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Beating up a wooden mannequin is not my idea of a vampire fantasy. As a result, following the extended Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 gameplay reveal, I'm hopeful for things yet unseen and wary of what we know now. That's a pretty difficult spot to be in, not only for myself as a diehard World of Darkness fan, but for developer The Chinese Room.
Yesterday's longform look at the upcoming vampire RPG was The Chinese Room's first substantial opportunity to show off what it's been working on. Having taken over development from Hardsuit Labs nearly four years ago, this was the Dear Esther studio's first chance to dazzle the skeptics and allay any bubbling concerns held by the more puritanical fans of Troika Games' 2004 original. What we saw was not all bad – the lighting and environmental detail definitely impressed me – but showing off this particular moment of the game at such a crucial juncture feels like a strange move.
Combat-heavy, clunky, and with a bizarre number of non-human enemies, the gameplay reveal showed something more akin to a rough Dishonored pre-alpha than a refined Bloodlines sequel set to launch later this year. It left me wondering why The Chinese Room would show off such basic melee combat, through arguably its least-interesting vampire clan, when it's still yet to show us why Paradox greenlit them to deliver this game in the first place. Hopefully TCR is keeping the good stuff in the oven a little longer, but I can't lie: I fear Bloodlines 2 is already lacking the unbeating heart that made the PC original such a cult classic, and this disconnect from its source material feels risky for a first showing.
Tapping the vein
Bloodlines 2 could remedy the fact that we need more vampires in video games.
The embattled project has not had an easy go of it. Bloodlines 2 has three delays and a total restructure under its belt already, but with no concrete release date yet within its 2024 window, I just can't help but wish we'd seen more – or something else entirely – during the gameplay reveal.
I was hoping to see some of the deeper RPG mechanics that Vampire: The Masquerade is known for. Both in its video game offshoots and the TTRPG at its source, the dense lore of the IP is what makes it so exciting. I'm not even mad that Bloodlines 2 is taking a decidedly more action-RPG angle compared to its 20-year-old predecessor (and let's face it, the combat in Bloodlines 1 is nothing special at all) because all of the dev diaries up until this point have reassured me that The Chinese Room, simply put, knows its shit. I have no doubt that it does, having outlined multiple playstyles that would-be Kindred might take advantage of in Bloodlines 2, from stealth to a more hands-off approach that more closely resembles the first game. With the Tremere, Venture, Banu Haqim, and Brujah clans already confirmed as the core four we can expect on day-one, the fact that the extended gameplay reveal didn't show off any character customization has me feeling uneasy.
One of the biggest concerns harbored by many returning Bloodlines fans is that, through having a voiced protagonist like Phyre, the roleplaying potential of building and playing your very own vampire has been narrowed considerably. I feel The Chinese Room would have benefited from walking us through the game's RPG DNA before diving into the combat, demonstrating how vampire skills (aka Disciplines) come into play for each of the four vampire clans alongside Phyre's latent Elder vampire abilities. Bloodlines is first and foremost meant to be an RPG after all, but aside from three rather stunted dialogue trees, the extended gameplay reveal doesn't really give that impression. Instead, it focuses on combat.
Diamond in the rough-and-tumble
There's still a lot to prove when it comes to how the studio will realize the vampire fantasy.
Some elements of Brujah Phyre's fists and teeth-first melee play style really do gel with me. I love ripping the heads off ragdoll enemies as much as the next person, reveling in the satisfying wet thud of fist-meeting-pulpy flesh that punctuates each blow, but none of it feels vampiric in nature. Sinking Phyre's fangs into unsuspecting foes with the tap of the trigger buttons is a nice touch, but in the gameplay reveal, the foes in question are merely illusions that vanish into decidedly corny puffs of blue haze rather than collapsing to the ground. It's something you'd find in a small-budget 90s show, to be honest, and while it makes sense in the context of this scene, it's hardly first look-worthy.
With strict controls around a vampire's feeding being such a core tenet of the masquerade itself, it's a little bizarre that instead of taking an opportunity to show choice and consequence in Bloodlines 2, TCR opted with showing us how to beat up a bunch of ghosts and mannequins instead. This, paired with the emotionally-stunted voice acting and often stiff or downright goofy animations, is cause for concern considering the game is slated to launch sometime soon.
My hopes at this point are that The Chinese Room takes fan feedback constructively by showing something a bit meatier and, pun intended, higher stakes next time we catch a glimpse of Bloodlines 2. There's still a lot to prove when it comes to how the studio will realize the vampire fantasy, from tone to atmosphere and the meaningful integration of world lore and mechanics. What we've seen so far of Still Wakes the Deep makes me feel optimistic about The Chinese Room's dedication to creating a strong atmospheric presence, bolstered by the developer's grounding in horror games like Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs. What would really put fans like me at ease, though, is an earnest display of how that keen eye for detail and world-building factors into its vision for the gritty, immersive vampire RPG that I know TCR wants to – and can – deliver.
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