New game playthrough: "Nighthawks"!

New game!

If I had to say what my first introduction to vampire kind was, it was probably the movie adaptation of Anne Rice's Interview With A Vampire. Once I learned enough English, I read all her vampire books. I've also read Dracula, though I don't think I ever saw one of his movies. While I liked the movie Buffy The Vampire Slayer, I never got into the TV series, though I did watch all of True Blood. Finally, I got hooked on the Anita Blake books by Laurell K. Hamilton. And yes, I even read the ones full of explicit polyamorous sex scenes... When I think of vampires in adventure games, however, I'm afraid I'm not all that experienced. Of course I played A Vampyre Story, and there are the vampire-like villains in Gabriel Knight 3, but other than that I only remember one small character at the dinner table in Hugo's House of Horrors; incidentally the very first text parser adventure game I ever played. 

Now here comes Nighthawks! Eight years in the making, almost a million words written by witty author Richard Cobbett of The Curiosity Engine, beautiful artwork and character designs by amazing graphical wizard Ben Chandler, a dazzling soundtrack by the unsurpassable Tomas Regin, and published by prestigious Wadjet Eye Games. This adventure game/visual novel/RPG hybrid has many excellent reputations to live up to.

Quite the elaborate character compiling...

Before you can actually start playing, you need to answer a truckload of questions, the result of which compiles your protagonist's characteristics, skills and abilities. Compare it a bit to the old Quest For Glory games, where you choose your character's class and distribute some extra skill points. But it goes a lot deeper than that in Nighthawks. There are too many choices for me to list, so I'll just summarize what I went with myself. The person who made me into a vampire was a scholar, which means I'll be faster at learning new skills. I have a continental origin, because, well, I live in Europe after all. And apparently this means I'll be better at seduction and manipulation. Which is so not me, actually... But it certainly sounds like fun! Though that might be the influence of those Anita Blake books again... My special gift is the "tenebrous form", meaning I can transform myself into a cloud of smoke and shadow. Perhaps there are more powerful gifts to choose from, but this one felt more defensive to me, which fits better with my own personality. And the topic I'm most familiar with is culture, because I have a clear affinity with literature, cinema, games of course, and perhaps a little music. So there, that's who I'll be while playing Nighthawks.

My window to the world...

As the game truly starts, first I get to play through a prologue. This serves to explain Nighthawks's setting: who I am, where I came from, where I am now and what I'm doing here. The first screen has me looking at a street in the city of Cradlebridge. A static work of art, except for the animation of falling rain. The right side of the screen looks a bit like a text adventure: a description of my current situation, and some choices. Apparently I'm standing in front of Elijah Morrow's appartment. I have no idea who he is, but I guess I have business with him. So I should knock. But wait a minute, there's a mysterious little gargoyle holding a cellphone, showing I have a new message. This cellphone holds all kinds of information: news headlines, a contact list, an overview of my character stats, and you can also save your game here. Which might be interesting for a narrative adventure where every choice you make guides the story. There's also a credit card with my bank balance. Nil. And two orb like things, one showing my health, another indicating my current blood intake. No doubt this will all factor into the RPG elements of the game, but right now I don't yet know how to manage them.

Argh, my first major dilemma and I'm not even five minutes in!

After searching through Morrow's appartment, I learn this guy was my maker's human servant, who betrayed him and then fled. So that's why I'm after him: I want to know why. The reason, the motivation. I'm all on my lonesies now, in a city where vampires have made themselves known, and where society has given them the right of existence. I have one obvious yet huge goal now: I have one month to make it on my own here, and if I fail, I'll likely be destroyed. Like getting shot by an angry, vampire-hating landlady! After eluding her bullet with my special gift of turning into shadow and smoke, I have the choice of feeding on her or resisting the sweet call of human blood... I drained her; how dare she, shooting at me like that!

I nicknamed him Feathertongue...

Stepping outside, I'm suddenly ambushed by a couple, man and woman, more vampire haters. I try to fight back, but it's futile and they beat me to a pulp. No worries, though. This is how the prologue is supposed to go, and I wake up for Act One of the game, on the evening of the next day in my room at the Halcyon Hotel. My refuge, my sanctuary, my place to change outfits and equip myself with all kinds of accessories and weapons. Only problem is, this is just the start of the game, and I own pretty much zilch. Some slacks and a T-shirt, that's it. As I'm about to hit the streets again to find out more about Morrow, I'm greeted by another vampire, Maze. Owner of Cygnus Rare Books, it sounds like he'll be my mentor for now, showing me around the city, teaching me the ropes. Together with his book shop assistant Hazel, they come over a bit like an alternate universe version of Gabriel Knight and Grace Nakimura. A very alternate version...

Long live travel maps!

While at the start of the game I could only read the descriptions of my surroundings, as soon as other characters pop up the voice actor get their chance to shine. I haven't encountered that many yet, but what I've heard so far already sounds excellent, and I know I also have some famous voice actors to look forward to like Sally Beaumont and Ivy Dupler. Coupled with the music, they give Nighthawks a modern noir sound. The remainder of my first hour as a vampire I spent exploring the city. A handy travel map displays how long it takes to travel between locations. Because I need to keep an eye on the time: I'm a vampire, after all, and sunlight doesn't sit well with me. I need to be back in my sanctuary before sunrise, so each night I only have a limited amount of time to do whatever I want: inquire about Morrow, earn money, find blood, and try to settle in with all other creatures of the night. I think I have a long road ahead of me... 

You can find the Nighthawks on Steam and on GOG!