Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption

In the way that the World of Darkness table-top game rules has a certain appeal to role-playing gamers who don't really like role-playing games, Redemption is a game that perhaps appeals most to gamers who don't particularly like video-games. Although the game itself is good enough, with it's pausable rpg-mechanics mingled with action-style gameplay, presented quite well with Nihilistic's NOD engine - the appeal of Redemption essentially lies in the story-telling. From the introduction in the manual when it comes to the main protagonist's fanatical personal faith and quest for salvation under the Church in the war against the heathens. That then flows into where the game starts in Prague, and the lead up to Christoph's fall from Grace. And on throughout the ages to the promised redemption (if the player so chooses to seek it). It is all such an artful introduction to the politics and the vampiric clans of the World of Darkness, that Redemption actually stands as perhaps the most interesting entry-point into the World of Darkness that was ever written. Whether it is from the perspective of introducing the fairly modest background of one of the second generation vampires, that would eventually become a supremely powerful being (that is, originally young love-sick Christoph, fallen holy warrior). Or if it is from easing the reader/player into the philosophy that guides the different vampire clans, Redemption is written with a kind of care for it's potential audience that White Wolf never had. Meanwhile, even if the overall story-line is quite linear, it is also worth noting that Nihilistic used the opportunities for interactive story-telling in this game quite well. As there are certain choices you can make throughout the game that essentially is a way to test poor Christoph's sense of morality without the Holy Church's guidance binding him. Overall, a memorable game that every gamer should play. And that every designer of videogames could learn much from.

I'd recommend this if you're looking for something that is carried by its main character's plight and world. Christof Romuald (voiced by Nicholas Guest) is a phenomenal character, a crusader whose black and white sense of morality is constantly tested after being placed into the world of vampires. There is some prime dialogue in Redemption, it's really quite exhaustive and often goes deep into the lore of the setting. It's rare that you have a set protagonist so engaging that they add their own quality input to the scenes they're in. My only real complaints with the game are the buggy pathing for the AI, where your party members become stuck or just stop moving all together for no apparent reason, and the inventory management. Neither of these issues ultimately ruined the experience for me, but I thought it would be best to note them.

This is a classic with deeply immersive, well written story that spans centuries and presents a stark entertaining difference between VtM in the dark ages and the modern world. I highly recommend adding the Age of Redemption to upscale your game to higher resolutions (and add a more options to your gameplay)-- and then go nuts. It is deeply atmospheric and charming for those that appreciate the occult or VtM.

So after all these years the graphics of course look like garbage, but still the game manages to keep you excited long enough to finish it, even though it's not exactly short. Let me walk you through this: Players who played this game at the time when it was first published spent more time finding bug fixes, than actually playing the game - we still played it. The first version had no saving outside the hideout, so players spent a considerable amount of time running back and forth, just for saving - we still played it. When the players died - and the players died often - they reawakened at the hideoud, not seldomly quite far from where they died, having to run all the way back to that boss they were fighting - only to die again - we still played it. The dungeons were partly so messed up, that players got stuck and couldn't break lose without losing a considerable amount of playtime since their last save. Also after finishing a dungeon, you usually have to walk back through all its' levels to get back to the overworld - WE STILL PLAYED IT! So the fact that so many people played it from start to finish often times more than just once, despite the myriads of frustrating flaws it had, ought to tell you how good a game this is. Surely today the graphics look like garbage alright, but in turn you don't have to cope with all the bugs and best of all: you can save anywhere anytime. It's a vampire story, but not one for the little girls. instead it's very coherent and deals with a lot of ethical and moral aspects of being something like a vamipire with all the potential consequences in a relatively adult manner. So while it doesn't always take itself too seriously it's made in a believable fashion, which definitely makes it an enjoyable RPG even with the outdated graphics.

I remember this game fondly as it was my introduction into the World of Darkness 20 years ago. Sadly, it's aged like milk. The XP system is confusing at best (the system used in Bloodlines made it much more understandable, much more similar to the TTRPG), and because of various bugs even with the 1.1 patch pre-installed, having your frenzy meter go all the way up in less than a second is not an uncommon occurrence. The storyline is cool (but having your main character speak in 'thee's and 'thou's throughout the entire thing gets a little annoying) and the music is dope. If you can live with some frustrating bugs I say go for it, but otherwise you're better off playing Bloodlines to scratch your World of Darkness itch.