The Story

Set in the vampire world called Nemire, opposing vampire clans battle for dominance. As you would expect, the setting is dark and gloomy lit by the moon that casts eerie shadows along the countryside. The soundtrack is to die for. String instruments set the tone of tragedy. Towns with humans are used for blood. These resources help the clans become stronger. There is no mercy in these lands. In the world of Immortal Realms: Vampire Wars, doom is inevitable, and the only real outcome of the war is which group of vampires will be the death of it.

Clans

There are three total clans that you can choose from. Play as the Dracul, Nosfernus, or Moroia. Each clan is unique and will offer distinctive powers, various gameplay mechanics, and their own lords and units. Dracul will be the most familiar. You may notice that adding a vowel to the word reveals it to be the common vampires we all know and hate to love. Nosfernus are ancient vampires which you might assume comes from the classic silent horror movie “Nosferatu”. The one you might not be able to recognize is from Moroi. It is a type of vampire from Romanian folklore.

Gameplay

Similar to tabletop boardgames, you move your units around spaces within a map. There are towns and other points of interest to gather resources on your journey towards dominance and chaos. You’ll have plenty of choices which all matter when it comes down to defeating your rivals. Beyond just fighting and creating an army, you have a multitude of options for upgrading and equipping gear. Cards play a heavy role in this game. They are used for all kinds of things to help you become a supreme army. When fighting, you must decide your attacks and it’s a true turn-based strategy battle. There are tons of options that make every battle all up to you.

Final Thoughts

It’s a very promising strategy game with a unique atmosphere of vampires at war. I love the gothic theme and the music is to die for (no pun intended). While it takes a bit to get the hang of how everything works, once you figure it out, you’ll really start to enjoy the battles. I’ve played a lot of strategy games and this one seems special. My favorite quote from the trailer: “Tell me, what is the point of victory, when all you can celebrate is the end of the world?”

Immortal Realms: Vampire Wars will be published by Kalypso Media and has been developed by Palindrome Interactive on Xbox One. It is currently in Game Preview and will be released in Spring 2020, for $49.99. A copy was provided for preview purposes.