One of the most highly anticipated games from this year’s E3 is Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2. The full game demo from E3 is the best look into the weird and wonderful world of Bloodlines 2, from dancing like a crazy person in a nightclub to wandering the dark and atmospheric alleyways.
Bloodlines 2 comes well after a decade since the first game, developed by Troika Games, was released in 2004 on Steam. For those who never played the game, it was a vast and ambitious RPG world with vampires. It currently stands at a Very Positive review on Steam.
The game divided critics. There were those who thought the game was too ambitious and belied with technical flaws. Others, however, saw the game as a fantastic example of narrative and gameplay. Despite the mixed opinion from the critics, Bloodlines garnered a cult following of fans who enjoyed the dialogue, humor, and the vampires.
Now Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 is set for a release in 2020. There is much to see in the demo from E3, including the barebones of the gameplay. Although it seems slow and clunky, we put this down to the fact whoever was controlling the game has quite obviously never held a controller before…but besides that, the atmosphere of the game is reminiscent of the first title.
Alongside the grim darkness of the game, the extensive narrative makes a return. It works a bit like Fallout: New Vegas, or the first Bloodline game. Each conversation offers you different options. The actions you take appear to alter the storyline. In the trailer, the player has the choice to execute or not to execute an NPC. It’s a refreshing glimpse of a narrative-driven game, missing from recent titles like Fallout 4 which was developed by a studio so famous for their dialogue.
However, there are some issues in the trailer, as picked up by fans of the old game. Both the UI and HUD look last-gen. The combat is clunky, and the NPCs look out of place. Alongside the incompetent demo-tester, remember, this is gameplay from a pre-Alpha build.
This demo is a proof of concept more than anything else. Bloodlines 2 does capture the ‘feeling’ of the last game, and, if it goes all the way, it looks like it might have the power to please the fans.
