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How far does a good story go? Both in-game and meta-textually, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 certainly proves that one can go quite far. In-game, it offers a Christmastime mystery about Seattle's vampiric underbelly that is entertaining and unlike much I've played before. It has also had one of the most memorable development cycles of any game released this year, having been announced over six years ago and switched studios mid-development. Because of both of those things, Bloodlines 2 is a game I find myself consistently thinking about, albeit not always for the best reasons. As far as choice-driven action-RPGs go, this game does not stand out very much, and in fact doesn't lean as heavily into its RPG core as I think it could. But I have found myself thinking about Phyre and Fabien's journey, as well as the fact that its elongated development cycle didn't result in a trainwreck or a crowning achievement for the genre. It's clear this is a project that shifted direction a lot, with its lackluster combat and RPG systems ensuring there are plenty of better alternative RPGs to play this year from a gameplay standpoint. But if it being the result of a wild development cycle or one of very few vampire games with an engaging plot interests you, then you won't fully regret checking Bloodlines 2 out. A review code was provided by the publisher of Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, Paradox Interactive. The game was tested on both a desktop PC and a Steam Deck, with the desktop experience offering more stable results. Price and availability Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 launches for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S today, October 21. It will be available both physically and digitally, and there are three different versions of the game that you can buy: Standard Edition ($60): The base game. All pre-orders include the Nostalgia Jukebox DLC. Physical pre-orders will come with a Cross of St. James necklace. Deluxe Edition ($70): Includes the base game and Santa Monica Memories cosmetic pack. Premium Edition ($90): Features the base game, Santa Monica Memories cosmetic pack, and Expansion Pass. Paradox Interactive backtracked on making certain playable clans exclusive to this edition. The best thing about Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 is its story The Chinese Room nailed the thing it does best Developer The Chinese Room, the studio that ultimately ended up with this project, has a history of working on fantastic narrative-driven games. I particularly enjoyed Everybody's Gone to the Rapture and Still Wakes the Deep. Bloodlines 2 gives The Chinese Room the opportunity to play around in the world of White Wolf's tabletop game and create a full-on choice-driven RPG. While it's a sequel to a cult classic RPG you probably haven't played, Bloodlines 2 is almost entirely enjoyable as a standalone release. It follows an Elder vampire named Phyre, who reawakens in Seattle around Christmas to find that a thinblood detective named Fabien is present in their mind as a disembodied voice. Almost immediately, Phyre and Fabien begin searching for answers, ultimately unraveling a conspiracy involving the major players in Seattle's vampiric underworld. Although the dialogue choices aren't as plentiful as they are in an Obsidian Entertainment game, Bloodlines 2 still offers players more than enough options to navigate through conversations at their own pace and tone, gathering information and forming relationships with various important characters as they see fit. Not every choice has a very meaningful long-term impact, but player choice does matter enough that I felt actively involved in its storytelling. None of this is particularly revolutionary in the narrative-driven RPG space, but I take solace in the fact that The Chinese Room at least nailed the aspect of Bloodlines 2 that their studio is best known for. Vampire: The Masquerade's universe is ripe for a meaty choice-driven RPG like this. The Chinese Room used that background to craft a really engaging story, which is a good thing, since other aspects of the game aren't nearly as strong. Bloodlines 2 is the most ambitious Vampire: The Masquerade game yet It features a full-on open world with a masquerade system If you want a Vampire: The Masquerade game focused solely on storytelling, several of those already exist. Bloodlines 2 is more ambitious than many of its peers, aiming to offer an open world for players to explore as both Phyre in modern-day and as Fabien in flashback sequences. I definitely enjoyed seeing Seattle interpreted in a AAA video game for the first time since Infamous: Second Son, and playing this game makes me want to visit Seattle around Christmas. The open world felt compact enough that I learned the nooks and crannies of its alleyways and rooftops as the game went on. The lack of fast travel can be a bit annoying, but it really forced me to look around and appreciate the world design. Another aspect of exploring the open world is keeping up the masquerade. It's possible to use Phyre's vampiric abilities to sprint really fast, climb up the side of buildings, and glide in the air. Additionally, you can attract and prey on NPCs in the environment to suck their blood, although it becomes comical to see how readily Seattle's residents are down to clown every time Phyre simply walks up to them. That said, if you're caught by a human using your vampiric abilities or sucking somebody's blood in public, then the masquerade can be broken, and cops will start attacking you. It essentially boils down to a fairly rudimentary wanted system. Still, it's at least thematically appreciated for a game like this and encourages me to stick to dark alleyways more than a Batman game ever has. Overall, Bloodlines 2's Seattle is an ample and worthy backdrop for the main missions and sidequests The Chinese Room dotted it with, however interesting the gameplay within those missions may or may not be. I wish Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 embraced its tabletop RPG roots more Its gameplay is very underwhelming Bloodlines 2 tries to toe the line between being an approachable action game and an RPG that respects the mechanics of the tabletop game it's based on. It does neither particularly well. Combat is fairly basic, consisting of a light and heavy attack. Deal enough damage, and you can perform a finishing move to kill an enemy or suck their blood to heal and enable the use of your own abilities. Those abilities differ based on the clan you choose to play as, and most are unlike anything I've seen in a game before. I chose Tremere, meaning my early game abilities allowed me to bloodbend my opponents to get the edge in a fight. There isn't much else to its class system outside of progressing through an ability tree, so you don't have to worry about your stats or the levels of certain skills to do well in Bloodlines 2. That means that Bloodlines 2 is pretty light in terms of the RPG experience it offers, which is a shame when games like Baldur's Gate 3 have shown that you can find success by fully embracing what makes a tabletop game special. It also doesn't help that the combat's impact is dampened by some wacky animations and the fact that punches either feel like they bounce off enemies or send your opponent flying. Frustratingly, enemies also tend to swarm the player, and can deal damage while you're locked into certain animations, making some fights overwhelming. I feel like the developers understood that and offered an extremely easy Story Mode to cover up that problem, but I can't help but be disappointed that the action and role-playing parts of this action-RPG are pretty milquetoast compared to other tabletop RPGs adapted into video game form. Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 is almost out, yet I feel underwhelmed Sometimes, a development cycle is more interesting than the game in question Bloodlines 2 isn't a particularly stand-out game. Had I not known about its troubled development or been interested in seeing this tabletop game's world interpreted into an open-world RPG, this game wouldn't have given me much reason to keep it on my radar or recommend it. Its open world is fun to explore but basic, its combat is equal parts simple and frustrating, and it doesn't lean into the RPG mechanics of the tabletop game as much as I hoped. Still, Phyre and Fabien's journey is one I don't regret experiencing, and it proves to me that there's potential for a AAA RPG starring vampires. Let's hope next year's The Blood of the Dawnwalker is a bit better. For now, I'll just settle for Bloodlines 2 having a good story to tell and being impressed that this didn't turn out like other games with troubled developments, such as MindsEye or Duke Nukem Forever.
