Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines was a pretty spectacular game. It may have been glitchy as hell, but the intensity of the plot, the politics, and the game’s overall faithfulness to the source RPG material made the random trappings and sudden deaths worth it. The game was rife with some of the driest humour, and more than its fair share of deep, well-crafted NPC’s. But, seriously, the snarky dialogue alone is worth a playthrough.
With that in mind, Bloodlines 2 has huge shoes to fill, and I’m not gonna lie; I’m marginally terrified of this game’s release. I have it on Pre-Order, and it’s busy mocking me in my Steam account. I’m going to disappear for the full period of time it’ll take me to finish a slow and steady playthrough, but… What if it sucks? I can verify one thing so far for damn sure… Screenshots and in game clips hint at its exquisite craftsmanship. The game is SO DAMN PRETTY!
Fun fact! Not three hours after I started writing this, it was revealed that the game’s release has been pushed back. We won’t be seeing it until later in 2020 -.-
Sad Panda is sad.
I’ll say this, lead narrative designer, Brian Mitsoda, made some good points. Bloodlines’ predecessor, while being my favourite game of all time, and being beautifully crafted was in no way without its issues. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. The game, needed, a, patch, just, to, be, completed… No jokes, guys. It was impossible to end a massive plot mission without the game crashing. So, when he said this:
“There’s the responsibility to avoid some of the issues that plagued the first game, which was famously launched too early […]” (https://www.bloodlines2.com/en/dev-blog-post )
I can do nothing but agree. I would rather wait that little bit longer than lose the chance for the best possible descendant to this iconic masterpiece.
Now, all of this aside, I’d like to look at some of the facets of this game, and how it differs from the first, considering what we know so far.
Clans
First of all, you don’t pick a clan at the game’s start. Being a victim of the “mass embrace” (a manic act of rebellion by the looks of things, you are one of the many victims of a violent attack on kine and kindred, and a large part of the story is to discover the reason behind your undeath), you begin as a thinblood, a kindred so far removed from the first handful of generations that you may as well be human. All the negatives, none of the fun.
As the game progresses, you use your skills (likely xp points) to raise specific abilities and become a part of a clan.
This is, maybe, the change that I am most excited about.
Because you don’t start out human, it’s a mission to choose a clan, but this will allow your specific game play style to pick a clan for you. So far, our clans are limited to Tremere, Ventrue, Toreador, Brujah, and Malkavian. No Nosfer-TuTu, but they do form one of the factions in The Unseen.
Changes to the Malkavians
FINALLY!
When playing the table top RPG, I was always side-eyed because I wasn’t a fan of the Malkavs. The golden boys of Masquerade. The comic relief in the form of woopwoopwoop crazies who saw all the things no one else did, but were too loopy to do anything about it, or give a shit.
” None of the many nicknames for Clan Malkav – “Lunatics”, “Jesters”, “Visionaries”, “Madmen”, and so on – is as fitting as “Oracles”. To be of the Clan is to understand things nobody else does; and to be affected by that understanding. Among the clan, this shows itself in psychosis, depression, compulsive disorders, or uncounted other mental illnesses. This hasn’t kept the Clan of the Moon from finding a place in Kindred society. Advisers, strategists, preachers, hunters and yes, rulers; all Malkavians walk their very own path.” ( https://www.bloodlines2.com/en/malkavian)
From the little information we’ve received, it does seem that the Malkavians are finally being treated with a little respect by developers. The truth about mental illness has been set into this clan for the game play.
Thoughts on Malks by Brian Mitsoda
Factions
Four new factions have been released alongside the Camarilla.
What we know for sure is that the Unseen fill the space left behind by the old game’s Nosferatu – the underground information hoarders. Those who know what the others just fail to grasp in all their politicking.
The Pioneers are old guard craftsmen and the founders of Seattle, where the game is set, with historical characters taking the lead – Lou Grand avowing their dominance over the Camarilla.
The Camarilla is led by Prince Alec Cross, an homage no doubt to Sebastian La Croix from the first game (and, according to Rich, just LaCroix in a new place, having survived the explosion from game one, and weasle-ing his way into power once more).
The Baron… A mysterious fourth leader, a new faction.
And the Newcomers, who seem to be somewhere between the Anarchs and Requiem’s Carthians. An essential threat to the traditions and law the Camarilla represent.
Check out the demo Game Play here.
Homages
- Voices. Many of the original voice actors remain the same – particularly the television news anchor.
- Music. The in-game score is insanely close to the original.
- Dance. The dance-like-no-one’s-watching animation from the first game remains in place.
- If you purchase the pre-order at mid-level, you’ll receive some awesome gifts from the first game.
Know of others? Let me know!
Bloodlines Stream/Let’s Play
While we wait with bated breath, I’ll be running a Bloodlines play through on Twitch (or a let’s play on Youtube, depending on our Internet Connectivity… Infrastructure, amiright?). You can check out my test video at the link below. The stream/let’s play will begin next Tuesday (October 22nd).
