I'm a casual fan of the World of Darkness, fascinated by bits of the lore I've dipped into throughout the years – but without a doubt the original 2004 Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines is one of the best RPGs ever made as far as I'm concerned (at least when modded to actually, you know, run). The adage that whenever it's mentioned someone will install it holds true. Don't think I didn't see you hovering over that download button. I know I did.
The early '00s goth vibes, the oodles of vampiric stats, the creative ways to approach quests, the way it feels like both supernatural entities and the mortals living among them have actual lives they're living. And, of course, silver tonguing my way through every problem until I get brained to death in that sewer dungeon. Which is why the long-awaited sequel barely being an RPG at all has baffled me, as we touch on in our deservedly scathing Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 review. But you know which game does carry the torch forward for role-playing in this universe? The extremely underrated Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong, which I'm ashamed to say I originally bounced off when it released in 2022.
Let the fangs talk
Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong, developed by Big Bad Wolf, is – at least in its best moments – all about social role-playing. The developer also made the equally underrated The Council, an episodic mystery that also shone with its verbal sparring. Here in Swansong, the character sheets you fill out (yes, it actually has character sheets, something Bloodlines 2 wouldn't know anything about) are all geared towards empowering you to either match wits through dialogue confrontations, or to allow you to scoop up information through exploration via, for instance, hacking or education.
Let's be real, I never went to VtM: Bloodlines for the combat experience.
With multiple playable characters you move between as the narrative progresses during a hectic event of political chaos for the vampire residents of Boston, each has their own specialities. Toreador Emem is a nightclub owner; Leysha is a Malkavian prone to visions; and Galeb is a Ventrue older than a lot of the other vampire elites around him, dealing with a past that – thanks to his immortality – is just weighing on him more and more.
It might be easier to have Emem smooth talk through some situations, whereas Leysha can outright become invisible to investigate forbidden areas. Each chapter is quite rigid with where these can be used, but it really scratches the nosy snooping itch I was so prone to with VtM: Bloodlines.
You can't use powers non-stop, either. Focus points can be spent and used to push your skills against who you're talking with on certain points to, for example, have Galeb stand up for his newer protege against the childe he sired who he's all but disowned. Likewise, blood is spent on vampiric powers, like heightened senses that allow you to eavesdrop, which need to be refilled by finding safe zones to feed.
Let's be real, I never went to VtM: Bloodlines for the combat experience – I don't think it's why anyone fell in love with the cult classic. It's for the branching choices, and feeling like you can really role-play through dialogue options. This is something VtM: Swansong has in very pointy spades, even if it's asking you to inhabit specific characters rather than your own creation.
From early on, the storytelling in Swansong is incredibly confident, throwing me into the mix of vampire politics where everyone has history – and I can really feel all of it. This is the kind of game that hands you some frankly absurdly long codex entries for people you meet – but I hang on every word.
Detailed character backstories, notes on which generation of vampire they are, and how they were sired into each clan (all very important information for World of Darkness). It's rich and juicy, and comes through in play as well, with those histories between characters being central to your journey through unravelling the mystery. Swansong is clearly made by some tabletop RPG nerds who love to (ahem) embrace worldbuilding – something a setting like World of Darkness really enriches.
There are some elements that don't work quite as well. Character models can look a little stiff, with Big Bad Wolf's move towards more of a World of Darkness house style not working quite as well as the stylization in The Council. And yet, the visual direction is wonderful, from the red salons that act as high class vampiric blood bars for sipping on pre-bottled or living humans, to the imposing architecture of the Camarilla headquarters. Though it is a shame there are a few too many back alleys and hallways by the game's end, and I can end up slowly jogging around hunting for that thing I feel like I just missed before I progress.
But with a world this rich, and a storyline that really plays to what I love about World of Darkness, it's hard to be bothered too much. The three main characters are all great, and I've really found myself hooked on wanting to know more about them. Swansong really makes World of Darkness' vampire clans feel, ironically, alive – and choosing when to push using powers through heaps of excellent dialogue and when to hold fire is a compelling conversation RPG hook to me that builds on that feeling I love in VtM: Bloodlines.
Family tree
Considering how simplistic much of the role-playing feels in Bloodlines 2, it's odd how much of a breath of fresh air returning to Swansong feels. There, all the characters feel very one note, and there's little sense when you're told a character is reacting to a conversation choice you made that it really matters much – especially with how railroaded you are into a fairly linear plot.
Bloodlines 2 doesn't come close to matching Swansong's love of the details.
In Swansong, those moments are everything, and you have to live with the decision to sometimes deliberately choose not to push moments to ensure you have enough focus to do so later. If anything, Swansong maybe goes too far with how nasty the consequences of flailing throughout chats can be – locking you out of vital story information to the point you can miss out on some really crucial knowledge.
Do I dare say it? That Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong feels like a closer successor to Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines than the actual Bloodlines 2? It's not a full RPG, so ultimately it's a very different beast, but Swansong's focus purely on social and exploration RPG mechanics really does wrangle with all the most enticing bits of the original Bloodlines for me – though I do have to acknowledge that part of Bloodlines' appeal is how those aspects sit alongside the rest of the RPG experience. Swansong is a better successor, but it's not much of a challenge – so too are the excellent Vampire: The Masquerade visual novels (and I still need to try the text adventures).
It's just sad that Bloodlines 2 goes so far the other way, pulling back almost entirely from the RPG experience, more focused around repetitive combat with only quite superficial dialogue trees and choices to deliver a linear and dull story. I actually began revisiting Swansong alongside mopping up the final few hours of Bloodlines 2, and found myself really missing it – from the vibes to the worldbuilding. Bloodlines 2 doesn't come close to matching Swansong's love of the details.
Swansong luxuriates in its storytelling to the point that I can see it being a detriment for some. But, dim those lights, don some goth make up, and prepare to curl up as you pore over codex entries, have the glittery nightclub owner Emem clack-clack-clack down hallways following intrigue, and embrace some serious angst. Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong seriously deserves a second chance, and I've willingly accepted its embrace after feeling let down by Bloodlines 2.
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