Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 is the long-awaited sequel to the cult-favorite RPG from the now-defunct Troika Games, and it's had a bit of an interesting development period following its initial 2018 announcement from developer Hardsuit Lands. Now handled by developer The Chinese Room, the large-scale and involved role-playing game looks to not only bring back Bloodlines' particular brand of role-playing but also modernize the series in a big way.
In a recent interview with PC Gamer, narrative designer Arone Le Bray of Bloodlines 2 spoke about their revival of the Vampire RPG and how the massive success of Baldur's Gate 3 was a source of creative inspiration for them.
For Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, there's been a lot of curiosity about how the reboot is changing its approach to the game following the original attempt from Hardsuit Labs. While details of why that version didn't work out haven't been stated, the developers at The Chinese Room (the creators of Dear Esther and Everyone's Gone to the Rapture) have said that their version of the game features a new story and protagonist, now playing as an elder vampire named Phyre who has reawakened in the modern world.
Speaking with PC Gamer, Le Bray cited recent hit Baldur's Gate 3 as a source of inspiration for their work on Bloodlines 2, saying: "[Sarah Longthrone] (one of our writers) is a huge fan of Baldur's Gate 3, we're looking at how we can borrow aspects [from it], or how we can make sure we're not taking giant steps backwards in terms of stories."
Baldur's Gate 3 received immense acclaim for its approach to role-playing, and many believe it's the closest any video game has come to emulating the immersive and freeform nature of a tabletop Dungeons and Dragons-style role-playing experience.
The approach to storytelling in Bloodlines 2 not only leans on the original table-top RPG, but also the recent trends in the video game role-playing space. Le Bray, in particular, has prior experience as a developer at BioWare, working on the Dragon's Age and Mass Effect franchises. One thing that the developers want to nail is their take on the protagonist, who has to navigate Seattle's seedy supernatural underbelly and make important choices on how Vampire society will evolve.
"For us, it was about looking at Phyre and making sure their character feels believable in this time and setting," said Le Bray. "'Is this character acting in a way the player expects that they would act?' We never want to make it feel like the player could make the wrong choice."
Despite the change in developers and vision, Bloodlines 2 looks to go all in on the Vampire role-playing experience, where players get to immerse themselves within Vampire high and low society, all while maintaining the "masquerade" and keeping humans in the dark about the creatures of the night. With a release scheduled for sometime next year, it'll be interesting to see how Bloodlines 2 turns out with its revised take on a cult-classic RPG.
