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Vampirium: 1997 is a vampire adventure that reimagines the immersive sim as a focused, mostly interface-driven experience. Developed by Mike Bithell, the game gives players choices about how to approach their targets while building its world through maps, text, and a distinctive 1990s-inspired interface.
Vampirium: 1997 and its streamlined immersive sim design
Bithell founded Bithell Games in 2013, following the success of Thomas Was Alone. The studio has since explored a range of projects, including Tron: Catalyst, The Solitaire Conspiracy, and Subsurface Circular. Although Bithell has long been drawn to immersive sims, he was cautious about applying the label to a new project until its design offered the player the freedom he expected from the genre.
Rather than sending players through a fully realized 3D environment, Vampirium: 1997 reduces the experience to its essential choices. Bithell describes this more compact approach as an “im-slim”: a way to set clear expectations while retaining the flexible problem-solving associated with immersive sims.
The story follows a vampire who has killed another vampire in a world where the act is forbidden. Facing execution in prison, the protagonist is offered a way out by Dracula, presented as the King of England: become his personal assassin. The assignment sets up a series of missions in which players decide how to deal with obstacles and characters.
How players explore and complete missions
The game presents a map of locations such as corridors and lobbies on one side of the screen. On the other, players choose actions from a list of available verbs, shown in a visual style inspired by 1990s interfaces. Character portraits can provide practical details, such as a guard’s health, while short passages of text establish what is happening.
Actions may include opening a door, pushing a guard, or picking up a katana. The available choices and the player’s understanding of the location determine how an encounter unfolds. A useful approach is to review the map and character information before committing to an action; paying attention to these details can help players weigh their options.
Although individual missions are designed to allow different approaches, the larger narrative follows a linear progression. At the start, players choose why the protagonist killed the other vampire. The options described so far are acting out of anger or killing to protect a secret, and each choice affects the character’s starting attributes. Bithell has said those options could expand.
A compact project built from experience
After Bithell Games released Tron: Catalyst in June, the studio laid off 11 employees roughly two months later. Bithell then began experimenting with Godot, a free, open-source game engine, and developed the early prototypes that grew into Vampirium: 1997. The game also draws on a vampire story set in the 1990s that he had wanted to explore for years.
Bithell is handling the game’s programming, art, writing, and music. However, he is reluctant to describe it simply as a solo-developed project. He credits the skills, advice, and influence of people he has worked with throughout his career, noting that those contributions helped make the game possible.
The project’s deliberately limited scope also shapes its storytelling. With fewer visual details on screen, players have room to imagine the manor and its inhabitants for themselves. The design aims to create a sense of place through the combination of text, maps, and actions rather than relying on a large three-dimensional space.
Early Access plans and story extras
Vampirium: 1997 is planned to enter Early Access, marking the first time a Bithell Games title has taken that route. Bithell expects player feedback during development to help guide additions, including new verbs. His stated goal is to make a game that is worth purchasing before opening Early Access, so that feedback comes from players who have invested in the experience and have considered opinions about it.
The game’s main story will continue to develop, and Bithell has said that a complete ending is not expected immediately. Before Early Access, a playable Alpha is planned. The project also has prequel stories that describe events leading up to the protagonist’s meeting with Dracula. They are presented as a serial-style narrative, an approach that suits the story’s Victorian influences.
What to expect from Vampirium: 1997
Vampirium: 1997 focuses on meaningful choices rather than expansive 3D exploration. Its map, action options, character information, and text invite players to shape how they handle each assignment, while the wider story provides a linear thread to follow. For players interested in vampire fiction and compact, choice-driven immersive sims, its Early Access development will be an opportunity to see how player feedback influences the experience.
