Ethan Crossfield 
Bithell Games has unveiled Vampirium: 1997, a new immersive sim that swaps traditional missions for a darker kind of infiltration—one where you play an assassin working to protect Dracula’s vampiric empire. The announcement matters now because it shows the studio pivoting back into production after last year’s funding-driven layoffs, while also leaning into a flexible, player-driven approach to how objectives get completed.
What happened
Bithell Games—known for titles including Volume, John Wick Hex, and Tron: Catalyst—has announced Vampirium: 1997. The game is set in England under Dracula’s rule, with players taking control of an assassin whose job is to eliminate threats to the vampire lord’s empire.
Gameplay is built around minimalist point-and-click mechanics, but the infiltration fantasy is anything but simple. Players will need to move through “living” areas to reach targets, and the game encourages experimentation with multiple approaches. If you want a quieter run, you can lean into stealth to reduce collateral. If you’d rather be decisive, Vampirium: 1997 also supports more aggressive options, including using a silver katana to cut through enemies.
The environments are designed to force adaptation mid-mission. Players can study enemy patrol routes to plan safer paths and access restricted areas. They can also manipulate environmental elements—such as lights and other items—to create openings or cover their actions. Interactions with characters provide different outcomes: you may be able to gather information, preserve secrecy, or even perform tasks for others to gain leverage. There’s also a supernatural avenue via hypnotism, allowing players to compel certain characters to act as directed.
Bithell also shared an eight-minute gameplay walkthrough, giving viewers a closer look at how these systems come together in practice. And while the studio hasn’t tied the release to a specific calendar day, Vampirium: 1997 is slated to launch on Steam Early Access at an unannounced date.
Why it matters
Vampirium: 1997’s pitch is tightly focused: preserve Dracula’s empire by removing threats, but do it in a way that changes as the world changes around you. That emphasis on reactive living spaces and multiple objective-completion methods signals a clear design goal—rewarding planning, observation, and improvisation rather than single-solution stealth.
It’s also notable from a studio perspective. The announcement arrives after Bithell Games was forced to lay off most of its staff last August due to funding issues. A new project entering Early Access planning is a meaningful rebound moment, and it suggests the studio is betting on a distinctive immersive-sim identity to stand out in a crowded stealth and action landscape.
Finally, the replayability angle is built in. After completing a level for the first time, new tasks are said to unlock, which should encourage returning runs to test different routes, tools, and social or supernatural tactics.
What to watch next
With Vampirium: 1997 approaching Steam Early Access at an unannounced time, the immediate watch items are how the promised flexibility holds up once more players can experiment with stealth-versus-violence playstyles. The walkthrough may show the systems working, but Early Access will reveal whether environmental manipulation, character interaction outcomes, and hypnotism consistently support the “adapt on the fly” promise.
Players should also pay attention to how replayability manifests in practice—specifically, what those newly unlocked tasks look like and whether they meaningfully change how you approach infiltration, planning, and target elimination.
Practical takeaways for players
- Use observation first: study enemy patrol routes to plan access to restricted areas.
- Expect more than one solution—stealth can reduce body count, but direct methods are also supported.
- Treat the environment as a tool: lights and items can help create openings or cover your movement.
- Talk and interact strategically: characters can offer information, secrecy-preserving options, or task-based leverage.
- Try the supernatural angle: hypnotism can redirect characters to help you control a mission’s flow.
Expert View
Bithell Games’ return with Vampirium: 1997 feels like a bet on agency—less about memorizing routes and more about reading a living space and choosing the right lever at the right time. If the Early Access version delivers on the promise of adaptable environments, meaningful character outcomes, and genuine replayable task unlocks, it could carve out a strong niche for immersive-sim fans who want stealth, experimentation, and consequence-driven planning in the same package.
