From Folklore to Gameplay: Meet the Real Vampires
Real Vampires is a narrative-driven adventure game that blends dark humor, eerie poetry, and authentic Slavic vampire folklore into a unique interactive experience. Developed by Those Eyes, the Copenhagen-based studio behind the award-winning Cosmic Top Secret, this game invites players to explore real stories of fear, death, and transformation—told through the eyes of both vampire and folk.
Inspired by Dr. Łukasz Kozak’s haunting anthology With Stake and Spade: Vampiric Diversity in Poland, the game breathes (undead) life into real historical accounts of vampirism. You’ll encounter chilling tales rooted in local beliefs, from plague burials to devoured shrouds, and be forced to ask: who are the real monsters?
But this isn’t just a walk through the graveyard.
Each level features inverse mechanics that flip traditional gameplay on its head. Progress through failure, question your actions, and see the world from both sides of the stake. Because in Real Vampires, failure is not the end, but the beginning of a greater understanding.
Along the way, you’ll dig, slice, chew, bake, and bleed through surreal mini-games that challenge your assumptions—sometimes literally. Humor and horror go hand-in-hand as you unearth buried truths and encounter undead beings that are frightening, absurd, and oddly relatable.
Key Features:
Dual Perspective Gameplay – Play as both vampire and folk across intertwining stories.
Inverse Mechanics – Replay levels with a twist: the "wrong" way may reveal more than the "right."
Stunning Visual Style – Surreal 2.5D artwork and animated sequences inspired by Slavic art and Monty Python-style absurdism.
Authentic Slavic Folklore – Inspired by real accounts, respectfully adapted in collaboration with cultural experts.
⚰️ Poetic Horror & Dark Humor – A narrative tone that balances absurdity with historical depth.
Cross-Border Collaboration – Developed with diverse creatives and folklore scholars from Poland and Denmark.
The game is supported by: The Danish Film Institute, The Danish Arts Foundation, Creative Europe & Adam Mickiewicz Institute.
Uncover the Real Vampires—if you dare.
