Bithell Games, the studio founded by Mike Bithell following the success of Thomas Was Alone, is preparing to launch its first immersive sim, titled Vampirium: 1997. Bithell himself considers the immersive sim a "sacred genre" and has long been hesitant to categorize any of his studio's previous works, which include titles like Tron: Catalyst and Subsurface Circular, as such. However, with Vampirium: 1997, he feels the studio has achieved a level of player freedom that aligns with his expectations for the genre.
Vampirium: 1997 places players in the role of a vampire on death row for outlawed killing, who is then recruited by Dracula to become his personal assassin. The game's unique approach, which Bithell has playfully termed an "im-slim," deviates from traditional immersive sims like Deus Ex or Dishonored. Instead of navigating 3D environments and utilizing physics, Vampirium: 1997 focuses almost entirely on its user interface to distill the genre's core elements.
The game's UI presents a map of Zsombor's Manor on the left side of the screen, alongside a set of "verbs" or actions on the right, all rendered with a 1990s visual aesthetic. Players will also see character portraits with pertinent information, such as health. Progression involves selecting verbs like opening doors or picking up items, combined with knowledge of the environment, to achieve assassination targets.
This "slimmed-down" design is partly a necessity for Bithell Games, which underwent significant staff reductions after the release of Tron: Catalyst. Bithell has been developing Vampirium: 1997 largely solo, utilizing the Godot engine. While he handles programming, art, writing, and music, he emphasizes that the game would not exist without the lessons learned from past collaborators, viewing the project as a reflection of their collective influence rather than a purely solo endeavor.
Bithell likens the im-sim approach to reading a book, where the text provides a foundation, but the player's imagination fills in the gaps. He hopes Vampirium: 1997 will evoke a similar sense of immersion, where players mentally construct the world from the UI and text prompts.
The game is slated for an Early Access launch on Steam, a first for Bithell Games. Bithell is keen to gather long-term feedback from players who have invested in the game, believing this will lead to more meaningful contributions to its development. He aims to ensure the game is worth paying for before entering Early Access.
While the overarching narrative of Vampirium: 1997 is linear, player choices at the outset will influence their starting attributes and skills. For instance, players can choose whether their vampire committed the initial crime out of anger or to keep a secret, with potential for more options to be added later. Following this choice, the game transitions into a non-linear im-sim adventure.
Further expanding the game's narrative, Bithell Games is offering prequel stories detailing events leading up to the protagonist's encounter with Dracula to those who sign up for the studio's mailing list. This serves as a way to tease the story and allows Bithell to practice his writing for the character of Dracula. Subscribers will also gain early access to the game's playable Alpha build before its Early Access release.