Vampire Therapist

Ultimately the game is well put together, intelligent but doesn’t take itself too seriously… it finds a good balance between presenting serious therapeutic notions and how they can be applied… with moments of humour. If you ever wondered what it was like to be a Vampire Therapist… grab a copy and find out. A good bit of fun and the potential to shed some light on ways of thinking.

Vampire Therapist is an incredibly fun play; all the characters are vibrant and interesting, the voice acting is outstanding the entire way through and yeah, vampires are hot. Everyone in this game is hot. There was clearly a lot of love and effort put into the therapy aspect of the game, too. Finding a way to add legitimate therapy techniques without making it feel unapproachable must have been hard, but it’s definitely paid off.

Innovative, memorable, and well-written, Vampire Therapist is easy to recommend to visual novel fans and anyone interested in cognitive behavioural therapy.

Vampire Therapist manages to make the rather dry concepts of cognitive behavioral therapy interesting by linking them to interesting characters. I like how the sessions develop and how the game adds new concepts and asks players to find the best ways to use them. The voice acting is good enough to paper over some small issues with the writing. This is not an experience for players who want gameplay depth and variety. I could have done without the feeding or the meditation mechanics. Vampire Therapist tells good stories and has cool character moments but don’t take it as an actual example of how therapy works.

In addition to being an engaging and thoroughly entertaining — if sometimes emotionally challenging — game, Vampire Therapist casts light on several widely used CBT techniques. Players are almost guaranteed to walk away with insights into their behavior and thinking and hopefully be more open to seeking guidance from a living, probably non-vampire therapist.

Teaching the basics of cognitive distortions through the lens of a vampire cowboy and a club full of goths is an impressive way to handle things. There are glitches in the game, but nothing game-breaking. As long as one is conscious of their own mental health and is not afraid to face some dark and heavy themes, Vampire Therapy is a true gem from a mental health standpoint and a successful educational game.