Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 is finally here 21 years after the original RPG, but its 'Mixed' Steam reviews prove it's not love at first bite: "It's not a Bloodlines sequel"

A vampire from the new game, Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines 2. — (Image credit: Paradox Interactive)

It's finally here – two decades after the first title from Troika Games and Activision launched, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 has released… but its reviews show a mixed bag of reactions from newcomers to the RPG and longtime fans of the original alike.

Vampire stans and Bloodlines fans have been united under their excitement for the big Bloodlines follow-up, developed by Still Wakes the Deep studio The Chinese Room and published by Paradox Interactive, for quite some time now – but it appears the new RPG isn't exactly delivering on its hype. The Steam page for Bloodlines 2, which just landed last night, shows "Mixed" reviews so far… and quite a few disappointed players.

"This is not Bloodlines 2," one person exclaims in their review, saying "the game you wish this was" was canceled long ago. Another writes, "Much like you stole another vampire's power from the start, this 'sequel' is Bloodlines in name only." Various players liken the new game not to the OG Bloodlines but to other, more linear titles. "It's infinitely closer to Zeno Clash and Dishonored's lovechild," as somebody puts it.

Further down in the reviews, a fan explains that, "It really depends on your expectations. I personally really enjoy it so far and just treat it as vampire Dishonored." To be completely fair, there are plenty of "Positive" comments too – much like that one – but overall, it seems that hardened Bloodlines stans aren't thrilled with the sequel. Reddit sheds more light on folks' thoughts, with one thread reading, "If you didn't want your game compared to VTMB, you shouldn't have named it VTMB 2."

Another post describes how "the repeat enemies are just embarrassing" in Bloodlines 2, alluding to the controversial launch of Cyberpunk 2077: "Even Cyberpunk on release, which was criticized for lack of NPC diversity, was nowhere near as bad as this." Other player discussions on the forum see people criticizing everything from the lack of manual saves to the inability to dance in the game's nightclubs.

As our own Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 review declares, the "blunt-toothed sequel is just a boring, linear action brawler" rather than the engaging RPG fans of the first game expected – and it looks like others largely agree.

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After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.

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