With Vampires: Bloodlord Rising, a new open-world adventure with a dark atmosphere is released on Steam. MeinMMO editor and hobby vampire Benedict Grothaus has already played it in advance and is fascinated by the world, especially because Bloodlords Rising does some things very differently than genre counterparts.
Vampire aesthetics are among my absolute favorites in games, movies, and everywhere else. However, my discovery of Vampire: Bloodlords Rising is due to a coincidence: while checking out a new Viking Dynasty game at gamescom 2025 I noticed a few posters of Vampires: Bloodlord Rising hanging there, coincidentally presented by publisher Toplitz.
After a short conversation with PR manager Mathias Oertel, he promised to give me access to the vampire game as soon as possible. Now the time had come: a few days before the early access release on Steam on January 30, 2026, I was allowed to play.
After thousands of hours in various survival games, including over 40 hours in V Rising alone, I had certain expectations of the game and knew exactly what I wanted: a dark setting, cool vampire powers, and a reversed power dynamic, where I am the monster at night and the hunted during the day.
I went into the game blind, and after a – admittedly somewhat sluggish – start, the game quickly captivated me. Vampires: Bloodlord Rising does not just do many things differently that I am used to from survival games, but also casts a completely different light on my beloved undead.
Much more than just a survival game with vampires
First of all, Vampires: Bloodlord Rising does not play like a classic survival game like Conan Exiles or ARK. Although I still have to collect a few resources at the beginning and build the first buildings by myself, my… uh… certainly voluntarily “recruited” workers will take over later.
At its heart, Bloodlord Rising is more of a dynasty game like Sengoku Dynasty or Medieval Dynasty, where it is more about managing one’s own territories and less about having to take care of one’s own survival.
However, this is not the point that excited me so much. I expected to have to stalk humans as a vampire to drain them – like in V Rising. A nasty monster that everyone fears.
However, Vampires: Bloodlord Rising changes the image of the vampire. Instead of the terrors of the night, I am the Count in his castle, ensuring that the land flourishes, and the people find that good! I am the nice, immortal bloodsucker next door, something I absolutely did not expect.
A survival game with… story?
This innovation wraps Vampires: Bloodlord Rising in a comprehensive single-player campaign. As the vampire Dragos, I awaken from a long sleep and must rebuild the ancient rule of my (apparently) deceased vampire father.
Briefly about the story: Although we as a vampire dynasty were always good to the people, except for the small blood toll that everyone was happy to pay, the Inquisition wanted to get rid of us. After a short but fierce war, we were defeated, and the land was plunged into a “silver veil” that harms every child of the night.
Now I am fighting not only for the survival of my entire bloodline (heh), but also against the inquisitors who have set up camp everywhere. What particularly excites me here: the people in the villages are anything but enthusiastic about the church, which apparently acts much more brutally than we vampires ever have. Many wish for our rule to return.
As the story progresses, I unlock new areas of the realm of Sangavia, such as an enchanted swamp or an enchanted forest. These areas serve as biomes with their own secrets and new resources and thus new crafting opportunities.
From Bloodsucker to Manager of Lands and People
In doing so, numerous mechanics come into play that have already worked similarly or the same in other dynasty titles. For instance, I can collect taxes from the settlements I rule if I treat my people well.
How “nasty” I am, I decide for myself. I can terrify my servants, making it easier to obtain blood – but it lowers the taxes they pay me. At the moment, I feed myself and my helpers solely with animal blood.
Caution is advised, as I should only encounter humans in “aristocrat” form. If they see me as a “hunter” or catch me in any way doing vampiric things, they flee, and the prosperity of the region declines.
This interplay of the two forms becomes quite automatic quickly, but still provides a bit more depth. The aristocrat can negotiate with humans and find out who has what abilities, while the hunter fights, collects resources, or… transforms humans who, according to the gathered rumors, would make useful vampire servants.
Real Vampire Feeling with a Few Minor Flaws
Unlike V Rising, where I constantly run around as a vampire attacking everything that comes in front of me, Vampires: Bloodlord Rising focuses on the duality of the bloodsuckers. Something that, in my opinion, is emphasized far too rarely.
The game surprisingly manages to portray vampires quite well. Through vampire tears, I can improve abilities or even learn new skills, such as “Beast Vision,” which shows me prey nearby and even reveals their blood type. Yes, there are blood types like in V Rising with different effects, such as improved combat power or healing.
There are also nice details, such as the fact that I have no reflection in puddles. Unfortunately, amusing details like the compulsive counting from legends are missing. However, my supernatural claws are enough to chop down trees, stones, and metals. Practical when I don’t want to lug around tools.
On the other hand, the combat system in Vampires: Bloodlord Rising is somewhat… simpler. There are various attacks and skills like the phantom for sneaky tactics and different enemies. But the game is noticeably not designed for combat, rather for exploration, management, and expansion. Fighting serves purely the narrative and as a small obstacle for special locations.
I don’t yet know what the endgame or co-op looks like – you can play Vampires: Bloodlord Rising with up to 3 other players – as I only had a few hours to play during the early phase because there was just too much else going on. However, I have already recruited a few people to join me because I definitely want to continue playing.
By the way, the gamescom did not just serve me Vampires: Bloodlord Rising but also another vampire game – this time, however, not a management game, but a real RPG from some of the Witcher creators: In a new RPG with vampires, you have to save your family in 30 days, but you can still take your time
As the story progresses, I unlock new areas of the realm of Sangavia, such as an enchanted swamp or an enchanted forest. These areas serve as biomes with their own secrets and new resources and thus new crafting opportunities.
From Bloodsucker to Manager of Lands and People
In doing so, numerous mechanics come into play that have already worked similarly or the same in other dynasty titles. For instance, I can collect taxes from the settlements I rule if I treat my people well.
How “nasty” I am, I decide for myself. I can terrify my servants, making it easier to obtain blood – but it lowers the taxes they pay me. At the moment, I feed myself and my helpers solely with animal blood.
Caution is advised, as I should only encounter humans in “aristocrat” form. If they see me as a “hunter” or catch me in any way doing vampiric things, they flee, and the prosperity of the region declines.
This interplay of the two forms becomes quite automatic quickly, but still provides a bit more depth. The aristocrat can negotiate with humans and find out who has what abilities, while the hunter fights, collects resources, or… transforms humans who, according to the gathered rumors, would make useful vampire servants.
Real Vampire Feeling with a Few Minor Flaws
Unlike V Rising, where I constantly run around as a vampire attacking everything that comes in front of me, Vampires: Bloodlord Rising focuses on the duality of the bloodsuckers. Something that, in my opinion, is emphasized far too rarely.
The game surprisingly manages to portray vampires quite well. Through vampire tears, I can improve abilities or even learn new skills, such as “Beast Vision,” which shows me prey nearby and even reveals their blood type. Yes, there are blood types like in V Rising with different effects, such as improved combat power or healing.
There are also nice details, such as the fact that I have no reflection in puddles. Unfortunately, amusing details like the compulsive counting from legends are missing. However, my supernatural claws are enough to chop down trees, stones, and metals. Practical when I don’t want to lug around tools.
On the other hand, the combat system in Vampires: Bloodlord Rising is somewhat… simpler. There are various attacks and skills like the phantom for sneaky tactics and different enemies. But the game is noticeably not designed for combat, rather for exploration, management, and expansion. Fighting serves purely the narrative and as a small obstacle for special locations.
I don’t yet know what the endgame or co-op looks like – you can play Vampires: Bloodlord Rising with up to 3 other players – as I only had a few hours to play during the early phase because there was just too much else going on. However, I have already recruited a few people to join me because I definitely want to continue playing.
By the way, the gamescom did not just serve me Vampires: Bloodlord Rising but also another vampire game – this time, however, not a management game, but a real RPG from some of the Witcher creators: In a new RPG with vampires, you have to save your family in 30 days, but you can still take your time
