Vampire®: The Masquerade - Bloodlines™

It makes me very happy that, after a rough launch, Bloodlines has achieved a status as one of the best RPGs ever made. It deserves it. Of course it has aged: all the action gameplay, be it combat or stealth, was okay at best even when the game came out and has only gotten worse since. Even the efforts of the super dedicated team behind the Unofficial Patch couldn't quite salvage those aspects of the game. However, that's simply not what you play Bloodlines for. The true beauty of Bloodlines lies in its world and how you interact with it. I've played many RPGs over the years and to this day Bloodlines is perhaps the game with the largest amount of interesting characters I have ever played. Seriously, even small throw-away characters in Bloodlines have more soul and depth than most "important" characters in other games. Whether it's the vampire prince of New York or just a weirdo working in the hospital's basement: all of these characters are genuinely interesting. Virtually every line is written and acted with love and delivers an insight into vampire society or the depravity of man or gives you a good chuckle - or all three! Add a massive amount of dialogue options (which mostly don't follow blatant patterns) and an "immersive sim" style approach to exploration and resolving quests and you end up with a game that remains a joy to play also after five or even ten playthroughs. I'm sure that the game's almost depressingly nihilistic style sprinkled with lots of black humor isn't to everyone's liking but dammit, personally I'll never grow tired of walking through Downtown or Hollywood to Rik Schaffer's dark but weirdly beautiful music. And every time I return to this game I discover something I had never seen or at least consciously noticed before. The game isn't without flaws: you get forced into the mediocre combat a lot and it's janky all around but by God, the writing, acting and atmosphere alone make it a ride worth taking. Again and again.

Make your mark on the city of angels as a newly reborn child of Cain, untangling your newfound powers and the vast secret societies that surround you. This is an extremely immersive world full of interesting characters, compelling lore, and memorable dialogue. However, it is not without faults, especially with regards to combat. First, you must select a clan; this dictates much of your play style. Perhaps you would try clan Brujah, known for their rage and prowess in combat. Or maybe the Malkavians are more your style, who use their insanity as a weapon to subvert their foes and avoid combat entirely. Your clan and gender choices also determine your character's appearance. Unfortunately, there is no further customization outside of third-party mods. Though, you only see your character during embrace and melee combat so take it as you will. The game abounds with memorable characters and plenty of quests. Most characters have excellent voice acting, distinct personalities, and great facial animation. The relatable SoCal neighborhoods are full of life and vampires are able to blend in perfectly with the nightlife. The game progresses through four neighborhoods, each acting as a hub. The later hubs are much smaller in size than the first two. There are plenty of skills which may seem daunting, and it is easy to make poor investments in your first playthrough. Typical staples like hacking and lockpicking are here, as well as various combat skills and special vampiric powers. You can also invest in your personality, like making yourself more seductive or intimidating which affects some dialogue. Combat is a bit clunky. Melee switches to a third-person perspective and there is a certain rhythm to landing attacks. Ranged weapons feel clumsy, even after investing skill points. Stealth is the most consistently satisfying option. Your choices also carry consequences and you can only play neutral for so long. Overall, an engrossing experience worth trying at least once.

VTMB's strengths are well documented (e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZSHdCyIfZU): its setting, its dialogue, its choices, its humour, its roleplaying systems. At its best, it feels like a cross btwn Fallout NV and Deus Ex with vampire powers and a hilariously broken stealth system. I definitely recommend this game, but I want to go over 2 big negatives which I don't think get talked about enough. 1) When we say a game is "unfinished", we're normally talking about disappointing, rushed final levels. And VTMB certainly has that. But worse by far, the STORY feels unfinished, like they had to chop off the final 1/4 and write a quick placeholder ending. What feels like the setup for the final act goes absolutely nowhere and (without spoiling) the ending retroactively makes the entire plot pointless. (It's not this but it feels like a "this was all a dream" ending.) 2) Finally, I want to talk about replayability because VTMB is (rightfully) praised for it, but there are some caveats that don't get discussed much. When people praise replayability, they're talking about mechanics because the 7 clans genuinely feel and play very differently (especially Malkavian and Nosferatu). But in terms of CONTENT, I'm not so sure. The main quest is one big mystery and most of the side quests involve minor mysteries. Mystery is inherently the least replayable type of content. Secondly, many of VTMB's best moments are tense, atmospheric spooky bits. But when you've already seen them, the magic is lost so the game's best bits become tedious, linear stealth sections/walking simulators. Third, knowing the utter pointlessness of the ending may taint the journey for some people.

I don't know of many vampire RPG's, but VTM Bloodlines is the king of them all in my eyes. It may be dated by modern times and rough to play/get into in spots, even with the Unofficial Patch pre-installed here, but practically everything else about it holds up. Most people recommend avoiding Malkavians and Nosferatu clans for a first playthrough, but thanks to Warlockcracy's video, I did mine as a Malkavian. The thing with this clan is that they're insane, or so they appear to others. But they have a deeper understanding of the world beneath the surface, and the game is very interesting to play as one. Malkavian dialogue is unique, appearing scattered, jumbled, or nonsensical, but they're aware of things other characters and even you might not know about until way later. This is due to their supernatural awareness, which is manifested like a mental disorder, but allows them visions into the future and gives them insight into the people they come across. A word of advice on how to play, don't invest everything into dialogue skills or stats. It's helpful at first, but can end up being less useful as the game proceeds into more combat/stealth oriented sections. You'll have time to build up some stats and skills, but later on, you'll want to focus more on combat. Both Firearms and Melee are great to have in tandem, and the vampire powers specific to the clan you choose can augment these or provide an alternative solution to a conflict. As a Malkavian, Dementation powers are extremely useful, letting you subdue, control, or even kill your targets. There's also dialogue options related to Dementation, often highlighted in red and having a mental effect on the character you're talking with. And with that, I leave you with a final message: "Remember, wherever we go, it is the blood of Caine which makes our fate."

- It’s been 18 years since Troika (this game’s developers) have disbanded, yet their legacy continues to endure. A game rushed out before it was finished, riddled with bugs, yet beloved by a small and dedicated community. - Bloodlines’ biggest feature is letting you pick the vampire clan from which you hail from, and interact with the many members of the other clans. This results in many roleplaying moments, as well as reasons to replay the game. - The world is divided into 4 hub areas for you to explore, which get unlocked as the story progresses. As for side missions, they’re all well put together and thought out to fit the game’s theme. NO radiant quests here. - Gameplay wise there’s dialog and combat. Dialog is a joy to engage in, thanks to the excellent voice acting. My suggestion is investing heavily in the Persuade skill. - Combat unfortunately feels clunky, especially ranged combat in the early game. My recommendation is to focus on Unarmed/Melee in the Santa Monica and Downtown areas, then start investing skill points into Firearms only after reaching Hollywood. - But whatever you do, make sure you download the latest version of the UNOFFICIAL PATCH, install it and play from the new shortcut it creates. If you want to make sure it’s installed correctly, just go to the Gameplay Options menu and there you should see "unofficial patch" written along with the current version number.