I really liked Troika's writing and art direction in the original, so it's disappointing that this cashgrab sequel is so lackluster and plastic.

There's also people complaining about it using V5 and V5 ruining their holy lore... I don't care since I don't even like the lore. We only care about Bloodlines because of Troika's writing and art direction, not because of the IP license that Activision forced them to use.

This will certainly kill the franchise. No great loss there. On the bright side, that might force indie devs to finally get off their lazy asses and make their own vampire games with their own original IPs. Like how Rippaverse is doing an original comic and animation IP!

I've seen claims that the main character is customizable and you're not stuck with playing a Seattle Zoomer.

This game died years ago, yet still walks the Earth. It exists as a parasite, creating nothing but misery. So it's rocking being a metaphor for Vampirism, at the very least.

I'm really surprised nobody else has tried to make anything similar. I've checked out DARK and Vampyr, but they lack the self-aware camp and so come across as bland and uninteresting. DARK has interesting stealth powers, but the execution was terrible. To be fair, Bloodlines did have pretty janky mechanics but it is memorable because of the writing.

In general, gameplay in video games always trumps the story if there is one. Your story could be competently written, but your game could still be a financial and critical failure that goes unremembered if the game design isn't good. Bloodlines is one of the few examples that achieved cult status based on the merit of its writing when its gameplay was so janky.

On the bright side, at least Nighthawks seems to be trying to emulate the campiness. I heard some of the voice acting previews and the "evil mary poppins" character was delightfully entertaining. (Yes, the team literally calls her that.)

What I wouldn't give to make my own game in this vein, but I never learned skills in programming or drawing.

I will be very surprised if this game is not dead on arrival.
All the videos seem to generate nothing but more confusion and ill will towards the game.

It also seems to be another one of those cases of "PR team is so clueless it would need a PR team".

You'd think I would be very angry about this, given my love for the original, but I really just can't be assed to even be mad at this.
I just point and laugh.

Like this:
"Phyre" 

Funny, seeing Bloodlines 2 on the docket prompted me to finally break down and give the original a try. Just posted a review last week: https://themichlinguide.wordpress.com/2023/11/30/review-vampire-the-masquerade-bloodlines-pc-game/
In summary, I thought it was OK but not all that.

Quote from: Baron on December 05, 2023, 01:28:33 AM
Funny, seeing Bloodlines 2 on the docket prompted me to finally break down and give the original a try. Just posted a review last week: https://themichlinguide.wordpress.com/2023/11/30/review-vampire-the-masquerade-bloodlines-pc-game/
In summary, I thought it was OK but not all that.

i read the review. and, judging by the screenshots you posted in it, you played a brujah character, didn't you? that would explain some of the stuff you disliked - stealth and combat being hard and your whole vampire schtick being kinda meh. just try, basically, any other bloodline. malkevian in particular

The Unofficial Patch (Plus content cool but optional) is pretty helpful from a glitches/errors perspective. But I guess that's practically known to everyone by now.

Likewise, Malkavian or even Nosferatu (if you really enjoy stealth challenges) can indeed be a fun second playthrough. Though I definitely wouldn't recommend them for the first run.

It's not the perfect game, and a lot of your review was pretty spot-on I'd say. Still, it's a cult classic, and I suspect it'll probably be better than whatever the Dear Esther folks wind up making after discarding most of their predecessors' work. (Though I still do  plan to try the second one since I've been waiting so darn long.)

It died the moment they fired Brian Mitsoda in 2020. Killed every goodwill from the fans of the original. We all know, or at least felt, it will be a different game wearing skin of a sequel for name recognition for a while now.

also my first post here yay

Quote from: Lythel Phany on December 19, 2023, 09:51:31 AM
It died the moment they fired Brian Mitsoda in 2020. Killed every goodwill from the fans of the original. We all know, or at least felt, it will be a different game wearing skin of a sequel for name recognition for a while now.

also my first post here yay

Welcome!  You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.  You must be cautious...

I knew the game was doomed. Years ago the dev team made a statement that the game will deal with social issues.

Quote from: Baron on December 05, 2023, 01:28:33 AM
Funny, seeing Bloodlines 2 on the docket prompted me to finally break down and give the original a try. Just posted a review last week: https://themichlinguide.wordpress.com/2023/11/30/review-vampire-the-masquerade-bloodlines-pc-game/
In summary, I thought it was OK but not all that.

Well it's a 20 year old game, now separated from the Zeitgeist it existed in. But I remember being obsessed with it when it came out, it was something special back in the day.