidbit of territories to spread their influence.
The gameplay includes the development of the empire and card turn-based battles. The player will have to recruit an army, discover technologies, and engage in typical strategy affairs – but in an atmosphere of dark fantasy.
DAMSEL
The humorous action platformer Damsel invites you to play the role of special agent Damsel, who is humanity’s last hope in the fight against creepy vampires. A fragile girl will have to enter the abode of evil, rescue hostages, feed enemies with silver, avoid traps. And all this is accompanied by gothic music, cartoon graphics, and impressive visual effects.
The game divides into linear missions, and to complete them, you need agility and precise control. But do not worry – if you came here to have fun and not to die over and over again, you could select the “Relax” mode.
VAMPIRE’S FALL: ORIGINS
Vampire’s Fall: Origins came to PC from mobile platforms – there, the game managed to win the honorary title of one of the best RPGs. Not to say that she managed to repeat this success on computers, but it’s still a vigorous and interesting game. In Vampire’s Fall: Origins, you play as an involuntarily converted vampire who will have to take revenge on his kind and hide from monster hunters.
The large territory is available to the gamer for research – he can complete tasks, participate in turn-based brawls, pump the hero … In general, everything is within the RPG genre.
TOTAL WAR: WARHAMMER II – CURSE OF THE VAMPIRE COAST (DLC)
Total War: WARHAMMER II will fulfill the dream of fantasy lovers because this is a global strategy with rather spectacular battles, which is also part of the Total War series’s older woman. The player will choose a faction from the world of Warhammer and try to bring it to total power.
The Curse of the Vampire Coast add-on adds as you might guess, vampires – but not in the traditional sense. With the DLC, pirate monsters from the Vampire Coast appeared in the game – their ranks include zombies, golems, disfigured sea inhabitants, and others. And in general, the addon integrates a pirate fantasy theme into WARHAMMER II – with ships, captains-bloodsuckers, and other chips.
HELLGARD
Hellgard is a browser-based online game about vampires, werewolves, and inquisitors, made in the spirit of Diablo 2. The toy is quite entertaining if you want to feel nostalgic and kill some time.
You will find yourself in a gloomy world where the forces of evil rule the show, and you will become a part of them because there are simply no good characters in the game. There are only NPCs suffering from the injustice and cruelty of this world. Otherwise, everything here is pretty typical for such games: do quests, beat mobs, upgrade your character.
VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE – BLOODLINES 2
The sequel will tell us about the struggle of vampire groups for power over Seattle. Our character will be a “weak-blooded” – a young vampire of a new generation, who is much weaker than the older undead but can bear the sun’s light and retain more humanity.
The long-awaited sequel to one of the best vampire games in history expects to be released in 2021, and for most gamers, the news about transfers is not bad. After all, the first part’s biggest problem was precisely its incompleteness, so there is a hope that this time the publisher will not rush the developers and they will be able to release a completely playable product without bugs and cut-out pieces of the plot.