Vampyr screenshot showcasing magic usage in combat

As you can probably guess from the title alone, the protagonist in Vampyr is a vampire himself. And since we will be controlling a supernatural being gifted with amazing strength, agility, and an entire assortment of special abilities - it shouldn't come as much of a surprise to hear that Vampyr will feature plenty of combat.

While the presence of combat was well known since the early announcements, what no one knew exactly is how the combat will be handled... until recently. In a blog post over at the Playstation website Dontnod's Game Director Philip Moreau has taken the time to describe not only how the combat will work, but also the consequences of engaging in a constant bloodbath:

"Armed with an array of conventional melee and ranged weaponry, attack and dodge enemies to fill up Jonathan’s Blood Gauge, which is required to unleash powerful vampire attacks. From impaling enemies on a spike to draining them of blood at a distance, as Jonathan’s Blood Gauge fills during a combat situation, his Vampire affliction will start to overtake his more human side, unleashing destructive spells and abilities against those who try to stop him."

In order to further improve your abilities (and unlock new ones) there will be a nonlinear skill tree to progress through. You will be able to equip these abilities in any order, so no matter what sort of a playstyle you prefer, whether that be in-your-face aggressive or more orientated towards ranged combat, you should be able to create something to your liking. And speaking of skill upgrades, all of them can be evolved in two different ways, further enforcing the whole idea of specialization. For example, Spring, an ability that allows you to leap straight at an enemy, can be evolved to either deal area-of-effect damage upon landing or grant temporary invincibility in order to help secure a single kill.

Vampyr RPG screenshot showing a stealth takedown

If the combat ends up being just a bit too difficult for you, however, there is always a potential way out, though you might not like what it entails. Feeding on the civilian population will provide a massive XP boost, which means that the combat is going to be a lot easier since you will have access to more abilities and upgrades, but it also means that the world around you will change due to your actions. Constant attacks on civilians will not only cause a greater number of guards to patrol the streets at night, but they will also carry with them narrative consequences. What exactly will these consequences be like, the developers didn't share just yet, but I can't imagine they are going to positive for either our protagonist or the citizens of London.

On the other hand, if you're not a fan of going full-frontal and cleaving your opponent's face off, you will also have the ability to stalk your quarry and essentially eliminate your enemies one by one before they even become aware of your presence. Or even better yet, use your vampire speed and agility to simply avoid combat entirely because what the enemies can't catch, they can't hurt!

Since combat is a difficult thing to describe through words alone, the developers also included a relatively recent gameplay trailer to give you that much needed visual example. Have a look: