As night approaches, the fangs come out and the darkest deception begins. From its tabletop roots to its move towards visual novels and action RPGs, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 raises the stakes in the popular series.
In the final version of the sequel to the first-person adventure game, I must explore the sinister Seattle to discover what has come to delicate in the World of Darkness following its October 21 launch on PlayStation 5.
A living, undead world
The Emerald City has taken on a distinct shade of white in Bloodlines 2 after a brutal winter snowstorm restricted all transportation. It’s the perfect retreat where you can take control of a 400-year-old Elder vampire, known only as Nomad (or Phyre, for the more celebrated), who you can customize with a huge variety of outfits, face styles, and accessories. These choices can also influence how others respond to you – do you want a rider to respect Phyre? Then putting on a power suit won’t do the trick.
After completing the action-packed tutorial in the abandoned building, I was free to explore the brightly lit streets of Seattle while making a rescue invaded back streets and impressive skyscrapers. Even though the city is deep in the night, it is teeming with life. Between a variety of hikers, street art, and radio shows broadcasting everything from weather bulletins to people’s moods, environmental stories are everywhere, filling every area with something worth paying attention to.
Move like a vampire
From the very first minutes, the game teaches you the importance of verticality, and Phyre’s improved jump by quickly double-tapping the X button allows him to climb towering fences and reach high ledges.
In addition to supernatural jumps, a super-fast dash, the ability to easily climb drain pipes and escape routes, and the ability to soar through the sky without having to worry about falling injuries, navigating the city was an empowering experience. Especially since I often had to utilize Phyre’s heightened senses via R3 to track scents on the rooftops. However, there is a catch…
Keep the masquerade
According to the series’ established rules, performing unusual, supernatural or downright vampiric activities in the public eye is punishable by the Camarilla, the vampire court that enforces the code. This meant that my actions had to be guided with caution to prevent hunters from being sent for my immortal head. And the mortal cops roaming the snowy streets won’t hesitate to shoot if they suspect evil intentions.
Supernatural skills
But none of that curbed my blood-sucking expression. The fun was figuring out how to get around the law, supernatural or otherwise, especially since combat is a large part of Bloodlines 2.
Starting basic, tapping L1 allows you to dodge attacks while R1 performs a melee attack. The latter is devastating to humans – often reducing them to instant litter – but only deals minor damage to empowered enemies such as ghouls or other vampires. Considering I was fighting several brutes at once, stealth and strike… AND- Running tactics were vital to survival.
However, Phyre has one more trick in his coffin. Pressing R2 activates their telekinesis ability, which can be used to levitate objects from a distance, steal weapons from enemies, and even throw their bodies. This allowed me to draw people into the shadows so Phyre could feed, but also in one case gave me the chance to provoke the police into attacking a group of ghouls – leaving me to find a sheltered place to watch them eliminate each other.
Clash of Clans
Of course, there are other ways to fight. The clan you choose at the start of the game determines your progression in the skill tree and the skills you can unlock. I dug into Ventrue, which specializes in mental domination perks like temporarily possessing or enchanting enemies and being passively immune to attacks.
Other clans offer different talents, such as the brawling Brujah with abilities such as Earthshock, a Hulk-like ground vehicle. a shocking crack. Clan Tremere specializes in ranged attack blood magic, Banu Haqim focuses on the benefits of stealth, including the ability to prevent an enemy from calling for facilitate, the shadow-powered clan Lasombra allows for skills designed to trap or scare opponents, and the Toreadors focus on defeating the weak-willed in close quarters. You can also easily unlock skills outside your chosen clan by preying on people of certain blood types.
There’s another layer to all this: Fabien, the vampire detective, unexpectedly trapped in Phyre’s head. During compact breaks, I went into Fabien’s past, connecting the previous case with the current one… the mystery of their psychic entanglement, giving access to up-to-date powers, such as reading emotions to extract information from tight-lipped people.
Choose your words carefully
When fists aren’t flying, the branching dialogue system changes the pace nicely. When engaging in conversation, you will often receive different ways of responding, and Fabien sometimes suggests the personality you are dealing with. It’s significant to know when to utilize flattery, discretion, directness, or intimidation to get the best results, as your reactions can influence these relationships and how others perceive you as the story unfolds, in addition to the influence of clan membership.
Harness your vampire powers when Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 releases on October 21.
