The Best Vampire Games: Stepping Into the Shoes of a Bloodsucker

Vampires and fiction based on those mythical bloodsuckers have long been part of just about every art form, to the point where they've definitively sunk their fangs into the medium of video games. While there are plenty of video games about hunting down these fiendish nightstalkers, fewer are the games that let players actually step into the shoes of a vampire and get to live out the fantasy of being an immortal, powerful creature of the night. So while a list of the "best vampire games" could easily just be several entries from across the iconic Castlevania series, we've chosen to instead focus on games where the core gameplay loop centers around the protagonist's place as a vampire. Unfortunately, that means cutting out games with excellent vampire-themed quests, like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim or Baldur's Gate 3.

• Release Date — October 26, 2017
• Developer — Vulgat
• Publisher — Vulgat
• Genre — Roguelike, RPG, Dungeon-Crawler
• Review Aggregate Score — N/A
• Steam User Score — 95% (Very Positive)
• Platforms — PC

The term "roguelike" has been co-opted by so many different subgenres that it can honestly be hard to find games that draw direct inspiration from the original entries in the subgenre like the eponymous Rogue or, later, Dwarf Fortress. So, to learn that there's a traditional roguelike that gives players the choice between playing as either a vampire hunter or the hunted vampire is intriguing. That game is Golden Krone Hotel, which, depending on the choices you make, can ultimately become one of the better vampire simulators out there, provided you're ok with the randomness and permadeath that go hand-in-hand with an honest-to-goodness roguelike.

• Release Date — January 22, 2025
• Developer — Aeterna Ludi
• Publisher — GrabThe Games
• Genre — RPG, Roguelike, Strategy
• Review Aggregate Score — N/A
• Steam User Score — 83% (Very Positive)
• Platforms — PC

Darkest Dungeon with vampires? Say no more. Few Nights More is just that — a mix between the turn-based battling and strategy of Darkest Dungeon with a more gothic story centered around vampires (as opposed to Lovecraftian nightmare fuel) and plenty of replayability owing to its roguelike structure. Best of all, Few Nights More is one of the few vampire games where you fight against other vampires instead of just hunting helpless humans, and the ensuing power struggles between the all-powerful vampire lords are a large part of what makes the game so fun.

• Release Date — June 5, 2018
• Developer — Dontnod Entertainment
• Publisher — Focus Home Interactive
• Genre — Action RPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 70% (Mixed or Average)
• Steam User Score — 77% (Mostly Positive)
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One

Probably one of the best vampire games that's also one of the more underrated, Vampyr is a unique title that sees the main character wrestling with their affliction as a creature of the night. You play as a doctor whose commitment to his profession and Hippocratic Oath forbid him from doing the harm he must in order to survive. Of course, you can also choose to throw any semblance of morality away in favor of giving in to your dark urges as a vampire, at the cost of enemies becoming more numerous and powerful. Vampyr features a unique play on the classic vampire fantasy that's only made better by its morality system, and it's an interesting title that deserves credit for its ambition, even if those ambitions don't always land.

• Release Date — September 27, 2019
• Developer — Bandai Namco Studios
• Publisher — Bandai Namco
• Genre — Soulslike, Action RPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 70% (Mixed or Average)
• Steam User Score — 84% (Very Positive)
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One

Bandai Namco's Code Vein, aka "Anime Vampire Dark Souls", features about as contrived and convoluted a plot as you'd expect from a post-apocalyptic vampire game. That said, the way that Bandai Namco incorporated the act of living as a vampire into the game's soulslike combat is commendable, with draining enemies to replenish stamina or boost attack power a core component of the game's encounter design. Plus, when it comes to vampire games that let you dress up your protagonist in all kinds of over-the-top gothic vampire fashions, few do it as well (and look as good doing it) as Code Vein.

• Release Date — October 31, 2002
• Developer — Terminal Reality
• Publisher — Majesco Sales
• Genre — Action
• Review Aggregate Score — 76% (Generally Favorable)
• Steam User Score — 91% (Very Positive) - Terminal Cut edition
• Platforms — GameCube, PC, PS2, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

Terminal Reality's Bloodrayne makes everyone feel good about being a vampire by pitting its titular protagonist against the villainous Third Reich and letting her wreak havoc all over German forces during World War II. Excellent premise aside, Bloodrayne is a AA action game that makes surprisingly great use of the main character's place as a vampire by giving her super speed, super strength, and a host of classic vampire-centric abilities that make her a far cry from your typical action game protagonist while also offering up one heck of a power fantasy. And thanks to the Terminal Cut/ReVamped remasters, Bloodrayne is finally available on modern hardware.

• Release Date — May 8, 2024
• Developer — Stunlock Studios
• Publisher — Stunlock Studios
• Genre — ARPG, Survival
• Review Aggregate Score — 83% (Generally Favorable)
• Steam User Score — 89% (Very Positive)
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 5

Survival/crafting games have become so insanely popular in the last few years that it was only a matter of time before someone made one that let you be a vampire, and V Rising is just that game. Of course, V Rising is a lot more than just a survival game, as its combat sandbox can stand toe-to-toe with some of the better hack-and-slash ARPGs, and it only continues to get better with each major update. Throw in some Castlevania-themed DLC that lets you build your own personal version of the iconic and titular abode of Dracula, and you have a vampire fan's vampire game.

• Release Date — November 16, 2004
• Developer — Troika Games
• Publisher — Activision
• Genre — RPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 80% (Generally Favorable)
• Steam User Score — 94% (Very Positive)
• Platforms — PC

Long considered one of the best PC exclusive RPGs, vampire or otherwise, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines is a title that's earned its cult status. While its visuals might not have aged as gracefully as the rest of the package, the freedom of choice that Bloodlines offers players is equally as impressive as other landmark RPGs of the era like Knights of the Old Republic, and getting to live as a vampire while attempting to solve the game's central mystery feels just as fresh today as it did 21 years ago.

• Release Date — November 1, 1996
• Developer — Silicon Knights
• Publisher — Crystal Dynamics
• Genre — Action RPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 83%
• Steam User Score — N/A
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation

The original vampire-themed action RPG, Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, is arguably one of the best and most underrated games in the early PS1 library. Released roughly a year after the PS1's North American launch, Blood Omen differed from most other action RPGs of the era in that it let you play as an anti-hero so antithetical to heroism that he felt like the game's villain. Of course, the second game in the series would transition Kain into that role full-time, but the first game is unique for not just allowing you to drain hapless victims for health boosts, but encouraging it.

• Release Date — August 17, 1999
• Developer — Silicon Knights
• Publisher — Eidos Interactive
• Genre — Action-Adventure
• Review Aggregate Score — 91% (Universal Acclaim)
• Steam User Score — 91% (Very Positive) - Remastered edition
• Platforms — Dreamcast, PC, PlayStation

After a game spent playing as his all-powerful vampire lord master, the follow-up to Blood Omen saw players get to control Kain's moody and conflicted right-hand lieutenant, Raziel. Ultimately, it ended up being a better game with a better story because of it, with Raziel struggling to balance both his immortality and his morality in a journey of redemption that still ranks as one of the all-time great video game narratives. Of course, it just so happens that the gameplay backed up Legacy of Kain's strong storytelling, with brand-new vampire powers like being able to step between the worlds of the dead and the living to solve puzzles and complete platforming challenges.

• Release Date — March 20, 1997
• Developer — Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo
• Publisher — Konami
• Genre — Metroidvania
• Review Aggregate Score — 93% (Universal Acclaim)
• Steam User Score — N/A
• Platforms — Android, iOS, PlayStation, PS4, PSP, Sega Saturn, Xbox 360

Out of all the games in the Castlevania series, there's only one that lets you play as an honest-to-goodness vampire instead of a vampire hunter (or an unwitting youth destined to be the new physical vessel for Dracula's resurrection), and that's Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. It also happens to be one of the series' best (if not the best) games, and one half of the titles responsible for creating the Metroidvania subgenre (with the other being Super Metroid).

Aside from all its importance to both the Castlevania series and the world of gaming at large, though, Symphony of the Night is just a perfect vampire power fantasy in which you really feel like you're stepping into the shoes of Dracula's son. Alucard can transform into animals like a bat or wolf, can turn himself into a cloud of gas, drain enemies for health using spells, and even has a selection of familiars that follow him around. Symphony of the Night is both the best vampire game and just one of the best games, period.