Bloodlines 2: Is This Vampire More Action Hero Than Undead RPG Legend?
AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer ·
Eurogamer's preview of *Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2* reveals a game strong on action and atmosphere, with a cool immediate power fantasy, but light on deep RPG elements and interactive world design, leaving this curious digital wizard cautiously optimistic but with lingering questions about its true identity.
Right, so I've been tinkering with the latest whispers from the crypts of game development, and bloody hell, *Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2* is still playing hard to get, isn't it? After an eternity of delays and developer swaps, Eurogamer's Robert Purchese finally got a bite (pun absolutely intended) of a preview build, and the report, mates, is a curious mix of powerful hits and a few fangs left in the dark.
For those of us who’ve been patiently (or not so patiently) drumming our fingers on a dusty grimoire since 2019, *Bloodlines 2* has been less of a game release and more of an ongoing, slightly cursed magical experiment. Originally slated for 2020, it got systematically delayed, then full-on suspended, before being resurrected by The Chinese Room – a studio known for their atmospheric wizardry in games like *Still Wakes the Deep*. The big question looming over this undead resurrection has always been: has the long, arduous journey through development hell left it stronger, or just… different?
Here’s the fascinating bit, and honestly, the part that sounds like a proper power trip: you wake up in *Bloodlines 2* not as some scraggly, bewildered fledgling vampire, tripping over your own coffin, but as an *elder* vampire who's just woken up from a century-long nap. Talk about hitting the ground running! From the get-go, you're not learning to crawl; you're already doing incredible, monstrous things. Robert’s preview paints a picture of instant gratification: scrambling up walls like a super-powered gecko, even entire buildings if you plan your route right, then leaping off the other side and landing without a scratch. You can move with blur-like vampiric speed, float through the air, and punch people so hard they perform unplanned aerial acrobatics. Telekinetically grabbing objects (or even people!) and hurling them wherever you fancy? Yep, that’s on the menu too. There’s no gradual build-up of power here; you are, from the beginning, a beast unleashed.
And by all accounts, it *feels* great. There’s a snap, a pace, and a wallop to everything you do. Even something as mundane as climbing a ladder is fast-forwarded. As you start unlocking more powers – which vary slightly depending on your chosen clan (Robert joined the Brujah brawlers) – the action apparently gets even more ridiculous. Lightning Punches that pulverize enemies in a blur, charges that let you thunder towards foes and slam them into walls… the tactility, the sheer *oomph* of it all, sounds genuinely compelling. This, fair dinkum, is the upside to the game’s somewhat obvious action focus.
But here's where my wizardly senses started tingling with a bit of unease. See, the original *Bloodlines* (bless its janky, buggy heart) was an RPG through and through. It was flawed, sure, but it gave you choices, character builds that truly mattered, and a world that felt like it reacted to your chaotic presence. It was about shaping *your* story within a rich, established lore from the tabletop RPG that's been running for decades. This new *Bloodlines 2*, from what Robert's seen, seems to be leaning *hard* into the 'action' part of 'action RPG', almost to the exclusion of the 'RPG'.
Too often, it feels like you're being led through metaphorical corridors from point A to B, as though you're playing a predetermined experience rather than shaping one of your own. Imagine wandering through a grand, beautifully detailed digital realm, only to find most of the doors are painted on and the 'people' are just really fancy mannequins. That’s the vibe in the preview build. Seattle, apparently, looks stunning under a blanket of digital snow – the atmospheric wizardry of The Chinese Room is clearly at play, much like their brilliant environmental storytelling on *Still Wakes the Deep*'s dilapidated oil rig. The dimly lit griminess, the blood-smeared walls, the detailed home-base apartment… it all screams *Bloodlines* atmosphere. But if you can't really interact with anything beyond the specific quest path, or chat meaningfully with anyone beyond luring them into an alley for a quick, bloody snack… well, it feels less like a living city and more like a very elaborate, albeit gorgeous, diorama.
Even the central characters, with one notable exception, apparently don’t inspire much excitement. They look the part, but are predictable to the point of stereotype. The interactions feel stiff, and there's not much intrigue in the dialogue. The exception? Tolly, a disfigured Nosferatu, who injects some much-needed humour and charisma. This sort of observation is exactly why you need a clever observer like Robert digging into these things – spotting the patterns others might miss.
Thankfully, the story itself does have some intrigue. It’s literally embedded in you. You awaken with not so much a voice in your head as a whole other personality – bizarrely but brilliantly, a noir-style private investigator. This sets up an amusing clash of styles between his dramatic inner monologues and your own surliness, providing a built-in narrator to explain the world. In fact, Robert found that the best part of the preview came when inhabiting the PI-style character through a memory, gaining access to mind-affecting abilities. The challenge shifted to extracting information through dialogue from characters who didn't want to give it up, which sounds far more engaging than simply pulverizing packs of generic vampire thugs. This, mates, was a glimpse at the sort of thoughtful dialogue interaction many of us hoped the game would have.
Now, let's not pull the plug just yet. It's crucial to remember this is a preview build, still a couple of months from release, and it’s only the beginning of the experience. Early game sections often lay down ground rules before things open up like a magician's hat full of surprises. Robert himself reckons there's hope this digital Seattle might get a population boost and more interactive bits before launch. You want to believe, don't you? A curious digital wizard (that's me!) certainly does.
However, it's also fair to expect a preview build, and the beginning of any game, to grab and dazzle you. To convince you to stick around. Robert says he wasn't grabbed or dazzled, though he did enjoy some of what he played. I’m always wary of critiquing a game for what it *isn’t* rather than meeting it where it is. And yes, the focus on action makes plenty of sense for a modern title. But this is a sequel to a cult RPG, after all, and one based on a major tabletop RPG to boot. In this case, craving a little more role-playing, a bit more texture and depth to the game’s people and conversations, feels completely valid.
So, where do we land on this vampire dance? It’s a potent mix of dazzling action, a genuinely cool power fantasy, and atmospheric brilliance from a studio clearly adept at environmental storytelling. But the nagging question remains: is it *Bloodlines*? Is it an RPG worthy of its deep, blood-soaked lore? Or is it a brilliant action game dressed up in a vampire’s cloak? For now, the coffin lid isn't fully closed on that mystery, but a curious digital wizard certainly hopes it gets a bit more role-playing muscle before its grand unveiling.
Tags: VampireTheMasquerade, RPG, ActionGame, GamePreview, TheChineseRoom
Original article: Eurogamer