DONTNOD Entertainment has announced that the two new difficulty modes for its narrative-driven action-RPG Vampyr, of which we first heard back in July, are finally arriving on all platforms in an update coming on Sept. 26. Set at opposite ends of the spectrum, Story Mode de-emphasizes combat while Hard Mode significantly increases its difficulty. Furthermore, Hard Mode also reduces the experience gained from killing enemies, making it even more tempting to have Dr. Reid sink his teeth into London’s more notable citizens.
As the current Vampyr experience will persist in the “Normal” mode, this raises the number of available difficulties to three, all of which will be selectable upon starting a new playthrough. The update in question will also include a handful of fixes and optimizations, as well as Nvidia Ansel support for PC users. If Vampyr’s take on 1918’s London wasn’t dreary enough, players will now have the opportunity to fiddle around with various filters and effects to make their screenshots as dark as they want.
Although Vampyr maintains a narrative focus, the title is more akin to DONTNOD’s first effort, Remember Me, than the more famous Life Is Strange. You’re put in the shoes of one Dr. Jonathan Reid, turned vampire against his will. His quest of finding out how and why he was turned involves juggling between helping London’s denizens and holding back from consuming their life essence. Things are made ever so harder by the fact that while consuming them grants a good chunk of experience points to develop Dr. Reid’s powers, it also worsens the situation in the districts. If this sounds good to you, it’s worth knowing that Vampyr is also discounted by 33% until Sept. 24 as part of a sale that also covers other titles in publisher Focus Home Interactive’s catalog.