At Gamescom Opening Night Live, Paradox Interactive and The Chinese Room announced that Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 will finally launch on October 21. If you’ve been following the development of this RPG, you’ll know that this announcement is quite the achievement.
Bloodlines 2 was first announced by Paradox in 2019. I even saw the game in action at E3 2019 and previewed it for DualShockers! But after a couple of delays, Paradox decided to take developer Hardsuit Labs off the game and rework the project under Still Wakes the Deep studio, The Chinese Room.
This version of the game has suffered some delays of its own, so it’s nice to have a firm release date for it. Better yet, I actually got to go hands-on with Bloodlines 2 for the first time ahead of this announcement. And while the results weren’t mind-blowing after six years of anticipation, I enjoyed what I played as the game nears the finish line.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 has successfully reestablished itself
It’s still a choice-driven first-person RPG
To establish some more context around the game, Bloodlines 2 is based on Vampire: The Masquerade, a tabletop RPG and a spiritual sequel to a 2005 cult classic video game from the developers who would go on to create The Outer Worlds. Like the original, Bloodlines 2 is a first-person RPG that heavily emphasizes player choice and leans into action gameplay.
Some aspects of the game have survived since the original reveal. It’s still set in Seattle around Christmas, plus art and character designs from Hardsuit Labs’ work have been carried over. All of the lore, clans players can choose from, and general gameplay ideas are also in line with what’s present in the tabletop game and the first Bloodlines series.
The premise is quite different now, though. Players control a powerful elder vampire named Phyre, who wakes up slightly amnesiac in Seattle after hundreds of years of being asleep. A vampiric detective named Fabien also lives in Phyre’s head, speaking to them and serving as a voice of conscious throughout the adventure.
At some point, the game will even have flashbacks where Fabien can be directly controlled. Generally, the writing of Bloodlines 2 was much more quip-heavy than what I saw at E3 2019. It’s more Buffy the Vampire Slayer and less Nosferatu. Regardless, fans of choice-driven RPGs can still confidently look forward to Bloodlines 2, even if its writing seems to lack some of the seriousness and nuance seen in games like Mafia: The Old Country.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 features some intense vampiric action
Abilities like telekinesis make combat a lot of fun
The preview build of Bloodlines 2 that I played took me through the first four missions of the game. I awoke as Phyre, quickly learned Fabien was in my head, and got to grips with the game’s controls as I escaped the dilapidated building Phyre woke up in. Movement is pretty freeing, as Phyre can easily climb walls and even glide through the air once they’re out in the open world.
I also had to choose a Clan to base my character around, and I went with the blood-bending Tremere. This has some narrative consequences, as certain conversations had unique dialogue based on my clan, and opened up a suite of abilities in an extensive skill tree for me to unlock. That included being able to curse enemies from a distance so they explore the next time I strike them.
What I played mostly centered around hand-to-hand combat, enhanced by my Clan-specific abilities and telekinesis. This led to some memorable moments, like when I kicked someone off a building, jumped down after them to make sure they were dead, and then pulled another enemy off the roof using telekinesis.
It’s also obviously possible to feed on the humans you come across, although this wasn’t very necessary outside of healing during battles in what I played. It is best to stick to the shadows and rooftops of the open world, though, as you do have to keep up the masquerade and not get caught using vampiric abilities in public.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is building toward a grander mystery
I only got a taste of it in the first few missions
After freeing Phyre and venturing into Seattle and discovering that Phyre actually murdered Fabien when she awoke, Fabien recommended that I visit the former Prince of Vampires, Lou. I do, but find that she’d been attacked and that Seattle’s coterie of vampires is in disarray after the prince who succeeded Lou was killed and word of Phyre’s return spread.
From there, I go to meet the new Prince Ryong, but have to fight my way through a lot of Anarch vampires attacking the building she’s in. I made the right choices during the conversation and got Phyre and Ryong to mutually agree to help each other. Then, I rested in-game and got to play as Fabien.
Fabien”s gameplay sections are slower, mostly focusing on dialogue and using his abilities to get into the minds of certain characters. This mission had me investigating a mysterious woman who showed up at a nearby bar, although she was murdered after Fabien discovered she was connected to the Court of kindred vampires in Seattle.
The preview ended there, but left me with plenty of intrigue for the full adventure. The game has twelve endings, so I’m looking forward to making different choices and maybe choosing a different clan once I can play the entire game. Those looking for a completely serious story might be let down by some of the cheeky banter in Bloodlines 2, but I had no problem with it.
I’m pleased that Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is finally playable
It didn’t completely disappoint
A lot changes over the course of six years, even if some things stay the same.
Back when I first saw Bloodlines 2 at E3 2019, I was an undergraduate student in college writing about video games for DualShockers as my first gig in this industry. Now, while I still have a similar personality, I have changed. I work as a journalist in a full-time capacity, have contributed coverage of the video game industry to multiple renowned websites, and am pursuing a Master’s Degree.
Bloodlines 2 has also evolved. While what I saw in 2019 shares several things in common with the build I played this past week, like the Christmastime Seattle setting and brutal first-person combat, The Chinese Room has put its own spin on things to create a vampire RPG with a different story, quippy tone underneath its dark subject matter, and combat that takes full advantage of the powers of a vampire.
While what I played didn’t feel revelatory for the RPG genre or anything like that, Bloodlines 2 was in much better shape than I expected for a game that has had this rough of a developer cycle. Hopefully, the game does hit this October 21 release date, as it and Mina the Hollower will make for a great pair of games to play on Halloween.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2
- Released
- 2025
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, Sexual Themes, Nudity, Drug Reference, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Hardsuit Labs
- Publisher(s)
- Paradox Interactive
- Engine
- Source
- Franchise
- Vampire the Masquerade
