Richard Cobbett & Wadjet Eye's vampire RPG Nighthawks swoops onto Kickstarter
There's some fresh blood in town
Announced last month, Nighthawks is a narrative-heavy vampire RPG with a modern True Blood-esque setting. It's a collaboration between RPS pal Richard Cobbett and prolific point-and-click adventure studio Wadjet Eye (Unavowed). Before it can spread its leathery wings, Nighthawks needs funding to get off the ground, leading us to Kickstarter. The world is a vampire, after all.
Below - in lieu of a regular Kickstarter pitch video - a chunk of Nighthawks in action, letting the game speak for itself. Literally in this case, as Wadjet Eye have provided it with a full voice cast.
As well as the gameplay video below, the Kickstarter page for the game is bristling with worldbuilding and lore detail - the good shit, as they say. So far there's a short piece on Nighthawks's character creation systems and a larger look at the modern vampire mythology surrounding the game. There's undoubtedly more to come, too, so keep an eye on it even if you're not backing it.
While framed like a (very high-budget) piece of interactive fiction, Nighthawks is absolutely an RPG, with special powers, stat checks, resources and who's travelling with you determining your options at any given moment. The developers describe it as an "undead life-simulation", paradoxical as that may be. Beyond dodging political intrigue, you've got to keep fed and out of trouble.
At the time of writing, the Nighthawks Kickstarter has been going for less than a day, and is around 20% funded, so this seems likely to reach the finish line comfortably. Right now no stretch goals have been announced, but they're teasing big plans and "something very special" if they get anywhere near that kind of funding. Fingers crossed - we're short on good vampire games lately.
Backing Nighthawks's Kickstarter for $20 will get you a copy of the game when it's finished. At present estimate, the developers reckon that'll be May 2020. That's a good ways off, but Wadjet Eye's Unavowed took years to make, and turned out to be one of the best adventures in years. I'm not a gambling man, but given the team involved I reckon Nighthawks has the odds in its favour.
Disclaimer: While Nighthawks writer Richard Cobbett is an RPS regular, he's also a mysterious freelancer, living a secret life in the shadows. Unbeknown to me (he's apparently been sharing tidbits with the others or ages now) he's been schmoozing with studios, striking deals and getting his vampiric ducks in a row for this project for some time. I wish him the best of luck, and want in on the juicy details early next time.