Vampire: The Masquerade - Shadows of New York sees you try to “solve an unsolvable crime”

(Image credit: Draw Distance)

Indie developer Draw Distance has revealed more details about it's upcoming visual novel Vampire: The Masquerade - Shadows of New York. 

Set to release in Q3 2020 on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC, the standalone expansion takes place several months after the events of the previous Vampire: The Masquerade - Coteries of New York visual novel. Many characters who appeared in Coteries of New York will also make an appearance in Shadows of New York, including members of both the Anarch and Camarilla vampiric factions. 

If you played the first visual novel, you can also expect to encounter some of the key characters that appeared, including Prince Hellene Panhard and Sheriff Qadir Al-Asmai. New characters will also be introduced from Vampire: The Masquerade sourcebooks, including New York by Night.

(Image credit: Draw Distance)

Shadows of New York puts you in the shoes of a member of the Lasombra clan - another vampire faction in the Big Apple - who has to "solve an unsolvable crime". The leader of a faction is said to have met a "gruesome end," and it's up to you to investigate. As an outcast in your own vampiric sect and a political prisoner, you're going to be thrown into the middle of a power struggle between the warring vampire generations. 

"Shape your mind, shape your fate. You used to avoid defining yourself and tried to stay neutral, but given your situation, you can no longer afford to do so," the press release says, "The choices you make will alter the way you think, and your thinking will alter the paths you take."

Vampire: The Masquerade - Coteries of New York is set in the same universe as Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 and is based on the Vampire: The Masquerade 5th edition tabletop role-playing game. Shadows of New York is described as being a companion to Coteries of New York, but offers its own unique standalone experience from a new perspective. You can find out more here 

Developer Draw Distance is also the creator behind the upcoming sequel Serial Cleaners. A teaser trailer debuted during the Future Games Show, revealing that the sequel to Serial Cleaner is set in the '90s and is due to release on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC in 2021. 

Here's our roundup of all of the upcoming games 2020

Heather Wald
Senior staff writer

I started out writing for the games section of a student-run website as an undergrad, and continued to write about games in my free time during retail and temp jobs for a number of years. Eventually, I earned an MA in magazine journalism at Cardiff University, and soon after got my first official role in the industry as a content editor for Stuff magazine. After writing about all things tech and games-related, I then did a brief stint as a freelancer before I landed my role as a staff writer here at GamesRadar+. Now I get to write features, previews, and reviews, and when I'm not doing that, you can usually find me lost in any one of the Dragon Age or Mass Effect games, tucking into another delightful indie, or drinking far too much tea for my own good.