Bram Stoker’s Dracula Would Feel Right At Home On The PS5

I’ve always been fascinated with vampires. There’s something about their cold steel ego and unapologetic primal behavior that makes me almost envy them. I remember watching The Lost Boys from an early age and being spellbound by Kiefer Sutherland’s David, the head of the gang of motorcycle-riding vampires, who stole every scene with his charm and unflappable presence. Initially, this was my go-to blood-sucking, dripping in 80s aesthetic movie – that was until I saw Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

Having read the book and enjoyed it, it wasn’t until the Coppola movie that I really got it and that’s a lot to do with how incredibly visually brilliant it was portrayed, and of course, Gary Oldman’s ability to, pardon the pun, truly ‘sink his teeth’ into Vlad where they essentially molded into one being. As much as the 1993 game of the same name was mostly considered “acceptable” for its time, bar unimpressive and dull graphics and repetitious gameplay, Bram Stoker’s Dracula deserves a respectful and loving rehash and the PlayStation 5 is the place to get the job done.

Reinventing Bram Stoker’s Dracula For The PS5

I’m fairly confident that the Irish author Bram Stoker never intended his classic novel to be the inspiration for video games, but the likes of Konami’s 1986 gothic horror action-adventure game Castlevania, coupled with many references littered throughout the series, couldn’t help honing into that deeply influential vampiric lore to create skin-tingling horror elements. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Netflix’s adaptation series is right up there in my top five anime shows of all time, but I feel like no one has really got Dracula right when it comes to video games nor has offered up a fitting tribute to Stoker’s iconic misunderstood monster.

I would love to see Dracula come to life on Sony’s PlayStation 5 because I think this is the best console in terms of allowing complete engagement and immersion due to its haptic DualSense controller. Dr. John Seward’s phonograph accounts echoing through the controller would be a fantastic touch, the ability to feel Jonathan Harker’s frantic heartbeat when stalked by Dracula through its rumble motors and the chilling wind that blows around Dracula’s castle, or by Vlad himself brushing invisibly past Harker, would add an extra layer of intensity and fear like no other could.

The atmosphere, especially in a horror game, is absolutely everything and can make or break it. There’s no point in having a great concept of what the narrative will be when the foundation hasn’t been laid. In Bram Stoker’s Dracula, honing in on a player’s imagination would be its bread and butter. Isolation and anxiety would play a massive part as Johnathan wanders around Dracula’s castle with his ‘could it be a shadow or Vlad’ mindset, and a healthy dollop of environmental terror taken from the likes of Vampyr and Resident Evil Village would envelop the epeolatry feel from the novel too.

Castle Exploration And Boss Battles Galore

With the PS5’s Oberon graphics processor, especially with the latest patch 1.23, which doubles the frame rate to 60 frames-per-second, increasing resolution from 1080p to 1440p, and improves graphical quality, I can only imagine how good the visuals would look in terms of implementing a stormy weather system, hyperrealistic character renders and, the most important part, shiny pools of sticky blood left over from Dracula’s kills. One area the film did so well is its costume designs by Eiko Ishioka, who passed away in 2012. To see her iconic creations mirrored in a vibrant showstopping recreation would be the icing on the cake, especially Lucy’s white lace collar dress and Dracula’s crimson red robe that billows behind him as he prowls about his castle.

Graphics aside, and more than anything, I want to explore every nook and cranny of the dark and antiquated Castle Dracula, and its gardens, as Harker seeks out journals, letters, and newspaper extracts, using them as a menu to explore different parts of the story. To experience his choking fear as he tries to evade the Count and his loyal brides only to be sucked into a tempestuous cat-and-mouse game, all while meeting iconic characters like Van Helsing, Lord Godalming, Quincey Morris, and Harker’s wife, Mina, as perspectives shift between them to offer insights and personal accounts about Dracula.

In Stoker’s book, many readers found the ending underwhelming because of the anticlimactic encounter with Dracula, but this could be easily rectified in game form if done right. In a play-by-play final battle, I would love to see all the characters get together to take on the mighty Vlad, his brides, and Renfield, akin to the boss fights with Resident Evil Village’s Mother Miranda and Diablo 4’s Lilith, that would incorporate item buffs like crucifixes, garlic water potions, and powerful amulets collected throughout the game to offer up a showdown never seen in any other Dracula media.

There are so many possibilities, and Bram Stoker’s novel, and film, are drawn out so methodically into their own stand-alone encounters, that even episodic entries could be a region to explore.

Long before Baldur’s Gate 3‘s Astarion popped up, making everyone lose their minds (and underwear), vampires had always held a space within our universe that hasn’t always been explored as best as it could be, and now, I think zombies and other supernatural creatures have had their moment in the spotlight – it’s time to move over and let Dracula show them how it’s really done. If anything, Astarion’s well-received character has lit a candle of hope in me for a brighter future for pale, blood-sucking predators in the gaming world.

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