Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, now finally out after years of turbulence, has received a lukewarm response from critics and players alike. Only 55 percent of reviewers on Steam would recommend the game, with dissenters saying everyone deserved a whole lot better.
"This is not Bloodlines 2, this is Vampire: Seattle preying upon the Bloodlines name," reads one of the most popular negative reviews under Paradox Interactive's latest titles, which barely scraped the 60 average score mark on Metacritic upon release. The game, wrought with issues and production hell for nearly a decade, has been praised in some respects, chiefly the story, but criticized for its overall lackluster content, especially compared to the first game.
Between 2015 and 2020, VTMB 2 was being spearheaded narratively by its predecessor's chief writer, Brian Mitsoda, who wound up fired "unexpectedly" around COVID times. Since then, the game has switched creative directors, meandered through development hell, and somehow landed on shelves despite all odds. Though the first game was by no means a stellar launch, VTMB 2 has few things going for it, lacking even basic functions like weapons, an inventory system, RPG elements, bonus dialogue or skill checks.
All of the above were the strongest points of the original game, save perhaps for the overall combat and inventory, but those weren't its focus anyhow. A great RPG tells a great story, true, but it also lends itself to the player and their character to shape and influence the world around them, which the sequel just does not truly allow.
An RPG without stats or a robust, branching dialogue system influenced and informed by your character is no RPG at all; that's just how the dice rolls.
And many people seem to agree with that sentiment: the game is being labeled a "sequel in name only," developers are getting called various names, with most considering it a "disappointment," even when it does "work" in certain aspects.
It's simply a barebones experience, and when compared to the original—launched over 20 years ago—it's laughable, really. To have fewer options than a game old enough to drink is not a good look, and it's salt on fans' wounds: those fans who have waited two entire decades to step into the World of Darkness once again and look at it through a fresh pair of eyes.
But it seems they'll have to stick to the good ol' days of Troika, as Paradox has tried (and failed) to step things up.
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The post Once again, the long wait led to heartbreak for fans of this classic vampire RPG series appeared first on Destructoid.
