The game Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is an upcoming action RPG video game that is originally scheduled to be released in March 2020 but it was then pushback to the latter part of the year. For now, there are no confirmed exact dates yet but developer Hardsuit Labs stated in one of the developer blogs that they want to ensure the quality of the game thus the reason behind the delay. However, according to GOG.com, the game is set to be released on December 31, 2020.
Bloodlines 2 was first announced at GDC in 2019 and publisher, Paradox Interactive, confirmed that the game will be a sequel to 2004 video game Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines. By now, the studio had 16 years to develop the game and we sure hope so that the end product will not end up like its prequel with tons of bugs. But despite the criticism, issues, and controversies that the first game had to face, it still was crowned as one of the best RPGs of all time by various gaming awards including best PC RPG of 2004 by IGN and Role Playing Game of 2004 by Computer Gaming World.
Bloodlines 2 is set in White Wolf Publishing’s World of Darkness and follows the story of a human in 21st-century Seattle, who is killed and revived as a thinblood vampire with relatively weak vampiric abilities.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 Availability
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is already available for pre-order and you can do so on the following stores below:
- Steam – US$23.99
- Epic Game Store – US$23.99
- GOG.com – US$59.99
- Xbox – US$59.99
- PlayStation Store- US$59.99
All the prices stated are of standard edition.
There will be a collector’s edition and it will include the following contents:
- Main Game
- Map of Seattle
- 7″ Vinyl Featuring in-game Soundtrack
- 28 cm Elif Figurine
- Steelbook
- Bloodlines 5th edition core book
- DLCs – First blood pack, Unsanctioned Blood pack, Season of the Wold Pass
The collector’s edition will be available in 2 different sets, one that includes the game contents and the other that doesn’t have the game contents. The non-game collector’s edition is priced as $109.99/ €109.99.
Additionally, the collector’s edition will only be available in 3000 units.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 Release Date
According to the developer Hardsuit Labs, the game is set to be released on the end quarter of 2020. However, according to GOG.com, the game is set to be released on Dec 31, 2020.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 Gameplay
Bloodlines 2 follows the same game play structure of the Bloodlines 1. From the city of lost angels, the game moves to Seattle where the vampire community has been disarrayed and several factions struggle to power.
At the start of the game, your character was caught up in a mass turning of humans to vampires. Situations as such are forbidden in the Vampire community and rules are strictly implemented by a Primogen or a Price, ruler of the city. Camarilla was once the faction to keep things in check and punish vampires for breaking any rules. However, Primogens and Princes that rules over a city have gone missing. This leaves the world in a chaotic event that even a newly turned vampire can conjure enough power to rule a city.
Campaign
According to the developers, a single play through can last up to 30 hours depending on your play style. Narrative in-game as well as side quests will also be available.
Character Creation
Bloodlines 2 will offer a more robust character creation with an option to choose the character’s background. However, there has been no official statement yet on how much you can do with character creation.
Clans
There will be 5 playable clans according to publisher Paradox. Compared to the 7 playable clans of the prequel game, the 5 clans left are what remains of the failed Anarch movement.
The first clan we have is The Brujah. This clan is known as “The Rabble” in the vampire community. Brujah was a former clan of warrior scholars but in a modern age, they are considered as punks and troublemakers. In terms of power, the clan empowers Potency and Celerity.
Next is The Tremere. Tremere is a powerful group of warlocks that have learned how to control and wield vampire blood. Their abilities include weaponized blood or purge from enemies to heal yourself. This clan empowers Auspex and Thaumatergy.
The third clan is The Toreador. This clan values arts more than anything else and they use beauty as well as seduction to lure their preys. This clan empowers Celerity and Presence.
Next is The Venture. This clan presence the most dominating clan in the vampire world. As the founders of the largest vampire sect, the Camarilla, they ensure that Masquerade is observed and unbroken. They wield the powers of Dominate and Fortitude.
Last but not least, we have the Malkavians. This clan features unique abilities that lets them see a glimpse of the future. They wield the powers of Dementation and Auspex.
Discipline (Vampiric Powers)
Similar to the first installment of the game, Bloodlines 2 will include various vampiric powers that will let players play their very own style. According to the developers, you can get up to 6 active disciplines out of 11 available.
At the beginning of the game, as a thinblood, your character is limited to the following powers:
- Chiropterans – Lets your glide, swoop down enemies, and summon a swarm of bats to attack enemies.
- Mentalistm – Telekinetic powers that let you move stuff with your mind.
- Nebulation – Summon mist to conceal your presence or eliminate your enemies with a vortex.
Once you join a clan, the following powers will then become available for your character to master:
- Auspex – Enables you to see Auras through walls and detach your mind to perform astral projection.
- Potency – Enables you to knock down walls, throw enemies, and send out a shockwave.
- Celerity – Basically gives you the power of Flash.
- Thaumatergy – Weaponize your own blood or use your enemy’s blood to heal yourself as well as kill them.
- Presence – Basically lets you seduce enemies to do anything for you.
- Dominate – More like a mind control ability to make your enemies do your bidding.
- Fortitude – As the name suggests, empowers you to become physically stronger and absorb attacks to heal yourself.
- Dementation – The crowd control skill of the game. You can either haunt enemies to make them flee or make them go berserk.
Dancing
Bloodlines 2 has also brought the ability to dance in every club.
But this time, with better and smoother dance moves.
Other Good Stuff
The game will also be supporting Ray Tracing and DLSS to make the game more immersive and enjoyable.
For more information about the game, be sure to keep checking this post as we will be updating this post every chance we get.
For now, we’re pretty excited about the game and if you do as well, let us know in the comment section below!
Character Reveal
It has been announced that the fan-favorite character, Damsel, which is from the original Bloodlines will make a return in the Bloodlines 2.
She will be voiced by Courtenay Taylor, an American actress, known for her roles as Jack in the Mass Effect series and Ada Wong in the Resident Evil series.