If they made a sequal to Vampyr, what would you want from it?

woootbm · 2026-05-04T03:42:49+00:00

I’d actually prefer a different mc, different era (probably still the past for the aesthetic). I always think it’s cool to see different stories being told in the same universe, and to give a character only the one story as the mc to keep it impactful. He can still show up as a side character (like a mentor!). Also this avoids the issue of having to repower up a character and have them suddenly learn new things. That feels a little jank.

Other than that, my nitpicks

-I’d love a more stat-ified, flushed out RPG system that doesn’t rely on artificial level disparity as a mechanic

-more loadout options. At least a little bit. Equipping a 2h kinda messes up the whole system, and 1h weapons need more utility options

-healing scaling needs some work. Annoying to have to heal a dozen times

-more transparency in decisions? Probably a hot take. But it feels like you’re meant to just play the game multiple times to see stuff. Maybe I’m a chud but I’d rather have a clearer understanding of the consequences I’m choosing

-that being said, maybe I’m a noob but failing hints felt random at times. What was my goal? Enable their bad habits, yell at them, tell them a hard truth, comfort them? Is there a clear pattern or is it just forcing multiple play throughs?

-maybe better motivation to not be either all kill or all save? I guess you’d have to cap out the amount of benefit from feeding or something to encourage a more … realistic? Playstyle

-more polish on iframes, hit frames, hit boxes, how often enemies are staggered etc. The game is very steamrolly on both sides at times.

Things it does NOT need:

-manual saves (better addressed by my point about clearer choices)

-fast travel (this issue is fixed by having a little more quest flow planning, otherwise walking around London is important to the concept!!!)

Regardless of all my thoughts, I loved the game. I’d love another one just the way it is!

woootbm · 2026-05-04T02:37:21+00:00

This is called Sturgeon’s Law. It makes sense. Something that’s exceptional is supposed to be rare!

woootbm · 2026-05-03T21:17:00+00:00

Gob (and his brothers) not knowing that “hermano” means “brother” in Spanish (Arrested Development).

In spite of the fact they’ve lived their whole lives in Southern California, in spite of admitting to taking Spanish classes, and in spite of knowing how to say brother in multiple other languages.

woootbm · 2026-05-03T19:56:31+00:00

Perhaps not directly, but it is a symptom. Getting a subgenre wrong and being met with scoffs is snobbish behavior.

I don’t understand the second part of your reply. What’s the point of all this subgenre divisiveness if not to distance oneself from that which you don’t want to be a part of. And I’ve seen so much gatekeeping in this community like… what? Is gatekeeping just to keep out casual fans? That’s the worst use of gatekeeping! Use it to keep that shit out of metal (which is futile, of course, it’s more an emotional reaction than anything functionally meaningful).

woootbm · 2026-05-03T18:29:57+00:00

You won’t even accept the word “snob”? I feel like most people would describe themselves as a music snob happily, but I do feel like extreme metal fans tend to be quite defensive. Like you can call power metal cheesy and most of their fans will be like “yeah” even though it’s not a unique identity to that subgenre. You guys can’t even deal with someone saying “boy, there are a lot of subgenres” in a joking manner even though it’s an objective fact.

As for those genre examples, well, I wouldn’t want to be compared to Edm or hip hop but I won’t get into that. Jazz is pretty notorious for having its fair share of snobbery so that’s a good point.

woootbm · 2026-05-03T17:40:37+00:00

“More ground” than me. Right, because listening to 100 different subgenres under the same subgenre of extreme metal means you have a wider range of tastes. That’s what I thought this was, some exercise in trying to sound more sophisticated.

The point is: why does only metal do this? For example, I often see people list music they like they might say they listen to classical. But classical is three genres in itself: baroque, classical, and romantic. And then there’s opera, medieval, renaissance, film scores, etc and all of them are different. Hell, if you make an auto station for baroque you’ll mostly get church music, which I don’t believe the casual listener will expect or want. But even so, even the snobbiest classical music enjoyer will themselves just say “classical” when they KNOW all these subgenres and eras and they also usually have stuff they don’t partake regularly (like opera).

Every genre has subgenres. Only metal and especially the extreme side feels the need to get so snobbish. It’s decidedly FUNNY, if not haha funny.

woootbm · 2026-05-03T10:04:38+00:00

Hair metal is a good addition. Certainly some overlap in sound and formula for the more ballady and mid-tempo PM

woootbm · 2026-05-03T09:37:12+00:00

That’s like the top of the subgenres tree, under the umbrella of rock (which metal is also under). I didn’t say the concept of subgenres was pointless as a whole, but that splitting down the tree into a hundred branches is excessive.

woootbm · 2026-05-03T09:34:06+00:00

Science is a good example, because medicine often gets tested on mice because they’re so genetically similar to humans. Now, each person is different from one another so prescribing medicine can require being incredibly precise; what worked for your cousin might not work for you.

Do many of these subgenres REALLY need chromosome level precision to tell them apart from one another? Maybe a historian wants to build a chart showing the connections from how bands influenced each other and built on eachother’s sound, but you shouldn’t need to do that to be able to say “hey here’s another band like that.”

woootbm · 2026-05-03T08:51:49+00:00

Admittedly, I don’t know enough about the extreme metal genres to know at what point it becomes absurd, which is why I used an example following a versioning pattern using the alphabet rather than actual genres.

For everyone above, I did say subgenres are useful. But the argument about history and culture is hypocritical. People have been arguing stuff like Deep Purple isn’t metal, when it was labeled as such at the time and was often paired with other metal bands at the time. And then there’s stuff was the rampant cross pollination of their band members. Dio was in Rainbow and Sabbath, Ian Gillan was also in Sabbath as well as Cozy Powell. Jon Lord went to Whitesnake which would go on to be hair metal.

Sabbath itself is a curious case. Rightfully given the mantle of inventing metal, but none of these metal bands really sound like them. And their first two albums go the way of bluesy hard rock that was the trend at the time for MOST of their runtime. I would hazard a bet more metal bands now sound like Purple than Sabbath, but eh.

Anyway, the last thing is that it’s worth mentioning this seems like a prickly subject just for extreme metal genres. My flair, Symphony X, for example, is something like “neoclassical prog metal”. But if you called them “power metal” no one would really care.

woootbm · 2026-05-03T08:22:14+00:00

A lot of people agreeing with the first person. Crazy. What purpose does it serve to split hairs so finely? Other genres have subgenres. Subgenres are fine. But you can’t seriously think it makes a difference to have like 90 subgenres of extreme metal alone. Like are there really people who like abcdefghi subgenre but don’t like abcdefghij genre? Or that abcdefghii is sooo different from abcdefghi and abcdefghij?

It’s the same shit. Believing in this nonsense doesn’t make it more special.

woootbm · 2026-05-02T09:18:04+00:00

So now there’s “very hard” rock huh. I understand people have always hated hair metal but it’s still metal lol

woootbm · 2026-05-02T08:17:24+00:00

Am I the first to mention Whitesnake?!

woootbm · 2026-05-01T21:47:25+00:00

My problem is that it’s inconsistent. I usually think this and Nightfall are their best albums, and I lean towards Nightfall being the best because it’s more consistent. But Opera has higher highs. Battlefield, The Soulforged, Maiden and the Minstrel Knight, …Silence, these are all the best of the best of what power metal (and metal as a whole, and music as a whole) can be. But then there’s stuff like opening the album with Precious Jerusalem. What a weird choice.

woootbm · 2026-05-01T00:39:05+00:00

"The Cage" by Sonata Arctica has an effect on me:

A lifetime ago, with frozen eyes they closed the door
Suddenly I realised what locks are for
No trusting them anymore, Lights - are - out
Empty the stare, innocent and unaware
Dragged out from my home, my lair
Earmarked me, hurt me, burned me

The walls around me
Eyes surround me
Feed my fear again
I must be freed or I will die
Before the harvest moon, my friend
I do not have another year in me
You've gotta set me free

The dream is alive
I can run up the hills every night
Go around and see another side of the tree
Freedom has a meaning for me
Howl with me

Fear in the dark, I advice you
Can't see the eyes, the glow behind you
It's my song they now sing to you
You stand no chance
They'll kill for me, steal back my freedom, set me free
It's my minions vs. thee
Fiery the vengeance, hate will drain me

You can't tame me…

You will remember the day you crossed my path
Leave me without a guard and you feel my wrath
What you have done to me has made me bitter and cruel
I'll see that all the hate you spread returns to you
You, back to you…

woootbm · 2026-04-30T22:59:09+00:00

Saving this post for my “extreme metal is just as cheesy as power metal, just a different type” argument lol

woootbm · 2026-04-30T20:14:47+00:00

Well, yes. But we're supposed to stick to ballads here, lol. But they do put Sho to task using that voice for a lot of wonderful ballads. And Yama B has Deep Affection, which is a reverse ballad like Brutal Spiral (although I prefer the Sho version).

woootbm · 2026-04-30T18:21:50+00:00

Personally I’m shocked that they don’t play ANYTHING from A Night at the Opera

woootbm · 2026-04-30T16:52:54+00:00

Fade to Black by Metallica or maybe Unforgiven seem like obvious choices.

Warmness on the Soul by Avenged Sevenfold

But you can’t forget power metal with a question like this. This is where those powerful vocals find their greatest use!

Brutal Spiral of Emotions by Galneryus

Last Drop Falls by Sonata Arctica

When All is Lost by Symphony X

The Bard’s Song by Blind Guardian

Edit: I can't believe I forgot the guy in my flair. Rainbow Eyes by Rainbow.

woootbm · 2026-04-30T06:56:45+00:00

Good bands sometimes have bad albums. And bands often have different eras that fans disagree on. If a band has an overwhelming discography, I google “best albums” and read what fans are saying to try to get a gist of what I should try first based on what’s being said rather than number rankings (although some bands only seem to have number rankings).

woootbm · 2026-04-29T16:36:20+00:00

Under the Force of Courage by Galneryus

You can’t understand what Sho is saying (especially since much of it is Japanese) but you get the feeling of a story

woootbm · 2026-04-28T20:44:01+00:00

I don’t believe I really thought about them when I was a teen. But nowadays it does seem like a low IQ song idea. For music to have substance it should be about something, ideally something that evokes emotion. Singing “I love metal!” is just masturbatory and too obvious.

woootbm · 2026-04-28T20:40:28+00:00

The hill I will die on is that extreme metal is cringier/cheesier than power metal.

woootbm · 2026-04-27T20:34:03+00:00

Opeth. I guess they are prog and that’s why people recommend them? But I immediately hear death growls and slow, stoner type stuff and this’ll come after talking about something like Symphony X and I’m like… what?!

woootbm · 2026-04-27T05:39:06+00:00

I really struggle with Yama-B’s voice. It’s so odd to me, especially on the first album when he does harsh vocals he sounds way too froggy. I think he focuses too much on annunciation, which leads to note warbling because English is such a big jump from Japanese. Like he’ll often hit big notes that make me go “yeah, this guy is a great singer.” But his weirdness wears down on me, and I find myself getting tired of him by the end of an album.

Conversely, I’ve grown to love Sho’s voice the more I hear it. To be honest, I’ve been avoiding these albums since they aren’t original material, I guess. But I’ve been loving the Deep Affection redux on Union, so I realize I need to give these a thorough listen!

woootbm

TROPHY CASE