Ditch Fortnite and play the best battle royale before it dies

September 26, 2023: the day I assumed Vampire The Masquerade Bloodhunt was going to die. Whereas preliminary communications acknowledged that the sport’s microtransactions have been formally getting the boot, Bloodhunt group developer Tobias Solem has confirmed to PCGamesN that “the Bloodhunt servers will proceed to be reside, and we are going to proceed with our timed content material releases.” He does, nevertheless, verify that “we weren’t in a position to attain the important mass wanted to maintain improvement, which led us to the choice to cease additional improvement” – a stake that pierces my hopeful coronary heart.

Bloodhunt launched again in April of 2022 and marked a short rebirth for the VTM franchise. A 12 months and a month later, nevertheless, Sharkmob revealed that the battle royale game’s energetic improvement had ceased and that in-game purchases can be eliminated on September 26, 2023. The night time earlier than, September 25, noticed that solid to the wind, although, with the devs confirming that MTXs will stay enabled and that plans had been “postponed.” It’s an thrilling improvement for many who are glad to help the sport, but it surely sadly isn’t precisely what we have been hoping for.

Now don’t get me fallacious: Bloodhunt wasn’t flawless. It launched with the Nosferatu ruling the roost (fairly the switch-up for the World of Darkness’ most hated clan) and nerfs merely got here in too late. The rocky launch of duos mode was typically disappointing, and the seemingly endless queue occasions that ensued killed the motion lifeless earlier than it even actually started. Couple that with the inflow of cheaters ruining each second match, and it grew to become a little bit of a recipe for a soon-to-be-dead reside service sport. Even the suave, blue-blooded Ventrue and mysterious Tremere witches couldn’t put it aside from its sorry destiny.

However that doesn’t imply I wasn’t completely gutted. I plowed hours into this sport, selecting up the unique founder’s go and all the things. I compelled my companion to play it in the course of the early levels of our relationship, and my love for Bloodhunt launched me to the VTM tabletop world, the attract of which is tantalizing. I even created my first-ever male customized character in a videogame – and he was sizzling as hell. In fact he was, he was a Toreador; step apart, Astarion, my Muse is a actual vampire.

Private emotions (and infatuations) apart, although, Bloodhunt served up some neat mechanics. Stacking totally different buffs by consuming Blood Resonances was enjoyable and added a little bit of technique to the gameplay. In the event you’re working Nosferatu, Melancholic blood is at all times an amazing name, whereas Brujah will need to snatch up Choleric to boost their melee harm; it provides a little bit of technique to a style that’s usually lowered to simply ‘pop heads and take names.’

I additionally beloved the little side-quests that the assorted Primogens would ship you on. Whereas they have been quick, they gave the world an additional little bit of lore, making it really feel extra actual. And, actually, Sharkmob’s Prague remains to be one among my favourite maps thus far: I might spend literal hours simply sitting on the high of the cranes as a stealthed Saboteur or Prowler, wanting down over the town streets. Or, alternatively, hand around in the Divine Disco and simply vibe. With the flickering lights of the Burning Church gently illuminating each road nook, Sharkmob’s Prague is one among my all-time favourite videogame maps.

In reality, Bloodhunt itself is simply modern. The character cosmetics are attractive and make you need to grind by way of the battle go to get there. There wasn’t a single ‘unhealthy’ merchandise there – particularly since you might get Mia’s outfit and change into the literal embodiment of Toreador superiority. The customization was limitless, and the character designs really channel the essence of VTM. Bloodhunt nailed the idea however failed to stay the touchdown in what’s a really overcrowded style.

In spite of everything, whether or not you like them, hate them, or are solely ambivalent about them, it’s no secret that Apex Legends, Warzone, and Fortnite have change into the pillars of the battle royale style – in truth, I’d go as far as to say they are the battle royale style on PC. It’s the identical with League of Legends and Dota 2 relating to MOBAs, and World of Warcraft with MMORPGs – what number of LoL and WoW killers have there been now? Do you bear in mind their names? I don’t.

When Fortnite exploded, everybody tried to get on that bandwagon (or battle bus), but it surely was by no means going to work out. Fortnite outlined a style whereas concurrently interesting to each adults and youngsters. It has partnerships with a number of the largest manufacturers on the planet, transcends boundaries, and has carved out its personal devoted cultural house. Whereas it might not be as talked-about because it as soon as was, Fortnite largely owns the BR style – everybody else simply lives there.

Apex Legends is the outlier, after all. Whereas a few of us nonetheless lose sleep over the loss of a potential Titanfall 3 (responsible, as charged), the stagnation of Name of Obligation: Warzone and the totally ‘meh’ response to Warzone 2 left a spot available in the market. Apex is well-balanced, its characterization is slick, and it’s merely one of many best-playing video games in the marketplace.

Bloodhunt was at all times going to battle towards two well-established behemoths. Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines is not any Titanfall when it comes to its modern-day reputation, and whereas Bloodhunt was conceptually nice, it couldn’t hope to amass the identical insta-following generated by the likes of Apex Legends’ stealth launch.

Because the solar rises on Prague’s World of Darkness, it’s a disgrace to see the sport battle regardless of its potential. In the meanwhile the servers will stay up and also you’ll be capable of hold enjoying and preying, however improvement largely ending means I’ll by no means see what a Malkavian would appear to be in Bloodhunt. With the Bloodlines 2 release date again on the playing cards and a new save already started in the original Bloodlines, I’m holding out hope that VTM sees the renaissance it deserves.