Vampire®: The Masquerade - Bloodlines™

Ich wollte Vampire The Masquarade - Bloodlines schon länger mal nachholen und für die 5€ im Sale war es das alle mal wert! In den 33 Spielstunden meines ersten Durchlaufs griffen Dialoge, Schleichelemente und Kämpfe gut ineinander und präsentierten eine interessante Vampierstory mit erinnerungswürdigen Momenten und Charakteren. Natürlich ist The Masquerade ein Spiel seiner Zeit und bietet somit keine moderne Grafik oder gar eine gewaltige open World. Die verschiedenen Spielehubs sind jedoch stimmig gestaltet und bieten jeweils einge Nebenquests. Diese sollte man auf jedenfall mitnehmen, da die meisten gut gemacht sind und man einige sowieso beim erledigen anderer Aufträge gleich miterledigen kann. Außerdem geben sie wertvolle Skillpunkte, die man in eine RPG typische Auswahl an Attributen, Fähigkeiten und Vampierkräften investieren kann. Diese bestimmen über Kampfgeschick, Überredungskünste oder Infiltrationsskills. Das Kampfsysthem teilt sich in 5 Arten auf. Es gibt den unbewaffneten und bewaffneten Nahkampf, Fernkampf mit Schusswaffen, einen soforttötenden Schleichangriff und die möglichkeit seinen gegner einfach vampiertypisch auszusaugen. Vom Zielen im Kampf, erinnert es mich am ehesten an ältere GTA Teile. Infiltrationsskills wie Schleichen, Schlossknacken und Hacken sowie die verschiedenen Überredungskünste geben einem hier ein vielseitiges Arsenal für die verschiedenen Missionen. Ich hoffe meine Review war hilfreich und empfehlen Vampire The Masquarade - Bloodlines hiermit wärmstens weiter ;)

Revisiting this game after well over a decade and it's still as fun as I remember. The GOG verison includes both the last official patch from the sadly defunct Troika Games and the latest fan patch rolled into the installation. This provides some much needed bug fixes, returns some cut content, and updates some of the visuals so the game will look slightly less muddy on a modern HD display. This game is part of what I like to call the "early 2000's greats" in terms of roleplaying games - it ranks up there with the first two KOTOR games and Deus Ex, and that's no exaggeration. GOOD: - Works out of the box from the GOG launcher on Windows 10 with HD support - Missions often let you tackle them in many different ways, be it stealth, combat, or talking - Lots of differing dialogue options that will change the story and how characters react to you - Does a good job for explaining the basics of (third edition) VtM lore for newbies - Four big hubs for you to explore non-linearly, packed with hidden goodies and side-quests - Each vampire clan is unique in terms of advantages, disadvantages, and interactions ingame - A handful of different endings depending on which vampire faction you want to side with BAD: - Some clans are definitely more fleshed out than others; Nosferatu, Malkavian, and Tremere in particualar get nice exclusive content while other clans do not - Some clans recycle generic Discplines (vampire powers) between one another, leaving a Tremere with a far more unique powerset compared to a Toreador for example - Game still buggy even with the patches pre-installed, I got softlocked in the tutorial. SAVE OFTEN TO PREVENT LOSING PROGRESS!

This game is unironically so good, every time I see it on sale I have the strong urge to buy it again. I have it on Steam, on GoG and twice as a hard copy, because the cover was not looking so well anymore. It gives you several stories to experience from the perspective of several protagonists, all of them are the same, but have minor or sometimes major differences. Just give it a go, install the fanpatches and don't feel bad if you don't enjoy your first run. Try again. And again. And again. And at some point you fall in love with its deep and well written characters, its brilliant atmosphere, strong writing, awkward and stiff gameplay. Games like Vampire Bloodlines are a rare gem, both superior and inverior to blockbusters like GTA. It is dialogue and story driven, but for everyone who can appreciate that it is a one of a kind experience they will not regret. Also it is one of few games where vampires are cool without being edgy and where the setting is presented with an adult and most of the time dignified fashion. I love it so very dearly!

Great game, I played it for the first time a few years ago and it was a good experience. So, I don't have nostalgia glasses on and I think my opinion seems to be more "objective". The downside is that the very end of the game seems to be done in a rush and the result is that the game feels more buggy than usual. Ah, and one more thing - the quest in the cemetry area (LA) is too hard and frustrating. Just play it, dialogs and voice acting are great!

You can dance in a goth club as a vampire and suck hookers in an alley, Need i say more?