Vampire: The Masquerade – Redemption is a game that, despite its age, still manages to captivate with its atmosphere. It’s an incredibly atmospheric title – from the dark, gothic cathedrals of medieval Prague to the neon-stained grime of modern New York, everything exudes the aura of mystery and decadence typical of the World of Darkness universe. While the storyline is rather cliché – a fallen knight seeking redemption after being turned into a vampire – it’s told with passion and manages to stay engaging. The experience often resembles a theater performance: dialogues, character animations, voice acting, and the minimalist scenery create the impression of watching a carefully staged play rather than a typical action game. Mechanically, Redemption captures the tabletop system of Vampire: The Masquerade quite well – Blood Points, Disciplines, and the Masquerade rules are quite faithfully translated into computer RPG form. As a result, the game carries the distinct “narrative weight” known to fans of the source material. And of course, it’s about vampires, which is always a plus – few titles treat this theme with such seriousness and style. Unfortunately in a single player campaign we have no option to choose a Clan. Fortunately almost all Disciplines are accessible, which is good from game play perspective, but kills immersion. Unfortunately, on the technical side, Redemption can be haunting in less endearing ways. The game forces you to have companions, but their AI and pathfinding are frustrating, often leading to moments where they get stuck in doorways or refuse to fight. In the end, this isn’t a relationship-driven or tactical RPG – Redemption is essentially a hack’n’slash, where reflexes, resource management, and mastery of powers matter far more than moral choices or branching dialogue trees. The game is also highly random, which can be infuriating — the outcome of a fight often depends more on the whims of the engine than on player strategy. And yet, something about it is undeniably compelling: maybe it’s the atmosphere, maybe nostalgia, or maybe just the fact that so few games about vampires treat their material with such respect. I have not tested multiplayer.
I have just finished the game and I am really impressed. The game much differs from common cRPG games. The visual form consists of eerie images and simple animations only. This allows to focus on a story, which is very addictive. The game is the best adoption of tabletop RPG I have ever played.
