Summary
Marvel’s Bladehas fallen back into the comfort of radio silence since its reveal and, whilenot much is known about specificssuch as what moment-to-moment gameplay will look like, there is at least a cinematic announcement trailer and concept art to dissect in the meantime. It’s obvious from these pieces of concept art thatMarvel’s Blade’s setting of a dystopian Paris, Franceis truly futuristic in terms of the surveillance and overall technology depicted, for example.
Moreover, while the narrative is meant to revolve around Eric Brooks’ exploits as he navigates a vampire invasion of the city, it doesn’t seem like vampires themselves will be a persistent threat nor a horde of purely ravenous beasts. Indeed, if vampires can only roam at night, it’s interesting then that Blade, as a dhampir, can traverse during the day. How this’ll play intoMarvel’s Blade’s storytelling has the possibility to be incredibly intriguing depending on whether or not Arkane decides to tackle a day and night cycle.
Marvel’s Blade Could Illustrate Eric Brooks’ Duality with a Day and Night Cycle
Even aside from a piece of concept art set during the daytime, it would make sense if the game took place during both the day and the night because that could perhapsbest illustrate Eric’s duality inMarvel’s Blade. There may not necessarily be as much to do in the way of vampire-slaying during the day, but it’d be a letdown if no daytime gameplay ensues with it being a part of Blade’s dhampir abilities that the narrative could be in service of.
The announcement teaser shows Eric getting a shave at a barber shop, for example. That may or may not bean actual feature inMarvel’s Bladeand yet it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility to imagine that players could visit a barber shop, merchant vendors, or other miscellaneous human NPCs during the day before the quarantine zone’s curfew has begun and characters have scrambled to take shelter.
This would then be doubly paramount if players knew they had a select amount of time with which to spend in daylight and strategize or prepare accordingly for when night falls.
Marvel’s Blade’s Whole Premise Balances on a Day and Night’s Knife Edge
Two pieces of concept art seem to go a long way in discerning the types of vampires players might come across. The artwork ofBlade battling a swarm of what looks like batsin an underground subway terminal seemingly has vampires slumbering where they stand aboard the train—a more traditional or predictable interpretation.
However, the artwork with Blade peering around the corner of an alleyway at the well-lit entrance of a nightclub seems to portray vampires—based on it looking dark enough out to be nighttime—behaving and dressing civilly as they enter the bar. The top of the staircase leading down to the establishment does look bright in comparison to the alley and could be a shot set during the day, though, which would suggest even more to do in daylight regarding humans and potentially vampires or dhampirs who are attempting to blend intoMarvel’s Blade’s Parisian society.
If the latter is true, then civilians are presumably content to live their lives during the day unperturbed or unaffected by the horrors they hide from at night, and it’ll be thrilling to see exactly what that distinction looks like as well as how daytime and nighttime gameplay is balanced. This will ultimately have an effect not only on how Eric interacts withthe world but also the NPCs and enemies who inhabit it inMarvel’s Blade.
