Released November 16, 2004, “Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines” was a game based on the tabletop role-playing game “Vampire: The Masquerade,” a world filled with a wide array of different kinds of vampires, oozing with edgy gothic aesthetics.
Fast forward to just over two decades, and the release of its successor, “Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2” had finally arrived, another release in its coterie of games in recent years. I’m a newer fan of the dreary world, reading visual novels, and even hosting as Storyteller for the TTRPG. So, when I heard the new game was coming out, I was eager to get my hands on it.
The first thing that hits you is the sound design. From the moment you get to the main menu, you’re met with the thrumming of blood and a bellowing theme that weighs on your soul. I was excited. Anticipating the grimy world, the political intrigue, and the bloody nature of being a creature of the night.
Then, you’re dropped into a monologue from a wisecracking detective in your head, literally. This voice will be with you every step of the way, and you’ll either love it or hate it. The source of the voice and curse put upon you acts as one of the main mysteries to unravel.
You awaken from a century-long torpor, a vampire slumber, weakened. You need to escape the police without breaking the masquerade—a fictional curtain that conceals vampire society from human eyes—as you feed on ghouls and Anarch vampires. The combat is a little simplistic; you can attack, heavy attack, and dash. You can parry, but the game doesn’t teach you. I learned from the hints given on the death loading screen.
At times, you’ll string a combo of hits on an enemy and feel the dopamine as you crush their skull. Other times, enemies can teleport in front of you, their attacks almost magnetic. Meanwhile, you get frustrated as their attacks cancel yours.
After escaping your tomb and emerging in modern Seattle, you get to choose between six vampiric clans, with lore and characteristics that NPCs react to. I chose the Banu Haqim, the vampires obsessed with justice. Each has its own abilities and associated drip, the clans acting as the main mechanic of the game. You can unlock all of them as you progress through the game.
You finally rest as the sun rises and are plunged into a different game. Gone is the combat, and your abilities are swapped for ones geared towards gathering evidence. Looking through a different character’s eyes, you have to follow clues and go through tedious interrogations.
It’s jarring to say the least.
One of the other main parts of the game is the dialogue choices that can carry consequences, with Telltale-esque “They will remember that” notifications. The characters will vary from the Prince’s court to lower vampires.
Unlike other games with an emphasis on dialogue like “Kingdom Come: Deliverance II,” you don’t feel the weight of every choice. There’s always just one way you will go about a problem, at the business end of your fangs.
Some characters are oozing with personality and charm, like Tolly the Nosferatu vampire, whose unfiltered honesty cajoles you from the bleak world. Others are plain and feel like nothing more than caricatures.
I’ve played just over twelve hours of the game, and have yet to feel any real repercussions from my choices other than some characters being an ounce more snide with me than usual.
After talking with the Prince of the city, you’re sent on your way. The worldspace isn’t an expansive open-world that most people expect nowadays. You’re limited to a small section of the city.
The movement is one of the few things I enjoyed, being able to run inhumanely fast and lunge across building tops unseen. It reminds me of movement from the “Dishonored” series, though admittedly a much clunkier version, a common theme you’ll come across.
Throughout your journey, you can gain points to unlock other clan abilities and find specific humans to hunt and steal their blood. Depending on their blood type, they give specific points. The process sounds simple, but it isn’t. One type will be ‘seduced’ by you, and another will want to pick a fight with you, enabling you to lure them away.
The other runs away shouting for help, and never where you want them to go. Don’t expect to try to steer them either; the A.I. will freeze up out in the open, making it so you can’t feed without breaking the Masquerade.
Once you farm enough points, you meet with a vampire of that clan, and they’ll give you a bit of their own blood to “awaken” that part of you. However, you still have to use the experience points to get the other abilities at a massive upcharge. It feels more like a chore than something I look forward to doing.
My main problem is that your character scales horizontally. Your abilities can’t be upgraded, only changed to a separate one. You can increase your health by tediously collecting marks using telekinesis, but other than that, you will stay just as squishy. Even your attacks will do the same damage at the end of the game as they did at the start.
You’re given repeatable quests by NPCs that offer a way to earn experience, but they amount to, “Go kill John Doe.” You’re better off just sticking to your clan’s abilities than delving into the time sink.
The world itself even feels like it doesn’t bother. Unless you’re in a main story scene, the world feels empty. NPCs feel like, well, NPCs, repeating the same thing over and over. You do hear sirens and city life in the distance, but never any actual cars moving. You’ll only come across the same two NPCs making out on every street corner in the freezing snowfall.
The game doesn’t suffer from the same rushedness and technical issues as its predecessor; instead, it has suffered from constant staff changes, an ambitious scope, and the pandemic. It runs well, has decent graphics, and at times, an intriguing story.
However, it falls short and is hindered by little things and a lack of nuance. Whether it’s you being taken back to the game when clicking on a marker on the map, getting frustrated as you’re staggered and filled with lead, or the game not letting you role-play in an RPG.
The first game was overshadowed by legendary titles like the upcoming “Half-Life 2,” the release of “World of Warcraft,” and “Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II – The Sith Lords.” Despite that, it gathered a cult following in recent years. Remarked today as an underrated masterpiece, the game still embodies “Vampire: The Masquerade” with excellent writing and in-depth role-playing mechanics.
Who knows, though, the sequel could improve over time. The Developers, The Chinese Room, are slated to release expansions to the game in Q2 and Q3 of 2026, meaning they’ll continue to support it. If you’re new to the “Vampire: The Masquerade” world, this is a good place to start. It gives you a clean, digestible introduction to the world.
However, I can’t recommend getting it at full price. If you’re looking for that itch, though, and can stomach early 2000s graphics, give the first game a try.
