Vampire Therapist

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• DEVELOPER: Little Bat Games
• PUBLISHER: Little Bat Games
• PLATFORMS: PC
• GENRE: Visual Novel
• RELEASE DATE: July 18, 2024
• LAUNCH PRICE: 14.79€
• REVIEWED VERSION: PC

As a passionate fan of visual novels and narrative-driven games, I believe that for this genre it’s crucial for a game to grab you right from the start. It doesn’t matter how long it is, what matters is its ability to completely immerse you with its themes, style, visuals, character design, and atmosphere. Vampire Therapist is a game I truly didn’t expect, never did I imagine someone would combine vampires and psychology in this way.

In this game, you take on the role of a true “therapist,” drawing conclusions and helping others based on certain deductions. Although the game doesn’t technically focus much on the therapy sessions themselves, leaning more toward the story, the way the protagonist becomes a therapist may seem unusual, but it’s certainly worth exploring more deeply.

The game puts you in the role of Sam, a vampire cowboy who has walked the Earth for over a hundred years and decides to become a therapist. He does so by meeting Andromachos, the “king of vampires,” reminiscent of Dracula, and throughout the game you’ll work with several different vampire clients. Blending humor and emotion, the game explores concepts of cognitive-behavioral therapy. The characters, all vampires, go through carefully crafted character arcs that deal with cognitive distortions: patterns of faulty thinking that affect mental health. Cognitive-behavioral therapy serves as the game’s central mechanic.

As Sam works to help his clients with their issues, you will uncover their pasts and present situations. When you’re not in therapy sessions, you can interact with side characters. On top of that, the game is simple and forgiving. When a client displays a cognitive distortion, you need to identify the correct type among the five offered. There are no penalties for mistakes—only hints to guide you. Occasionally, you’ll also encounter choices that influence Sam’s dialogue or questions.

These aspects of the game could be seen as a kind of puzzle that you need to recognize and solve during conversations. Concepts like labeling or thoughts filled with “should statements,” among others, aim to present the importance of expressing emotions in a simple way. The vampiric theme also creates a certain distance between the player and the serious real-life issues the game explores, such as addiction, suicide, and trauma.

As the game itself describes, Vampire Therapist tackles sensitive and potentially disturbing themes within a historical context, such as war, abuse, sexual oppression, suicidal thoughts, religion, and addiction. And since this is a game about vampires, there are elements of blood and sexuality (though nothing explicit is shown). All of this is important to keep in mind when you start playing.

Perhaps the best aspect of the game is its characters. Dr. Drayne is a researcher struggling with a work-related addiction. Isabella d’Este feels the meaning in her life slipping away. Actor Edmund Kean battles anger and fear of criticism. Meddy, an older vampire and influencer, faces pressure from her followers. These are just some of the characters who appear in the game. All of them have strong voice performances that don’t disappoint, although at times, personally, some of the voice acting felt a bit less convincing, but this is a minor flaw.

Although the main focus of the game is the story, there are also mini-games that, mostly as clichés, add a bit of variety, like drinking blood. However, these mini-games aren’t essential to the experience and can be easily ignored. The game also has a few technical issues, such as occasional mismatches between voice acting and text, but most of these problems have been fixed in the meantime.

Personally, I didn’t like the in-game journal, even though I generally appreciate when games include such mechanics. The look and general presentation of the journal were not impressive. Although it evokes the old Wild West, Sam’s background, the page-turning and less legible text didn’t appeal to me. Still, it’s important to get to know the characters well and keep track of the information they share. Of course, this is just my opinion, others may feel differently. The biggest issue is that the cognitive-behavioral therapy concepts repeat quite a lot. Some may change depending on the choices you make as you progress, but overall there isn’t much variation in content.

All things considered, Vampire Therapist is truly an enjoyable game. If you’re a fast reader like me, you can easily skim through the text, which isn’t too long, and it’s worth listening to some of the voice acting as well. If you decide to explore everything slowly, the game may take about 6 to 7 hours, but if you move quickly, you’ll finish sooner. The playtime depends on how much attention you give to the text and voices. For those ready to explore darker themes, the game offers an intriguing and stimulating experience, adding a unique twist to the genre. Ultimately, what matters most is that the story is good, and this game handles that quite well.

Review copy provided by the publisher