Forget Baldur’s Gate 3’s Astarion, I’m playing the OG vampire RPG

There are a thousand and one vampire games on the market, but none have the attract of Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines. Positive, by trendy requirements it’s fairly janky and appears its age (after which some), however the sport has withstood the take a look at of time and earned its place among the many greatest RPGs. With a possible Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 release date on the horizon after an nearly 20-year wait fraught with turbulent adjustments in developer, quite a few prolonged delays, and rumors that the sport had really been canceled, I’ve requested myself time and again the way it can proceed VTM’s legacy and inject some new (everlasting) life right into a withering videogame franchise. The reply lies in Bloodlines’ roots, and if Bloodlines 2 attracts upon them, it might be the very best vampire journey that we’ve seen in years.

I’m a stickler for fancy graphics and fluid fight, so diving right into a sport from 2004 following a short journey with Baldur’s Gate 3’s Astarion and mates was definitely a little bit of a shock to the system. The beautiful Toreador that I created in VTM Bloodhunt was very a lot gone, changed with a pixelated Tremere with a deeply ugly matching skirt and crop prime. Deep breaths, Lauren, deep breaths.

I had resigned myself to the truth that I’d most likely find yourself taking part in an hour of the sport earlier than quitting, however as time rolls by and darkness ensues upon Seattle once more, I discover myself compelled to maintain taking part in. Why? Bloodlines simply has that je nais se quois that a number of trendy video games don’t.

First off, the sport’s clans are extremely well-designed. The Toreador are obnoxious, the Tremere are straight-up bizarre, and – my private favorites – the Malkavians are simply ever so barely disturbed.

Take the random road signal interactions, for instance. For those who’re a Malkavian, you’ll be able to have a fairly heated dialogue with cease indicators: “No, you cease,” you yell on the clearly inanimate object, which ultimately defeats you in your psychological battle for dominance. “You’ve made a strong enemy at this time, signal,” you growl as you slink again into the darkness, spurned, offended, and vengeful.

It’s a silly, tiny second that’s simply missed, nevertheless it completely feeds into the clan’s lore. Malkavians are “lunatics” (a minimum of, that’s what the opposite vampires say). They hear voices, see visions: Bloodlines finds methods to tell apart its characters and clans outdoors of their gameplay talents alone. I hope that Bloodlines 2 continues that pattern – the soul of the evening is its vampires; the traits bestowed upon them by their clan’s blood lineage are integral to creating a great VTM sport.

That is the place Bloodhunt, Sharkmob’s ill-fated battle royale game, went improper. When you can chop and alter which clan you’re taking part in as, it solely actually impacts the way you look and the skills you utilize. Positive, Mia greets a Nosferatu with distaste in Elysium and a fellow Toreador with open arms, however fascinating interpersonal relationships aren’t its forte by design. Efficient and fascinating lore is, nevertheless, key to understanding the World of Darkness, and Bloodlines 2 must take this into consideration.

However there’s one thing else I’d like to see newly introduced developer The Chinese language Room do with Bloodlines 2: lean into its atmospheric horror experience. We haven’t seen an honest vampire horror game shortly. Whereas Bloodlines 2 is primarily an RPG game, its predecessor scattered style stereotypes to the winds with the Ocean Home mission, once more shaking issues up in surprising methods.

I’d heard rumors of Ocean Home – which has been dubbed top-of-the-line horror ranges ever – in order quickly as I obtained the mission from the irritable Therese Voerman (additionally Malkavian, by the best way), I rushed via the sewers to tackle the offended spirit haunting this once-proud seaside getaway. I used to be not disenchanted.

A chandelier crashes to the ground earlier than my very eyes, and the spectral determine of a fleeing lady screams as she passes via the hall in entrance of me, main me via a labyrinth of rotting basement tunnels. I flip a nook, and a ghost with an ax laughs menacingly earlier than vanishing immediately. There are not any bounce scares, no terrifying boss, simply random objects being thrown at you and the sound of my very own Psycho-esque screams and copious quantities of swearing.

I don’t desire a copy and paste of Ocean Home in Bloodlines 2, however what made White Wolf’s epic so particular is that it’s so extremely changeable. I’d play Ocean Home time and again as a result of I don’t know the place the risks lurk. I don’t know what’s behind every nook. Only a few horror video games make me really feel that sense of foreboding – and none that focus on vampires do.

The Chinese language Room has what it takes to make a very nice vampire horror stage and shake up the normal RPG format over again – it’s actually within the studio’s DNA. Take a look at Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs or All people’s Going to The Rapture, and the upcoming Still Wakes the Deep. A way of ratcheting unease is what The Chinese language Room does greatest. However Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines is greater than horror and lore – each of these components alone don’t make for a tremendous sport. No, Bloodlines is simply straight-up enjoyable.

Yelling at TVs and different inanimate objects apart, the gameplay loop is de facto pleasing. You run round, use your respective powers, drink blood from individuals peeing outdoors nightclubs (solely excessive society varieties, in fact, none of that low cost stuff), and simply typically do vampire issues.

It’s that feeling that Bloodlines 2 wants to carry onto. If it loses the essence of Vampire The Masquerade and turns its clans into soulless courses that exist in a humorless, inhuman world, it should fall on its face. What makes VTM so particular is the coexistence of people and vampires – certain, people are meals, nevertheless it’s their legal guidelines that govern the Camarilla; these on the backside of the meals chain right here nonetheless maintain energy. VTM is a vampire story, nevertheless it’s a human one, too. Bloodlines completely treads that line, and I hope Bloodlines 2 does as effectively.

In a world of darkness, there’s all the time just a little mild – even when it’s only a actually nasty cease signal. I hope Bloodlines 2 doesn’t snuff that humanity out.