It was only yesterday that gamescom 2025 was filling RSS feeds around the globe. I’m also fairly certain that I had more hair those few short weeks ago, but alas; life is cruel. What wasn’t cruel, though, was the super cool games I got to see back-to-back, almost like big bangs with how scarily quick I jumped between demos. And this wasn’t in person, mind, I was guided through many a gamescom demo over the interwebs! And today, one of those games I’d like to talk about is developer Mehuman Games and publisher Toplitz Productions’ up-and-coming life simulation slash survival title ‘Vampires: Bloodlord Rising’.
Now if you follow this site or the life sim genre, you’ve likely heard of Toplitz as a publisher. They’re quite famous for their city builders and, more specifically, their “Dynasty” series of games. And I wouldn’t blame you for thinking that Vampires here is just like those games because that’s what I thought too. At least, until someone at Toplitz gave me a walkthrough of their gamescom demo a week or so back where I got to see where the line between something like ‘Medieval Dynasty’ and this are drawn. It was an emphasised point, particularly as the game was rebranded from its original name “Vampire Dynasty”—and I could understand why, particularly as I got to see the gameplay loop that awaits players in Bloodlord Rising.
Right! So, in Vampires: Bloodlord Rising, players will take on the role of a blood-sucking vampire who wasn’t always what he was—once human, this playable character survives a vampire attack and becomes a creature of the night himself. And unlike the Dynasty games, where players work with nature in harmony along with the people inside to build a community, you’re more of a parasite this time around. You’ve a castle to call yours and in it contains your life essence—should that structure fall, you will die. So, it is imperative that you build a castle that stands the test of time and those who hunt your kind down.
You’re a bit of a two-face in this game. See, across the land there are villages aplenty with normal human beans living their everyday lives in peace, relatively speaking. Doing trade with them is essential as part of your “bloodlord rising” plan to take over and bend these puny creatures to your will. But no one will do trade with a bleedin’ vampire of all creepy things, so you’ll need to swap over to your “Noble” form to disguise yourself as a person to handle the more managerial side of things and to interact with your neighbours. Though of course, you must watch out for the sun! Swapping between Vampire and your Noble form are essential as the former allows you to perform illegal actions that increase the number of attacks against you by the imposing Vampire Hunters and the latter, while keeping things a bit more orderly, means that you’re limited in how you can use your awesome vampire moves.
One such move is your ability to become a bat and fly where you need to. You can also turn unsuspecting humans into your minions by feasting on their blood or just outright goring them to keep yourself healthy. Drinking blood is a necessity in being able to use your powers, but allies to your cause are essential. They will build stations and other equipment you set up as blueprints so long as you keep them healthy and happy. Failing to do so will result in a clogged pipeline of frustrated workers, so even in your Vampire form, there’s a bit of management you have to figure out. But if you can set up an orderly system, you can build some insane castles the likes of which have impressed the developers themselves.
Combat is another part of the game you’ll need to make sure you have pat down. See, those aforementioned hunters will be on the lookout for you. Raising suspicion means that you’ll be more likely to see attacks from Vampire Hunters who will stop at nothing to destroy not only you but all that you’ve worked for. And while you can solo enemies with a fairly in-depth melee and magic combat system, it’s better for you to keep building your empire slowly but surely while fending off attacks when you need to. Of course, you’re free to go in gun-blazing, just be sure to prep saves beforehand in plentiful amounts.
Besides the gameplay loop, I got to witness the overall art direction, and I have to say I love what I’m seeing. The main starting area is more or less a replica of the cultural-entrenched version the world has of Transylvania—complete with a moody atmosphere, beautiful nights, stone castles, and wooden homes dot the game world. And there are other biomes that you’ll encounter as you advance the game’s story and expand your domain.
It’s worth mentioning that this is very much still a city building game of sorts, but with a twist. While there are role-playing game elements, this is not a ‘Vampire: The Masquerade’ competitor or anything like that. If the idea of building a vampire kingdom sounds appealing, with a bit of espionage, building, and some light tower defence, you’ll have to keep an eye out for Vampires: Bloodlord Rising when it awakens to an Early Access Steam launch on 23 October. ∎
