They just released the sequel, (sadly not up to its predecessor from what I gathered), and it’s Halloween, so what better time to talk about this special vampire game?
It was the last game by Troika and they were creating a mix of RPG and Acton and an early version of open world with a lot of incredible side content. And it is precisely this optional content that fleshed out the world so much and made it feel more real. The action part was not exactly stellar, although it was kind of funny as a Nosferatu in the late game to simply be invisible for ever and just stealth takedown all the enemies. Boss fights did not go so easily in contrast… I would even say the main story is nothing to write home about, although with a fun twist. The side content is what I enjoyed immensely however. Because it didn’t feel like the game was telling me: oh, go down that alley, it looks like there could be something with a big arrow. Instead I was simply put into the world and was free to explore it. And if I stumbled on something, that made the enjoyment that much higher, because I felt that exploration was rewarded.
It’s great strength is also that it takes role playing serious and let’s you commit to a certain character. Depending what vampire clan you belong to, your game experience can be very different. I chose the butt ugly Nosferatu, which meant I couldn’t even be seen on the street by humans without them calling me a monster and attacking me. So i was forced to move in the sewer or go invisible. That made certain interactions much harder. But other Nosferatu NPCs were cool with me but aren’t so friendly to normal pretty face vampires in contrast to how they treated me.
This game is set in the Vampire: the Masquerade setting of World of Darkness, which is normally a tabletop RPG. You do not need to know anything to enjoy the game. It contains a lot of explanation for new players to understand the world. For me it was also the entry point without any other knowledge before.
If you want to try it out: use the fan patch, it fixes bugs and adds some cut content.
So to those who played it: tell us some of your stories and what you liked about this game, to wake the interest of new players.
That Rik Schaeffer soundtrack is fucking irreplaceable. VTMB oozes atmosphere from its every crevice.
This game also has a stacked voice cast. Dee Bradley Baker, J. Grant Albrecht, Grey DeLisle, John DiMaggio, Steve Blum. If you grew up in the 2000s, you’re going to hear the voices of your childhood.
I think that what I adore about VTMB is how it’s designed to let you play the game with extreme variance depending on your build. I love New Vegas, but if you want to get into a place, you’re either talking your way in or shooting your way in. VTMB lets me complete objectives by finding ventilation systems to crawl through and hacking terminals to get the info I need rather than speaking to or fighting any person. This blend of RPG and imsim elements really scratches that itch for me.
Really, that’s just an indicator of how this game is designed to be Roleplaying-forward. If you play as an ugly bastard monster man, you better get ready for everyone to treat you as such. Luckily, the devs thought of that, so you can also complete most everything as if you were an ugly bastard monster man.
This all falls apart a bit in the end. The game is built upon the Source engine, so combat is really fun. With that being the case, I guess they didn’t have too many issues with making the final stretch of missions a LOT of combat. I don’t think the game falls apart there, per se, but I could definitely see someone not speccing for combat and then suffering the consequences late game.
But that said, the side quests in this game! Holy shit! Whether it’s becoming a bounty hunter, saving people with your vampire blood, or taking out vampire-hunting strippers, this game is memorable as fuck.
Play it. I had not played a game that felt similar to VTMB until the recent release of The Outer Worlds 2, which has that same RPG/imsim design to it. Gems like this are rare, and you’re doing yourself a disservice if you never take them off the shelf and play.
The original still holds up in many ways, but it’s less mind blowing now than it was back then - although now it’s actually possible to finish thanks to the Unofficial Patch.
When it came out, it was a breath of fresh air with its writing and voice acting (at least the major roles) and the combination of a cartoony art direction with being an early Source game meant the characters faces were unbelievably expressive.
It’s also a game that absolutely shows the importance of “vibes”. The soundtrack, environment design and general atmosphere is just stellar and probably the single part of the game that truly holds up. From the run-down sadness of Hollywood to watching the rain outside the windows of your Santa Monica apartment and listening to the Deb of Night.
I think the choices-matter part is a little less prominent than some may lead you to believe - it’s a fairly linear game with missable sidequests, not a branching story - but the roleplaying is excellent and pretty much every single clan has unique dialogue and moments that play out differently. Particularly Nosferatu and Malkavian have a lot of unique stuff, enough so that there is probably grounds for 3 playthroughs (normal clan, then Malkavian and Nosferatu) which is fairly impressive.
The Malkavian playthrough in general is one of the best second playthroughs of any game, as your own dialogue choices are littered with spoilers about the story that your character knows before the player thanks to the clan’s madness/insight. There are also unique versions of many TV shows specifically for Malkavian - and more.
It’s a great game but definitely flawed in places. I will agree that the world building really carries the game. By modern standards the open world is rather small (and some parts look like they simply didn’t have time to develop - the hotel in downtown), but it works really well.
I will pick a less commonly chosen favourite; you get to meet the creator of the zombie movie genre and help him out.
And I love the Hollywood map music track (and this just excellent track among many).
VTMB2 sounds like an action game that’s lacking in RPG elements, so it’s not for me.
I might get it at as some point if the game + all DLC are available for under $10. If not, no problem, there are more than enough games to keep me occupied.
I thought OP was genuinely asking the question until about half way through…
Best haunted house in video game history.
The very first time I did the haunted house I was corner strifing (face the turn and step into it instead of turn the camera inside the corner). That freaking ghost came right at my face and scared the bejesus out of me. I’ve never jumped so hard at a game.
I still try to avoid that quest even though I know it’s coming.
I got into Bloodlines after Redemption. It’s a setting I really liked, though I was never able to get into the TTRPG aspect of it.
Redemption has the better story and better RPG, but Bloodlines has better gameplay and better voice acting.
I agree about the clans, you had so many options out the gate. Like 4-5 as I recall. I always heard, do not start with Machiavellian or however you say it, but I really did want to earn that playthrough. Got a couple hours into the game and glitched, I can’t quite recall where.
I think the game had the same charm as the first Deus Ex. Butt-ugly graphics but amazing story and great gameplay. A real treat for those who could look past its dated graphics. I never thought the graphics of either one was bad.
I don’t recommend it now because AFAIK it requires Windows and I no longer run that. If it did run on my platform (Mac), I doubt it would run on the new ones. But I remember it being good for what kind of game it was.
From what I found, it’s possible to play it on Linux through Wine, so not totally windows exclusive. How well it works depends probably on how willing you are to tinker, as always in such cases.
I can confirm, I played the GoG version on Linux some years ago.
I’ve been banging on about it for a while. Prior to 2023 I was never big into vampire media. I tried VtMB on a lark after one of my favorite YouTube channels made some lore videos that made the politics sound really interesting.
I immediately fell in love with the 2000’s sleezy vibe. I’m a millennial and I’m nostalgic for trashy shit and it was just so perfect. Was my perfect Halloween game.
Sadly it’s only a facsimile of the cool World of Darkness setting but it’s adequate. Certain aspects are portrayed very well.
The new one is a better exploration of WoD because it’s more faithful to the setting but it lacks any novel moments that Pop like the first one did. Definitely try it if you just want to vamp around in that world. The combat will eventually just feel like a chore but the roleplaying is fun.
I just wanna know how the new one holds up to the old one, outside of the obvious graphical improvement. Only thing I really know is that they were or still are holding some of the races hostage by being extra things you gotta pay for and fuck that noise.
Well it’s not an RPG, at all. It’s Dishonored with a vampire skin, witch is kickass, it just really pisses me off that it’s the sequel to an RPG videogame adaptation to a TTRPG. I just wish they didn’t release it with the bloodlines name. Also just like the original idea of the game playing as a no name thin blood more than an already fully realized character, big shot elder vampire.
Paradox backed down an included the day 1 DLC clans.
I bought it, launched it, saw the character creator screen, got overwhelmed and uninstalled it.
Yeah, that got me at first, too. It’s pretty directly pulled from the TTRPG. Just pick a combat skill + whatever you think you’d like to do and you’re golden. FYI, Tremere has magic that heals you and fills your blood meter. Great clan for a first playthrough.
Give it a shot. It’s not too bad and you can’t mess it up really.
I’d recommend picking a specialty and try to max points vs spread out in a few categories. Skill points cost more the higher you go once you start.
It really gets its source from a character sheet of tabletop games. “What are you good at?”
I agree about giving it a shot, but not about not being able to mess up. The second half/third of the game has a ton or forced combat and it you went into it expecting to be able to avoid fighting then you might end up soft locked.
As long as you pick at least one way of fighting - whether unarmed or melee or guns or disciplines (vampire magic) - and invest in it then you’ll be fine.
Yeah those categories are pretty straightforward at character creation. Just pick one and dump all starter points into it
