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Like some bestial Nosferatu who’s gone too lengthy with out consuming blood and, after gorging on lesser meals like sewer rats and located them wanting, has began to gnaw his personal arm off, I am completely dying for Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 (opens in new tab) to return from the useless.
I really feel a bit just like the lunatic Renfield in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, pushed mad by his undead grasp however deserted by him for years. In spite of everything, it is occurring 4 years since we bought that 28-minute gameplay video trailer (you possibly can watch it under) for Bloodlines 2, and two years for the reason that sport’s unique developer, Hardsuit Labs, was faraway from the undertaking and workers members laid off (opens in new tab).
Since then, whereas we have gotten affirmation (opens in new tab) that work on Bloodlines 2 has continued, and that we may even see the sport launch in 2023 (opens in new tab), we nonetheless do not know when the sport will truly launch or who’s now growing it. Thriller surrounds the vampire RPG at each flip, and the elongated await it has actually began to pull for me now, as I’m positive it has for a lot of different avid gamers.
Once I initially watched this 28-minute Bloodlines 2 gameplay walkthrough I bought actually excited as, whereas the sport was clearly in an early stage, it seemed prefer it may genuinely ship the nice vampire RPG I used to be ready for. It is price watching or rewatching now to see how the sport was shaping up.
I performed the unique, janky-as-fuck Bloodlines (opens in new tab) again within the early 2000s and, ever since then, I have been a convert to the collection’ fictional world, which is correctly darkish and complicated, however laced with twisted humour. Nevertheless, the sequel’s troubled improvement and radio silence for years have eroded my religion that it will not be a extremely middling expertise.
Regardless of this, I really feel there’s nonetheless hope for Bloodlines 2 and I will nonetheless simply hand over my cash when the sport releases if it might ship three key issues.
1. Character clans that genuinely play otherwise, with distinctive role-play components
My greatest concern with Bloodlines 2 is that, with its huge number of clans to play as, together with Thinblood, Brujah, Tremere, Toreador, Ventrue and Malkavian, every will play, kind of, identically because of its troubled improvement.
Within the unique Bloodlines solely a few clans actually stood out by way of distinctive skills, such because the blood magic-wielding Tremere or the seemingly axed Nosferatu, with the remaining primarily coming all the way down to equivalent melee or ranged fight with just a few similar-looking buff powers triggered.
As an alternative, I desire a sport the place, if I play a Brujah, then I am a melee grasp with distinctive fight skills and vampiric buffs. If I am an imperious aristocratic Ventrue, then I need to excel at debuffing enemies with my commanding presence. There’ll nearly definitely be weapons within the sport, so possibly it is sensible as a well-heeled Ventrue that I would additionally lean into ranged fight.
Critically, although, these character class variations want to increase outdoors of fight, so if I am an excellent engaging and charismatic Toreador, then I want to have the ability to categorical that in gameplay with distinctive choices, and never simply resort to hitting or taking pictures my method to victory 95% of the time.
2. Vampire faction mechanics which might be greater than pores and skin deep
On high of the character courses, there are numerous factions throughout the world of Bloodlines 2, which no less than three years in the past have been confirmed as within the sport. These embrace The Pioneers, The Camarilla, The Baron, The Newcomers and The Unseen. We additionally bought advised again then that the participant character would work together with these factions and, at occasions, have selection by way of who they facet with. These decisions would result in penalties, with completely different factions then behaving otherwise to the participant in a dwelling world.
Now, that is all nice, however I’ve heard this precise pitch earlier than, particularly in a really latest open-world RPG that then did not ship: Cyberpunk 2077 (opens in new tab). Did factions inside Cyberpunk 2077 exist? Completely. Did they’ve mainly any impact on the world or its techniques that wasn’t skin-deep or restrictive in scope? No, by no means. I by no means for one second anxious about making any determination that will rub a selected faction up the improper approach in Cyberpunk 2077, so I hope Bloodlines 2 could make the sport world’s factions, and their interactions with the participant, extra significant and long-lasting.
For instance, I’d like it if in making a call on an early Bloodlines 2 mission, I set in movement a series of occasions that saved returning in relevance all through the sport. So, if I offended a sure faction that will in flip trigger them to do one thing that results in one other mission for a unique faction, which in flip causes me to satisfy a personality that, on this playthrough, has an involvement in late-game story. That’s a extremely sophisticated instance, however even when a little bit of that is delivered with a sustained in-game faction logic that’s based mostly on what I select to do, then I’d be comfortable.
3. Missions that may be accomplished in a wide range of methods, with minimal railroading
As any gamer who has performed the unique Bloodlines will attest to, the again half of the sport (and particularly the ultimate third) is only one lengthy railroaded, boring, unoriginal fight slog. It is extremely irritating and, till the sport was patched and up to date years later to re-address the steadiness on this a part of the sport, it was borderline game-breaking for a lot of character builds, until you have been a grasp of melee or ranged fight. After the extra role-playing focussed, selection and ability-dependent opening to the sport, it was an enormous comedown.
What Bloodlines 2 wants, then, is extra of a Deus Ex: Human Revolution (opens in new tab) / Dishonored (opens in new tab) method to finishing its mission. If I’ve spent 20 hours constructing and enjoying a seductive Toreador with a silver tongue, I would like the choice to have the ability to use that means to, say, candy discuss a boss into making a cope with me that will get me what I want. Or, if I am a stealthy, disguise within the shadows sort, then I want choices to keep away from direct confrontation and full my mission.
Mainly, I feel what all three of these items I’ve listed right here lean into is giving me as an important toolset to roleplay as a blood-drinking undead vampire. No sport thus far has achieved an important job of that, so if Bloodlines 2 can return and ship, then I will fall into darkness as soon as extra.
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