The Vampire title, We Eat Blood (and All Our Friends Are Dead) is a coming of undeath story written and illustrated by Zak Sabbath and Sarah Horrocks. Told entirely through mobile messaging (so it works really nicely on the phone), it’s the story of a young artist who wakes up to discover they’re no longer human. I blame the Toreador. Always blame the Toreador.

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It’s a lovely way of combining today’s technology with yesterday’s horror stories. If you suddenly turned into a vampire, your texts would be pretty fucked up.

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Meanwhile, on the Mage side of things, Refuge is the story of a volunteer at a European camp for Syrian refugees who discovers she can reshape reality on a whim. Also you’re in the middle of a great magical war to determine the fate of the world. The story is by noted Swedish author of weird fiction Karin Tidbeck, who was an excellent choice.

This one is more of a choose your own adventure sort of thing, with choices helping determine how magic is applied to the situations you encounter.

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In order to get across the strange and twisted nature and effects of magic on your character’s world, Refuge employs some nifty visual distortions.

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I love these two little games, and while I wish they were a bit longer, I’d be satisfied if White Wolf continued exploring the format, maybe delving into some other corners of the World of Darkness like Wraith and Changeling. It would certainly beat waiting nine years for an MMO to be cancelled.

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Vampire the Masquerade: We Eat Blood and Mage the Ascension: Refuge are both available for purchase on iOS and Android devices, with a combined release on Steam.