Welcome to our Is that a good free mobile game series. In this series we look at games from both the App Store and the Play Store and review them. At the end of the article we try to answer the question – Is the current game a one of the best smartphone games? Is it a good free mobile game? For this review, we’re looking at Man or Vampire by Hidea!
Is Man Or Vampire a good free mobile game?
Your Answer Upfront:
Do I recommend Man or Vampire? Absolutely! It has managed to keep me glued to my iPad for the better part of an entire day (to the point where I had to stop just because I was almost out of battery). While the tutorial system is somewhat lacking, it’s enough for you to get the gist of things and you’ll be able to figure out things for yourself, even if it’s through trial and error.
What happens when you release a good game with tons of potential and then just abandon it?
When I initially came across Man or Vampire on the App Store my eye was nearly instantly caught by the provided screenshots and the basic premise: “Paradise: a mysterious world in which the souls of dead humans live on.”.
This looked like an interesting twist on RPGs of days long gone, with that classic isometric view made famous by big titles like Diablo or Fallout (specifically the Fallout titles before they went 3D with Fallout 3).
With my interest piqued and my expectations low (due to the Free to Play with In-App Purchases aspect), I dived in expecting yet another faux-RPG that got released just for the revenue it might generate out of paywalls.
In a surprising twist, I was not only mistaken, but I was completely wrong! Unlike most games that I’ve reviewed recently, Man or Vampire almost forgets it even has In-App Purchases. The IAPs, however, shouldn’t be confused with the in-game store which you’ll sometimes find yourself going to every now and then to stock up on consumables (although in my surprisingly extended playthrough I think I’ve only purchased 5 or 6 things just because I couldn’t figure out where to get them organically).
Hidea makes some promises that it keeps, more or less.
The mechanics are interesting, but start at a very basic (s)RPG level. You find yourself commanding a party of 4 “heroes” through dungeons and hellish landscapes. Welcome to Paradise! We’ve got a crisis on our hands!
The interesting part of the gameplay stems from the companions themselves. We find ourselves looking at many classic classes and more “advanced” ones. You’ve got everything from healers to specialized units, be they magical, ranged or melee. With over 50 different companions, there’s a party composition for everyone!
Stat-wise, it’s kept fairly simple, with Strength, Agility and Intellect being your core attributes, it’s your call on how you use your companions.
Speaking of using companions, here’s the twist!
The world seems full of good men–even if there are monsters in it
You’re a vampire! And a man (or woman)! This makes you particularly special in the greater scheme of things. Because you’re “The One”, you’re free to switch classes and skills, giving you even more flexibility throughout the gameplay. The catch? You can’t level up through normal means. This is where the mini-gacha comes in (don’t worry, this isn’t actually gacha, but it still relies on some randomness in collecting companions). By turning your human companions into vampires you can finally level up, increasing your stats and number of skills you’ve got available to you. The catch part two is that your companions won’t be able to level up either, and, instead, upon conversion they level up to a certain point, according to their rating and maximum possible level.
While the core mechanics are simple enough, there’s a subtle complexity to the game. Who do you keep as a human? Who do you sacrifice? Who do you rip the soul out of?
Thankfully, the game allows you to recruit a companion (or two, depending on your luck) every 30 minutes, being able to bank up to 5 Search Orbs. There’s actually a bunch of ways to get companions, and you definitely want to get your hands on as many of them as you can to increase your affinity with each of them to gain further passive bonuses for your party.
The combat’s straightforward, with nothing too atypical for turn-based RPGs. The addition of an autoplay mode comes with yet another interesting twist. With the use of Bat Scrolls, you can, for a limited time, sit back and relax while your party keeps on doing the hard work. This comes in great for level farming (which you’ll want to do, be it to level up human companions or for the chance to get a 4-star companion).
There’s clearly a lot of thought put into the game, and it shows. Probably my only issue with the game is the (fairly) poor attention to (some) details, like the numerous typos and vague explanations. You can look past all of these and maybe even forgive the questionable English translation. It’s a free game with a bit of a premium feel to it.
What Happened to Hidea?
When I started researching Man or Vampire, I was left confused by what I can only call the complete disappearance of Hidea. Aside from another title that they’ve released, there’s little to no trace of them. Their website has been gone for a while, yet someone still seems to be replying to reviews on the App Store and on Google Play.
In addition to Hidea’s disappearance, the game hasn’t seen any update since early 2019.
This is very confusing, given the game’s high ratings on both storefronts.
Man or Vampire seems to be, for all intents and purposes, a fairly well polished game that the developer(s) abandoned, likely because of low revenue.
This isn’t something I’ve seen too often. A game with high potential, great design (both visual and audio), a story that is fairly compelling, mechanics that work great and a fair IAP implementation that doesn’t bully the player into purchasing hundreds upon hundreds of dollars worth of “SPECIAL OFFER” packs just to get past a level.
Do I recommend Man or Vampire? Absolutely! It has managed to keep me glued to my iPad for the better part of an entire day (to the point where I had to stop just because I was almost out of battery). While the tutorial system is somewhat lacking, it’s enough for you to get the gist of things and you’ll be able to figure out things for yourself, even if it’s through trial and error.
All negatives aside, Man or Vampire is a rare hidden gem and only loses points for it being in a limbo-state on the side of the developer, despite people still playing it and leaving positive reviews on the app stores.
We would like to see more games that ooze passion and don’t just try to be cashcows and frustration generators.
If anyone knows the story behind Hidea’s apparent disappearance, we’d love to hear it!
How to download Man or Vampire?
Man or Vampire available for Android Phones and Tablets on the Play Store and for iPhone and iPads on Apple’s App Store. The game can be played on Apple Silicon Macs without issues. Check out our guide on how to play iOS games on a Mac.
You can use an iPad and to stream the game to your Mac if that’s what you wish. Or maybe you can try and setup an Android Emulator on your Mac to play it that way. We’ve covered Android Emulators for both Intel and Apple Silicon macs so you can play Android Games wherever you are.
Where To Next?
We have more reviews of both free and premium mobile games, such as Metal Slug Attack or QB Planets! We also have other articles with tidbits and interesting facts, like this article that answers the question “What is the Number 1 mobile eSports Game” sorted by the prize pool.
If you want to stay up to date with our articles, make sure to give us a follow on twitter. Or, leave a comment bellow telling us what premium or free smartphones games you enjoy!
You can also check out our coverage of other iOS games and Android games just released for your smartphone. Thank you for visiting Best Smartphone Games, I sincerely hope we’ve been of service!