During October, the World of Darkness Discord would release news, new products, and content relating to Vampire: The Masquerade, Werewolf: the Apocalypse, and Hunter: The Reckoning. Towards the end of the month, a new trailer for Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 was released. Bloodlines 2 has been a long-awaited game that’s been delayed and picked up by various studios. Will this game be good? I hope so, but I won’t keep my hopes up.

Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 is a sequel to Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines a game released in 2004. Before you ask, no, I haven’t played Bloodlines. This game came out before I started getting into gaming and before I was introduced to Vampire. At the time, Bloodlines was considered a commercial failure. In the years since Bloodlines was released, it’s developed a cult following with gamers playing the game and citing that for the period it was released, it’s a decent game. I can’t say much more about that since I haven’t played it.

In 2015, video game publisher Paradox Interactive purchased White Wolf, the publisher behind Vampire, Werewolf, and Hunter. This is when there were rumblings that a sequel to Bloodlines could be possible. In 2019 the game was formally delayed and another delay was announced in 2020. In 2021, one of the developers left the project and there were talks of canceling the game altogether. In 2023, The Chinese Room was brought in to finish the game. I was under the impression that the game was supposed to come out in October of this year, but the release date was pushed into 2025. For those who aren’t gamers, I would equate this situation to the Disney Star Wars movies having two different directors. When you have multiple creative companies working on something, it can be messy. This has left fans wondering, will this game be any good?

With the success of Baldur’s Gate 3, I think there’s more pressure for Bloodlines 2 to be the Vampire: The Masquerade version of that. When I think about what I want from the game, I want to create my own character. I can pick her clan, what she looks like, how she feeds, and her flaws. I can wander around an open-world Seattle, completing missions and undergoing side quests. I can maintain a reputation, do I help people? or am I close to breaching the masquerade? I want to have reasons to replay the game. Based on what I know from the game, players choose a pre-made vampire character. It’s a bummer if I can’t customize my own character.

I watched the Bloodlines 2 trailer twice. Putting aside everything I talked about, the game looks good. I liked how the characters were revealed. I am more drawn to Safia, the Tremere, or Lou, the Venture. Do we get to play as all of these characters? or do you choose one for the whole game? I’m not sure. When it comes down to it, it’s not the game fans would have wanted, but I guess we will take what we can get.

I mentioned this before, but I hope this game is good. If Bloodlines 2 is decent, it could catapult Vampire: The Masquerade into more mainstream TTRPGs. If it isn’t good, then the game will fade into obscurity. I’m not going to pre-order the game yet, I want to see the reviews once it comes out. If you have been following Bloodlines 2 for a while, I’d love to hear your thoughts!