In my bedroom, there’s a tall white shelf. On the shelf are all my favorite video games from all different consoles. These are games I loved or games that mean a lot to me. I didn’t realize this, but my husband told me that the Xbox Series X can play Xbox 360 games. Once I realized that, I went to my shelf to figure out what I wanted to play first. My eyes immediately went to BioShock, and without any hesitation, I pulled it off my shelf. This is the year that I will spend replaying games that carry sentimental value for me.

I treated video games like I treated books, where once I finished playing the game, I’d move on to something else. It was rare for me to replay a video game or re-read a book. I want to be better about this. If I loved something, why would I only experience it once? BioShock is an exception to the rule, as I have replayed this game several times, although it’s been a while since my last play-through.

I’m looking forward to continuing to replay games I enjoy. I will still buy new games and play new releases if something suits my fancy, but for now, I’m going back to reliving the games that brought me joy many years ago.

Steam had a major sale for their event called Steam Detective Fest. All detective, noir, or puzzle games were on sale. I played several game demos, and oddly enough, the demo I liked the most wasn’t a detective game at all. As I browsed through their sale, I saw almost every single Nancy Drew PC game was over 40% off. I purchased eight games that I don’t own yet. This should keep me busy for a bit. I decided to play Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice first. Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice was one of my favorite Nancy Drew games that I played.

Nancy is sent to Venice to investigate a series of art thefts. The art thefts are linked to a person called The Phantom of Venice, who wears a mask and a cape during the heists. The Italian Police tell Nancy of a potential suspect, so she spies on them from a nearby building. From there, Nancy is sent all around Venice and even has to perform a heist herself!

I’m biased, as someone who went to Italy last year, I like the setting of the game. While I haven’t been to Venice myself, I thought the game captured the city well. Nancy takes the gondolas to get from place to place and will often walk to the various Piazzas that she needs to get to. Speaking of navigation, I thought this was straightforward. There’s a map of the sites in Venice, and Nancy needs to click on a location that’s adjacent to her. Depending on the location, she may walk, take public transit, or take a gondola to get places. I liked being able to explore multiple locations, unlike some Nancy Drew games, where she’s stuck in one place for the game’s entirety.

Speaking of straightforward, I think this Nancy Drew game was one of the easier games to follow. There are some Nancy Drew games where I spend an hour talking to people, calling Ned, or trying to advance the plot because the next thing I need to do hasn’t been unlocked. I like how this game sends Nancy exactly where she has to go, and each to-do list in her notebook leads exactly where it should. It makes for an easier gameplay experience.

It’s not a Nancy Drew game without mini-games and puzzles. One of my favorite games is a card game that Nancy plays in a nightclub called Scopa. The game itself is pretty straightforward, and while I lost the first game, I was able to win the second fairly easily. There are two instances in the game where you have to play Scopa to get information. I looked this up, and the rules in the game appear to be accurate representations of how Scopa is played. I could have spent multiple rounds playing Scopa for no other reason than I enjoyed the game. The puzzles in this game were also interesting. It’s funny, there’s a locked door in the lobby where Nancy stays. I took the time to pick the lock because if I have learned anything from a Nancy Drew game, if there’s something locked, it’s probably important. Oh, there was nothing. I ended up getting a chicken egg for my efforts and an award at the end of the game. I think that’s the one time I have ever experienced that in a Nancy Drew game.

After I complete a Nancy Drew game, I sort it into one of three Steam folders: Games Completed, Games I Love, and Not Super Interested in Playing. I’d list Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice in the Games I Love folder. This was one of the easier Nancy Drew games to follow. I loved the location, and the mini-games kept me entertained. The next Nancy Drew game I will play will either be Nancy Drew: Secret of the Scarlet Hand or Nancy Drew: The Secret of Shadow Ranch.

There’s nothing quite like a snowstorm to keep someone sequestered for a weekend. It ended up being the perfect time to sit down and complete Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2. I have been playing this game for a few months now. When I play video games, I like to take my time. I don’t want to rush the story; instead, I like to complete a few story missions, then switch gears and focus on the side quests. I spent time feeding on the citizens of Seattle, which allowed me to unlock perks from the other vampire clans. There are many opinions about Bloodlines 2. Some say the game isn’t bad, while others claim it’s horrible. I enjoyed playing Bloodlines 2, although I can’t help but feel disappointed with certain parts of the game.

Spoilers for Bloodlines 2 Below

Bloodlines 2 opens with Phyre, who awakens from Torpor. As Phyre comes to their senses, they hear a voice in their head belonging to Fabien, a Malkavian Detective who’s a Kindred local to Seattle. Phyre questions him, and Fabien struggles to recover his memories. As the two investigate further, they realize Fabien was killed by Phyre after he opened the box Phyre was resting in. If that wasn’t enough, Phyre sees a strange mark on their hand. Phyre feels weaker than they should, and they believe this mark is responsible. Fabien encourages Phyre to seek out the Camarilla for permission to wander Seattle and to figure out how to remove the mark.

I have so many thoughts about this game, so I’m going to list all the things I liked and disliked, then break them down point by point. Starting with the things I liked about Bloodlines 2:

• The Story
• Characters & Contacts within The Camarilla
• Environment
• Customization

Playing Bloodlines 2, the story was engaging. I am fortunate that none of the game was spoiled for me, so I went into it not knowing what to expect. I was curious as to who the Rebar Killer was both in the 1920s and the present day. I liked how Fabien’s story interwove with Phyre. Fabien’s missions were more story-based with no combat, while Phyre was often taking on several enemies at once. I think it was a nice breather to play as Fabien. For any Vampire: The Masquerade (VTM) game, whether it’s Bloodlines 2 or the tabletop game, the Camarilla contacts are the backbone of the story, whether you like them or not. I liked interacting with the local Primogen. Safia was my favorite contact. If there were any flirtatious dialogue options for Safia, I always picked them. She was the one I was trying to romance, which is ironic because of how the story unfolds later. Tolly grew on me, too.

The environment of Bloodlines 2 is arguably the strongest part of the game. VTM is a darker game, and Bloodlines 2 captured this perfectly. Every alleyway feels darker than it should; the neon lights of the city are brighter in a gothic way. It felt like I was playing a VTM video game. I like how Bloodlines 2 allows players to choose the clan powers they want. In the VTM tabletop game, you can learn powers outside your clan from a clan contact who has that ability. This is how Bloodlines 2 is set up, too. While I committed to playing Ventrue, I could still pick abilities from other clans.

Now onto the things that I didn’t like about the game, or things that I felt could be improved in a future update.

• Keeping Bloodlines 2 as the title of the game. One option could have been: Vampire: The Masquerade Seattle by Night.
• Where are Gangrel, Nosferatu, and Malkavian playable clans??????
• Creating my own character vs. playing as pre-made characters
• No custom waypoints
• Autosaving is only for story missions, not side quests.
• Open-Ended Story

Let’s start with what I think is the most obvious: the name of the game. Bloodlines 2 references that this was supposed to be a sequel to Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines, a VTM game released in the 2000s. This game is a cult classic and is brought up in VTM fan spaces. I think it was a mistake to call this game a sequel when it feels different than the first game. I genuinely believe that if this game were named something else, it would have decreased the negative press surrounding the game. Something as simple as Vampire: The Masquerade Seattle by Night would have been perfect, or Seattle by Night would have sufficed.

While Bloodlines 2 unlocked a few clans from a paywall before release, the game is still missing clans. I have used this analogy before, but it’s as if Baldur’s Gate 3 came out missing some classes like Barbarian, Wizard, or Rogue. Fans would be pissed, rightfully so. In Bloodlines 2, I’m specifically citing that Gangrel, Nosferatu, and Malkavian are missing as playable clan options. Gangrel is a core clan, so why weren’t they included? There was exactly one Gangrel contact, but they were barely in the game, and they were murdered. Cool. For Nosferatu, you might be thinking, “How would this game incorporate a Nosferatu playable clan when they are often deformed? Wouldn’t this break the masquerade?” Excuse me, but Tolly is in the game and gets around perfectly fine. There is no excuse for not being able to play as a Nosferatu. While Fabien is a Malkavian, I don’t think that counts. It would have been interesting to see Phyre and Fabien play off each other had Malkavian been included in the game. It’s a missed opportunity to leave out some of the clans that people love to play.

Grouping a few minor criticisms I had, starting with being able to create a character. Since Bloodlines 2 is based on a TTRPG, I’d expect that I could create my own character instead of playing as pre-generated characters. This didn’t bother me as much, but I’d like to see a true VTM game where I create my character from scratch. Another minor annoyance is that you can’t set a custom waypoint. This would have been helpful while completing the side quests. Speaking of side quests, the autosave feature of the game doesn’t save progress on side quests. This is silly. In one instance, my game froze, and I lost progress on the items I collected. If this could be included in a future game update, it would make the game better.

The final item on my dislike list is the open-ended story. I know I said I like the story, and overall, I do. However, I disliked how the Rebar Killer plot line was open to interpretation. In the game, Fabien investigates a serial killer who takes out several Camarilla contacts (including Rosalind, the other Prince). Fabien finds out that Lou and her ghoul, JJ Campbell, were responsible. In the present day, the killings are repeated, and Fabien is sent to look into it. When Fabien realizes Lou and Campbell’s involvement, his memories are wiped, and as such, this part of the story is unresolved. Was Fabien behind the killings because his subconscious wanted him to remember? Was it Safia using the killings as a distraction for her plan? It feels like a bit of a letdown considering this was a major part of the story, and yet we don’t find out what happens.

Speaking of Safia, I’m so bummed that she ended up being the one responsible. She was my favorite. If it were an option, I would have gladly been under Safia’s mark to take out Lou Graham. Lou Graham sucked, and karma needed to come back for her. If there were a DLC created focusing on Safia’s story and how she got involved with the Sabbat, I’d play it.

This review is going to end, I promise, but I want to talk about the ending of Bloodlines 2. Bloodlines 2 has five, potentially six, endings depending on the choices made. I won’t spoil all the endings, only the one I unlocked. In my ending, Katsumi takes over, and Lou Graham is hinted at being thrown from a balcony to her death. Phyre remains as the Sheriff and works with Katsumi directly. Seattle becomes an Anarch city. Good riddance. The Camarilla was corrupt and needed to be dethroned. While I wish Lou’s death was something that Phyre could witness, it was still satisfying. I read the other endings, and I felt this ending was the one I wanted.

Is Bloodlines 2 a bad game? I don’t think so. I’m glad I got to play it, rather than if the game had been permanently shelved. I would have loved it if Bloodlines 2 were an excellent game; it could have led to people wanting to learn and play the tabletop game. The reception around Bloodlines 2 wasn’t enough to generate interest, and it’s a shame. I’m disappointed because I think this game could have been so much better than it was.

I wanted to share something I have been enjoying recently, and I hope you will enjoy it too. I was browsing through the VTM Reddit (Vampire: The Masquerade), and someone had shared their guide for running a Vampire: The Masquerade game in New Orleans. This guide was created by The-Katawampus, and it’s free to view. I downloaded it and started reading it. It’s fascinating! It’s 194 pages, and according to the Reddit post, it was intended to build upon the lore from an RPG book published by White Wolf in 1994.

I have never been to New Orleans myself, so I can’t say how accurate it is to the region. It seems well researched, though. The guide includes information about New Orleans, Baton Rouge, LA, and Biloxi, MS. It features various locations, regional history, specific NPCs, and more. I’m only twenty-seven pages in as of typing this out, so I still have more than 100 pages to read before I’m done. The fact that this is free to access is incredible, because there’s no doubt that I would pay for guidebooks for Vampire: The Masquerade in different states or countries.

If you’re interested in checking this out, I have linked both the original Reddit post and the link to the Google doc.

I decided to buy Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2. I was on the fence about the game, but once they rolled back the paywall for clans, I wanted to buy it to form my own opinions. While watching gameplay online, the game didn’t seem bad. The biggest catch about buying a game on release is whether it’s going to be buggy. I have played a few hours so far, and I haven’t had any issues with the game freezing or being glitchy. I haven’t finished the story yet, but once I do, I will write a full review. I wanted to share a few first impressions of the game.

I mentioned the atmosphere of the game, but I am enjoying Seattle as the setting. As I walk around with Phyre, it feels like this is what Seattle would be like if it were the backdrop of a World of Darkness game. Speaking of Phyre, she has grown on me as a character. When it was first announced that the main character’s name was Phyre, I thought it was a little ridiculous. I actually prefer Phyre’s Elder name of “The Nomad”. In between playing as Phyre, another character in this story is Fabien, the vampire who talks to Phyre in her head. Fabien was embraced in the 1920s and was investigating a serial killer. I’m curious to see how the story is going to play out and how Phyre and Fabien’s story relates to each other.

One portion of the game that I feel has a learning curve is combat. In my first playthrough, I decided to play as a Ventrue. Ventrue isn’t necessarily known as being a combative clan, but since I’m playing a Ventrue in my Vampire game every other Friday, it felt fitting to play as a Ventrue in Bloodlines 2. When I first started playing, I was dying a lot. As an elder vampire, I felt I could handle a few Anarch ghouls. I couldn’t have been more wrong. One thing that has helped me with combat is dodging attacks. This sounds silly because this should be obvious, but I wasn’t doing that as much. On a successful dodge, Phyre will do a counterattack with a kick. Another thing that helped me is to approach combat encounters as stealthily as possible. There was one mission where Phyre had to rescue some kidnapped ghouls. Once I took them out silently, I took on the bigger ghoul alone, and that made combat a lot easier. For reference, I’m playing on Normal difficulty. The final thing I would add that helped me in combat was using vampiric abilities. One of my favorites as a Ventrue is Terminal Decree. Terminal Decree allows you to command a mortal to kill themselves. Although if you use this on bigger enemies that carry machine guns, they get confused and drop their weapons and forget to pick them up again. This was clutch. I read this tip online, and it worked like a charm. Combat can be difficult, but once I have learned what works, it’s been easier to play through the story.

There are other minor things that I haven’t been loving about the game, but I think I will save that for my review. When I think about my thoughts on the game thus far, I feel Bloodlines 2 was worth the money. The disappointment comes in for me is that this game could have been so much more than what we got. This is something I will touch on more in a later post.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that there would be a new update to Animal Crossing! On top of that, this update isn’t exclusive to the Switch 2, so those who haven’t upgraded yet will still be included. While the update includes better graphics, I’m personally excited for the batch crafting feature. Normally, in Animal Crossing, you can only craft one thing at a time, but this update will allow gamers to craft multiple tools or items at once.

I don’t have anything else to say except that I’m excited! The update is set to release in January of next year.