My first week as a vampire in "Nighthawks"...

Yeah, shake those... cards...

I'm five hours into Nighthawks and I just spent my first week in Cradlebridge. I've met a bunch of people after I first arrived, both vampires and humans, did some errands for some of them, earned me some money, bought some new clothes and even weapons, though apparently I can't even use them since I lack the skills... I'm playing the game as an average nice guy; I'll try to avoid confrontations and insulting people, but when push comes to shove I don't have an issue with dropping my pacifist principles and defend myself or even go full Anakin Skywalker and take revenge when someone truly makes me angry.

Ah, the lovely Becca...

I've noticed that I'm not really making any conscious decisions in this game. I'm just doing what works for me. Some options are unavailable to me because they involve traits I didn't choose when compiling my character at the start of the game. Other options I fail at because my stats aren't high enough. Usually leaving only one option, or sometimes even none at all and then I have to leave locations without having anything to show for it. I do try not to harm any humans, but a certain mission required fresh human blood and perhaps I'm just lazy and didn't look hard enough for alternate and more peaceful solutions, but I couldn't find any willing "donors", so eventually I went on a hunt.

Don't tip the scales in the wrong way...

The hunting mechanic is actually quite interesting. You pick a place where you stalk your pray; yet you don't yet know who your victim will be. I went to a diner, and then you have to observe and mingle with the other guests. Sometimes an interaction will let you come closer to your target, other times your suspicion bar will be raised. Trying out the available options, you have to try and fill your target bar first, otherwise you go home thirsty. I really enjoyed the scene animations here, because usually all scenes are static. This time, the screen colors red, and vague silhouettes slowly move back and forth, the music becomes more suspenseful, and to be honest, even while very intriguing, the whole made me very uncomfortable as well. I don't think I'd be very good at this hunting if it were real.

This kid reminds me of my son's half-sister...

I'm actually curious what the average adventure gamer thinks of Nighthawks. It's certainly not a traditional adventure. You can't literally explore the scenes by clicking on hotspots. Instead it's all done via the textual interface. But there are dialogues with NPC's, there are fetch quests, it's very much like a detective game and just as with The Séance of Blake Manor, every action costs time. Every click, even going through the dialogue menus and leaving again without actually asking anything, takes you a minute closer to sunrise. It's an exploration game that is a lot more than a simple click-to-progress visual novel. I can tell by my behavior of saving the game. It feels like I'm playing an old Sierra title with death waiting around every corner. The comparison fits even more, because it even contains a maze, in the form of the city sewers! I must have at least 25 save files by now, probably more!

Quite the gathering...

Nearing the end of Act One, I was offered the choice of immediately continuing the storyline, but the game then alerted me there were some "side quests" I would miss. Because I didn't want to miss anything of this brilliant example of fine storytelling, I simply went to bed and waited for the next sunset, after which I could talk to some people again and do another errand for them. I assume I'll be able to do this a couple of nights in a row, until every quest is completed and the main storyline will automatically take over again. At least this way, I guess I can raise my stats a bit more and be better prepared for whatever showdown is coming... Or at least I hope so...

You can find Nighthawks on Steam and on GOG!

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 Thomas 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 Nighthawks on Steam and on GOG!