EveryVampiregame, from the incredibleSoul Reaversaga toVampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines,have forgotten some crucial aspects of the supernatural beings who are their main characters. Even when trying to design a quality game with tremendously complex world building and storytelling, there are bound to be some things developers miss, or things they add that are not necessarily good.
In the case ofVampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, there are a lot of expectations, more so now that The Chinese Roomhave updated its release window to early 2025. What do fans actually expect of the game? Do they want it to be focused on the narrative aspects of the original IP, or do they want it to be more combat-oriented, like other modern RPGs? This list contains all the mistakesVampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2should definitely avoid.
6Repetitive Combat Patterns
It Tires Players Out, And Makes The Game Predictable And Boring
One of the most notorious problems with modern RPGs is that they consistently mess up encounters in such a way that it is impossible to distinguish one enemy from the next. Each combat encounter feels, objectively speaking, a little bit repetitive. All combat phases start the same: Get into a position that won’t alert enemies, do some stealth, maybe take down one or two enemies with stealth, then get discovered and go full Rambo on them.
So, in a game where we incarnate a Vampire from theWODuniverse, and an Elder Vampire at that, with so many powers and abilities to use, why choose to repeat this pattern? Couldn’t we just become mist and avoid dealing with smaller goons, and still be rewarded for doing so? Similar to howDishonoreddealt with the powers of The Outsider, where there was some sort of environmental stealth system instead of just plain duck and dodge. Then again, repetitive combat was also present in games likeVampyr,which was fun regardless, but still managed to disappoint gamers in some crucial aspects of representing an immortal and powerful being.
5Breaking The Masquerade
One Of The Crucial Aspects Of The Lore Should Be Handled Carefully
In the universe ofVampire, there’s an important thing players should always remember: The Masquerade protects not only the Vampire lifestyle, but all its subrogates (like Ghouls and Human Minions) as well. Of course, it was one of the main aspects ofVampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines,where players had to carefully plan their actions or risk triggering a Bloodhunt. So, how willVampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2handle this particular mechanic? Will players be punished little by little for revealing their true selves to humans? Or will they be limited to action in certain areas of the game?
For example: Elysiums should be mostly social, and it should be impossible to attack anyone inside of them. The same goes for human nightclubs. For players who tried the first game, they’ll have noticed that nightclubs were important for regaining humanity points. Will all those mechanics be related to each other in the sequel? Limiting the actions of the player definitely sounds frustrating and limiting, and in more than one case, could totally break immersion. So why do it? Let players break the rules and face the consequences. Don’t sugarcoat it; after all, it is part of being a Vampire.
Every Vampire Fan’s Dream, But VTM Veteran Players Know This Is A Problem
One of the things that is particularly annoying about Vampire-related games (and we are talking all around the genre, not particularly this series) is that they are obnoxiously fixated on the visuallyimpeccable and sharply-dressed stereotypeof vampires that was drawn out of the imagination of authors like Anne Rice. The truth is, Vampires inWODare not all perfectly dressed for the occasion, and there are several of them who are more like free spirits. The usual “role model” of the vampire is that of a 19th-Century noble, perfectly adapted to modern civilization. Or at least, that is what it looks like on the outside, and that is the stereotype.
Think about Becket or Smiling Jack fromVTM - Bloodlines;they don’t look particularly disheveled, but are still visually impactful without relying on stereotypes. One is a scholar, the other is a punk Anarchist vampire who wants to stick it up the Camarilla’s backside every once in a while.
Speaking of the Camarilla: How will that work in the game? Factions are tremendously important forVampire: The Masquerade,and since the devs revealed that we will be playing the “Sheriff” of Seattle, and that means a Camarilla-only gig. Yet vampires are fickle, and their morals and alignments are constantly shifting according to their selfish desires. That is, perhaps, one of the most important aspects of the Vampire: Its true nature as a predator, not cattle. While predators are free to roam, cattle stay obediently in a pen. Will players be forced to stay in a pen, or will they roam free?
3Punishing Players For Their Choices
A Growing Trend Among RPGs Should Be Avoided At Any Cost
One of the aspects of the original game that was so controversial was its insane level of difficulty if players made certain narrative choices. In every traditional RPG, stats are important for the outcome of gameplay, more so if players keep in mind that certain stats are placed there to make their lives easier when it comes to choosing a playstyle. What happens if the stat system is unnecessarily constraining the player, and basically bars them from getting the best possible outcome? Isn’t the purpose of RPGs to provide alternate routes for reaching the same goals, encouraging players to use their wits and adapt?
One option is giving players the choice and the outcome of said choiceas part of the narrative of the game. Another entirely different option is punishing players who want to solve things in an alternate or outside-the-box way, and that is usually bad. Most RPGs give players this false sensation of agency, while in reality, they just offer one or two (with luck up to three) “right” dialogue choices to set things in motion and discover “the best possible outcome.” That is not player agency; that’s just bread-crumbing with extra steps, and it would be a mistake to do that in a deep RPG that caters to an adult audience.
2No Bullet Sponge Enemies, Please
Another Weird Way To Spike Difficulty, But It Shouldn’t Be Necessary
In theWorld Of Darkness, there are a lot of powerful beings, such as Vampires, Werewolves, and even the occasional Mage or Hunter (Changelings are tremendously hard to come by and thus, impossible to crossover with). However,unlike what the general audience might think, these are absolutely not indestructible beings. Though Vampires are some of the most powerful creatures in the world, alongside Werewolves, they are not truly immortal in a practical sense.
Sure, Vampires can take a few bullets to the chest (or head in certain cases) and still function normally. Werewolves, on the other hand, are much more resilient and require certain conditions to receive damage (aka. Silver) but still aren’t unkillable. The Werewolf inVampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines —the one players had to run from for dear life — was part of a scripted scene, and even so, as a Vampire players should have a chance against a Lupine if they play their cards right. In other words, ideally there are no bullet-sponge enemies in the game. They’re often ridiculous (more so if they are human), particularly when considering all the supernatural creatures that players could be challenged by instead.
1Level Of Difficulty Based On Vampire Clans
The Biggest Mistake VTM - Bloodlines Made
One of the things that madeVampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlinesplayers writhe in anguish were its “unwritten rules” related to Clan choice and the difficulty level scaling according to the players' choice in this regard. The most obvious example was picking the Nosferatu, a socially impaired Clan that is basically a walking “Masquerade-breaking machine.” Of course, this means the player should focus their gameplay style around Stealth, but sadly, there were parts of the game that didn’t incorporate this stealthy approach at all, and it ultimately resulted in a 90% chance of breaking The Masquerade with a Nosferatu character. This could befrustrating for players wanting to play a Nosferatu, as it is meant to be played while still having the chance to enjoy the full length of the game without encountering unfair death screens.
On the other hand, Toreador, Ventrue, and Tremere were clearly less physically focused, and that’s great, but they were still powerful enough to get near 100% completion, and could still be stealthy enough to play in the same way a Nosferatu can, but without the socially impaired status. Malkavians, on the other hand, were so unpredictable in each dialogue (often spouting nonsense that turned out to be visions of the future) that they added a whole new layer of difficulty to the game. In other words, the game had levels of difficulty based on which Vampire Clan players chose, and that wasn’t fun for every player build, or in every possible narrative outcome. Then again, this can be easily solved with “class” balance, or in this case, Clan balance. As far as we know, there will be only four Clans to pick from at the start ofBloodlines 2: Banu Haqim, Brujah, Tremere, and Ventrue. It seems like The Chinese Room definitely dodged a bullet with their choice, since most of those are balanced Clans (except Tremere, they’re still going to be broken). What happens in the future? Will they add more Clans? And if so, will they allow players some freedom or force them to play “the Clan’s way?” Only time will tell.
