To feed or not to feed: Players face tough choices when ‘Vampyr’ launches June 5

Dontnod revealed the date at the end of the final episode of its developer diary series, which has been running for the past few weeks.

The June 5 date means a couple of things. For starters, Vampyr will hit its revised spring release window after suffering a delay that pushed it out of 2017. More importantly, though, the action role-playing game will hit store shelves during one of the slowest video game months of the year. As of now, Vampyr will be the biggest title to launch in June, and that’s unlikely to change given that studios rarely release buzzworthy games in the weeks leading up to E3.

Vampyr has been an intriguing game to follow since its reveal in 2015. It takes place in 1918 London amid the Spanish flu pandemic. You step into the shoes of Dr. Jonathan Reid, a man conflicted about his recent transition into a vampire. His status as both a doctor and a vampire creates a moral dilemma: To feed on humans or to not feed on humans.

Well, the choice is up to the player. Vampyr can be completed without ever killing a human, but feeding grants Reid upgrades and makes him stronger. The decisions you make will affect the storyline and the way you are perceived by other characters. So while Vampyr is a huge departure in terms of setting and tone, the choice-based narrative, with real consequences for your actions, is a nod to Dontnod’s acclaimed Life is Strange.

We haven’t had a chance to play the game, but during our hands-off preview at E3 last year, Vampyr‘s story and its emphasis on the moral implications of being a vampire impressed us. You can get to know your neighbors and decide which ones, if any, you want to feed on. As for mechanics, its swift action-oriented combat looked satisfying in motion, but its investigation missions — where you search for clues — seemed as if they may drag a bit.

Vampyr, one of our most anticipated games of 2018, launches June 5 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.