Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 - We FINALLY Played It

It was astir surreal awakening arsenic an past monster successful Vampire: the Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 and getting my archetypal sensation of blood. Phyre the Nomad, a semi-customizable quality with a fixed backstory, has been dormant for 100 years erstwhile she wakes up successful modern Seattle – and I consciousness similar I've been reasoning astir this crippled astir arsenic long. From its announcement successful 2019 done aggregate delays, improvement woes, a sort-of brushed cancellation, and an astir implicit reboot nether The Chinese Room, yet playing it allowed maine to commencement to reply my large question: was it worthy waking up from an eternal slumber for? So far, I'm cautiously optimistic.

First things first: The Chinese Room is not the workplace I would person drafted to marque a sequel to 1 of the astir beloved cult deed RPGs of the aboriginal 2000s. They made a sanction for themselves with what are sometimes disparagingly called "walking simulators" and linear first-person fearfulness games similar Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs and Still Wakes the Deep. But this is genuinely a free-roaming open-world spectacle, albeit connected a modest-sized map, erstwhile you get retired onto the metropolis streets. It's not conscionable fume and mirrors.

I was impressed with the level of state my vampire had to ascent up inferior ducts and occurrence escapes, leap from rooftop to rooftop, glide down moody alleyways, and of people prosecute successful the time-honored vampire contented of dropping a precise agelong mode without taking immoderate autumn damage. It's not harmless to bash each of these things successful beforehand of Seattle's galore mortal citizens, though, arsenic it volition commencement to capable up a Masquerade metre that tin effect successful a crippled implicit if you bent astir oregon permission excessively galore witnesses.

I recovered that strategy to beryllium a spot excessively forgiving successful the demo – you tin chow down connected idiosyncratic successful the mediate of the thoroughfare and arsenic agelong arsenic you tally distant accelerated enough, you’ll endure nary consequences – but it's bully to spot a motion to 1 of the setting's astir cardinal rules: humans can't beryllium allowed to cognize that vampires exist.

THIS BITES

Dropping successful for a nice, sticky hemoglobin smoothie has 2 main purposes successful Bloodlines 2: humans service arsenic mobile healing potions and recharge your vampiric disciplines – peculiar abilities tied to each vampiric clan. This isn't truly a endurance crippled successful the consciousness that your bloodthirst won't people summation implicit time. But I felt similar I needed to provender often capable that it ne'er became thing I could ignore, which is good.

There's an absorbing humor resonance strategy successful which characters feeling a definite emotion – fear, anger, oregon lust – tin beryllium encouraged to indulge successful it depending connected your clan, which gives you currency for unlocking definite disciplines erstwhile you provender connected them successful that elevated state. As a Toreador, I loved seducing idiosyncratic into a acheronian alley earlier taking a bite, and it creates a feeling that your vampire has a favored benignant of mortal to prey on. You tin besides provender successful combat connected enemies that are adjacent death, which is simply a spot connected the forgiving broadside owed to however accelerated it is. I didn't consciousness similar I was putting myself astatine superior hazard by pausing for a snack.

The combat is astir apt the anemic nexus here, astatine slightest from the fistful of hours I've been capable to play. I'll let for the anticipation that I conscionable haven't gotten the bent of it yet. But I ran done the full happening arsenic a humor mage Tremere, a brawling Brujah, and a seductive Toreador – that past one, on with the Lasombra, being portion of a day-one DLC that comes with the Premium Edition. And successful each lawsuit it felt similar melee combat successful peculiar was a spot imprecise and chaotic. I tried it retired with rodent and keyboard arsenic good arsenic a controller, and the second was decidedly better. But I recovered myself truly wishing for much of a "hard" lock-on. It's besides a small disappointing that you tin lone usage weapons, including guns, by mode of telekinesis. I get that Phyre is older than modern firearms, but being a vampire with sweet-ass dual pistols is an iconic vibe that conscionable isn't featured successful Bloodlines 2. Kate Beckinsale would weep.

In fairness, combat was by acold the weakest portion of the archetypal Bloodlines, truthful I won't clasp that against it excessively much. Things bash commencement to prime up arsenic you unlock much disciplines, with your halfway clan enactment being the cheapest successful presumption of accomplishment points, and cross-clan disciplines with a keyword similar Celerity that your clan specializes successful getting a mean discount. But there's thing stopping you from learning immoderate subject you privation different than out-of-clan, non-affinity disciplines being precise expensive.

As a Tremere, I could lure enemies into a radical by boiling a target's blood, placing a curse connected him to crook him into a volatile humor bomb, past hitting him with a telekinetically-thrown vessel to marque him detonate and instrumentality retired an full country astatine once. This is perfectly sick nasty astonishing the archetypal mates times, but it does get a small repetitive. It feels much similar a gimmick than a playstyle. The Brujah and the Toreador are a spot much similar accepted melee fighters, which I ended up vibing with amended successful the agelong run. Toreadors besides get a neat blink ability, and the powerfulness to temporarily crook an force to your broadside with a kiss.

WORLD OF DARKNESS

Where The Chinese Room has ever excelled, though, is successful atmosphere, and there's nary objection here. Neon-lit alleys, spooky warehouses, and decadent edifice suites are dripping with tiny details. I truly applaud the mode the reticle changes erstwhile exploring arsenic well, letting you cognize determination are undiscovered secrets adjacent without simply telling you wherever they are. That way, searching the acheronian corners is inactive a amusive challenge, but I tin besides fulfill my interior obsessive completionist that erstwhile the ellipse turns backmost into a dot, I've recovered everything determination is to find.

The communicative is compelling and filled with memorable characters, arsenic good arsenic top-notch dependable acting for the main cast. We don't cognize astatine the commencement wherefore Phyre has abruptly been awakened oregon what's up with the mysterious awesome connected her manus limiting her powers. But the Prince of Seattle has precocious been assassinated, there's a escaped canon vampire Sheriff ripping retired spines, and, ohio yeah, a Malkavian constabulary detective surviving wrong our head.

Fabien, who is each portion the hard-boiled movie noir leader until you announcement the fangs, someway ended up sharing Phyre's encephalon meat. Certain flashback sequences are played from his perspective, technically making Malkavian the last playable clan. So far, these segments don't see combat. All of his disciplines are geared toward solving mysteries, similar the quality to compel idiosyncratic to archer him what they're leaving retired of their testimony. I recovered him to beryllium an absorbing change-of-pace.I didn't truly cognize what to expect from Bloodlines 2 fixed the long, shadowed way it took to yet remainder successful my undead talons. But starring with a well-written and well-voiced enigma communicative that lets maine research my municipality hunting crushed with chill question abilities has maine intrigued to accidental the least. I don't emotion the combat truthful far, and the Masquerade strategy seems a spot excessively forgiving. But I'm thirsty to walk much clip with it. It's a precise antithetic benignant of crippled from the original, but I situation to anticipation it whitethorn beryllium thing genuinely special. Vampire: the Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 volition beryllium released to stalk the nighttime connected October 21.