Vampire Huntress – Lament of the Sun just dropped a brand-new trailer, and with a demo in the works, we thought it was the perfect time to catch up with the developer to see what he’s been cooking up. After all, it’s not every day you see a survival horror game where the monsters are vampires—especially one that draws inspiration from classics like Resident Evil and Koudelka. In this interview, Borealis shares his journey into game development, the influences behind Vampire Huntress, and what players can expect when they step into this blood-soaked world.
Q: To start things off, could you introduce yourself and share a bit about your background in game development? (no need to use your real name)
I’m Borealis. I’ve been working with games for most of my life. When I was a kid, I got Final Fantasy 8 randomly as a Christmas present, not knowing what that game was or what genre it even was, it changed my world completely, and I have wanted to make games ever since. I started with making levels for Tenchu 2 on the PS1, later moving on to RPG Maker, making my first full game when I was 17.
Later I studied programming and 3D art and ended up working as a 3D artist and level designer for several companies, even winning some awards while doing so. I’ve been wanting to work as an indie developer for many years now, but haven’t had the chance to really dive into it until now.
Q: Not many survival horror games focus on vampires — the only ones that come to mind are Vampire Hunter D and Countdown Vampires. What influenced you to focus on vampires?
I’ve been wanting to make a vampire themed game for a long time. I did my first designs for such a project in 2016, and it was a side-scrolling metroidvania style game, but it never got past prototype phases. I was busy with other things at the time and couldn’t really commit to it. But that idea of a vampire hunting vampires game has been in the back of my mind since, waiting for its time to rise once more. And that time is now.
Q: Vampire Huntress is inspired by the original Resident Evil and Koudelka. The Resident Evil influence is clear, but how did Koudelka shape your vision for the game?
So yes, originally the idea for Vampire Huntress was “What if Resident Evil 1 had vampires in it?”, but I like to have multiple influences that then help to find that ‘original angle’. The game was originally more influenced by Koudelka, with RPG elements, but I decided to cut those pretty early on as the scope of the game was getting bigger, and I didn’t manage to make the RPG stats and such work well in the framework of a RE1 style gameplay.
Ultimately, I think the Koudelka influence can be seen more in the main character (who was heavily influenced by Koudelka’s design herself), as well as the overall tone and mood of the game.
Q: Can you talk about the decision to offer both modern and tank controls?
So personally, I highly prefer tank controls, as they are really comfortable with fixed camera angles. However, the reality is that there are a lot of people who just don’t like to use them, and I get that. For this reason, I decided to offer both, just like in the Resident Evil 1 remake.
Q: Can you avoid combat in VH or will most enemies need to be dealt with?
We’re trying to strike a balance where you need to make that choice of whether taking out an enemy is worth the resources, or if you should risk getting past. Of course, dispatching an enemy makes it significantly easier to explore the areas. The enemies in Vampire Huntress are also quite fast, making exploring an area with enemies around that much more difficult.
So yes, it is possible to avoid combat, and sometimes it can be the correct choice to make as well, but Luna is a huntress, and the job of a huntress is to hunt!
Q: What core survival horror elements do you feel firmly ground VH in the genre, as opposed to more action-heavy horror titles?
Open-ended exploration, limited inventory and resource management I think are the strongest pillars between Vampire Huntress and the genre. I want the player to be able to explore a larger area, and complete tasks in a semi-open-ended approach. The game isn’t open world or anything, but it’s not fully linear either. But ultimately you will have to do X to progress further in the game.
Ammo is scarce and healing items don’t stack, so it is extremely important for the player to manage their resources efficiently. There is of course a safe box to store all your items, and there are even difficulty options that make the inventory management initially a little easier.
Q: There’s been a surge of retro-inspired horror games lately—where do you feel VH distinguishes itself from others in that space?
When I started working on Vampire Huntress – Lament of the Sun, I did my research for other indie titles in the genre and there weren’t many at the time. I remember seeing Heartworm, Lake Haven, Alisa, and a few others, but that was about it. The surge started happening shortly after I was already going full steam ahead with Vampire Huntress.
However, with Vampire Huntress, I aim to create a full package and an original story. A game that does pay homage to the classics of the genre, but doesn’t dwell on them, and confidently stands on its own two legs. I hope that the final product will feel like a AAA survival horror game that was released 25 years late.
Q: Do you have any plans for demo? If yes when can we expect it?
The demo is coming! We have been working on the demo for quite a while now, and the reason it has taken so long is because we’re not building a prototype or a vertical slice, the demo will be the beginning of the actual full game. It will be mostly feature complete, with only a few handful things coming later.
If you’re intrigued by what you’ve seen so far, be sure to wishlist Vampire Huntress on Steam to stay updated on its release. You can also follow Vampire Huntress on Twitter/X for development updates, behind-the-scenes content, and more.
