Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption

There's a severe lack of Vampire media at the moment. Thus, I wager some people might be interested in this old "gem". The game itself is fine, although it has aged like milk. Before even attempting to play it, I'd suggest informing yourself about the necessary mods to make this thing enjoyable in 2021. First, there's the issue of widescreen resolution. This one is easily fixed by getting a patch. Secondly, there's the AI. Your companions are as braindead as you'd expect undead creatures to be. They have trouble both with pathfinding and fighting. Luckily, there is the Age of Redemption mod which might as well be included in this version, as it adds patches to these issues and adds some features for comfort. Once you've done that, you'll have a rather nice Vampire: The Masquerade game.

I bought and played this game after I finished the magnificent "Bloodlines". Redemption is, in many respects, less than Bloodlines. But let's not judge this game for what it is not but for what it is: It tells an epic and exciting tale packed with interesting historical information about the past of "Vampire t.m.". If you like good stories and if you like VTM then buy this game.

*Disclaimer* I have finished this game for the first time in 2019 so I have no sentiments from the past :) I haven't encountered any game-breaking issues or bugs. I must say I liked the story a lot. The writing is still good after so many years. I am giving it 5/5 just because of the story. I highly recommend treading game's manual to prepare for the game - it will make the whole experience easier and more enjoyable. There is a lot of fighting in this game and I wish there was a bit less of it. The levels are very linear and sometimes it gets boring a bit. The game took me about 25h to finish. Overall, if you're focused on the story element, it shouldn't disappoint you, but the "user experience" and action aspect of the game feels old, and clunky - the camera movement is not great, managing other characters is a chore sometimes (it's quite horrible if the AI manages the use of disciplines I recommend disabling it in the options...) and towns/hubs feel small and empty compared to modern games. If you're WoD fan, then that's an obvious buy in my opinion. Also, I suggest to take a look at Age of Redemption modification for this game, it changes some elements of the game and fixes a lot of issues and bugs. The good: + Engaging and interesting story + Diverse skills and abilities + Voice acting and writing + Interesting protagonist + Unique idea with story spanning through 800 years + Plays nicely on Wine/Linux The bad: - Coterie (team) AI is horrible - Combat is irritating at times - Some parts of the game are too structured and focused on repetitive combat

*Bad* -Your AI companions are brain dead and frequently get caught on things (doorways, various objects, etc.) forcing you to micromanage them at times. They also sometimes use their most powerful and costly abilities on trivial enemies. -The point and click mechanics are clunky. -Combat can be frustrating when fighting small enemies as you end up clicking everything but them. Also, no auto-attack. *Neutral* -Periodic bugs but they're only frustrating, not game-breaking (I.E., no crashes, BSOD, etc.). -While not necessary, if you want to have a much better experience then you'll need to install several mods (there's a vtmr subreddit that helps with this). -The game was developed in the early 2000s and as such, it's actually hard. -The graphics. As of the date of this review the graphics and cut scenes would be considered dated, but in 2005 they were likely top shelf. That said, even now they definitely get the job done. -Relatively linear gameplay. *Good* -Simple to use in-game console to give yourself items, XP, etc. which can easily mitigate the difficulty (if the game proves too challenging). *Excellent* -Audio. The soundtrack is amazing. The background ambience is amazing. The sound effects are great. The voice acting is superb, every actor and actress fits their role brilliantly. -Story. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any game I've ever played that has a better story, although there may be a couple that tell comparable tales (and I've got 437 games on another platform alone so this is saying something). It's just so good. The main driving force are the characters of Christof and Anezka--in any medium, their tale would be phenomenal but for a video game it's absolutely Top Tier. *Comparisons* Swan Song: Even with dated graphics and clunky gameplay, Redemption is in another league entirely. Bloodlines: BL has better graphics and the gameplay isn't as linear, but Redemption has a much better, much more emotionally gripping story.

Redemption has all the makings of a good Vampire-flavored Diablo-like dungeon hack: good atmosphere, interesting levels, fun powers, and a decent (if completely linear) plot. Unfortunately, it suffers from an atrocious interface and player character AI worse than Knights of the Old Republic. If it were possible to decently micro-manage the characters under your control, it would be worthwhile. Instead, you have to sit and watch while they run back and forth without attacking in the middle of combat, find the most obtuse paths possible, and of course endlessly block each others' movement. The stance system is a decent attempt to correct the poor AI, but instead simply results in characters standing around and doing nothing while they get pounded, or worse yet running off and drawing aggro from enemies rooms away rather then attacking those right next to them. If you loved Bloodlines and are desperate for another V:TM game, you might want to take a look at this; the flaws might be worth weathering to get your Vampire fix. Otherwise, give this game a miss.