Vampire Therapist PC Review

I never would have guessed a game would come about that put the player in the shoes (or perhaps that should be cowboy boots) of a vampire who yearns to help fellow vampires with their psychological concerns… yet here we are.

Vampire Therapist is exactly as the name suggests. In the style of a visual novel, or a choose your own assessment if you will, it puts you in the role of a former “monstrous” cowboy who came to a realisation that what they really want to do is help other vampires… but to best achieve this goal they have sought the help of a much older, far wiser vampire who takes them under their wing (pun intended). After a bit of self assessment you are provided your first client. As a good therapist, a lot of what you do is listen and try to establish what the key issues are, you then need to find a way to help the client work through that issue. As you listen to your clients you will come across points at which you can click an option for what type of thinking the client is doing. If you get it wrong, your mentor will give you a little nudge in the right direction and you can try again. When you get it right you will explain to your client what they are doing and try to help them see things from a healthier perspective.

Visually Vampire Therapist is very slick. There are some lovely backgrounds and some arguably stereotyped characters… but it works within the setup. A somewhat surprising bonus is the ability to watch some retro shows while resting in your coffin… including The Three Stooges of all things. The audio is also nicely produced and could also be said to lean a little into the caricature… but that does work as the characters are larger than life… or un-life.

Whilst I find the game mostly enjoyable… I do find the fact that you play an American Cowboy a little tiring… much like one of the clients… I’m not entirely keen to listen to him with his antiquated frontiersman terms… but on the plus side his background does allow for a few jabs at his culture (such as mentioning some special blood was procured for him… but it’s a bit too high in glucose for the other vampires).

Though the game doesn’t profess to be a source of therapy for players… the fact it uses real cognitive behavioral therapy concepts means players might actually get a few insights into their own day to day lives or situations they might find themselves in. To be clear, if you feel you are having difficulties, you should seek professional help… but if you are generally fine you might find a few situations that seem familiar that might give you a fresh perspective on your ways of thinking.

Ultimately the game is well put together, intelligent but doesn’t take itself too seriously… it finds a good balance between presenting serious therapeutic notions and how they can be applied… with moments of humour. If you ever wondered what it was like to be a Vampire Therapist… grab a copy and find out. A good bit of fun and the potential to shed some light on ways of thinking.