If you plan on playing this game, I strongly, STRONGLY encourage you to play both Coteries and Shadows of New York first. Reckoning builds on their foundations, and the main character of Shadows plays a major role in Reckoning. (And it also spoils how Shadows ends, so be warned.) That said, this is going to be a heavy game for both fans of the originals and newcomers. Reckoning feels like the end of an era, and the chaos engulfing New York, the Camarilla, and the Anarchs is being watched from an outside perspective, that of a Ravnos and Caitiff, respectively. What unfolds from there has to be experienced to be appreciated. While most(myself included) critique RoNY for not having as strong a protagonist as Shadows' Julia, I still found Kali and Padraic to have very gripping, compelling narratives, and the way the story ends will definitely sit with me. If I had to make a main complaint, it's that a lot of the choices inconsequential, largely of the 'but thou must!' variety, making very little difference on the outcome. Still, the writing is as solid as the last two games, and there's the same colorful cast of characters, so it's fun to see who comes back for the last dance of the trilogy. I feel RoNY at the end offers more questions than answers, but much like the ending graphic conveys, sometimes in the world of Vampire, answers don't come easily... if ever.
I love FMV games, so I was really excited for a rom-com take on the genre, especially one with a female lead. Unfortunately, Love Too Easily is hampered by two things: choices that make very little impact on the outcome, and an atrocious translation. I could barely go one scene without either encountering glaring typos, poor or absent punctuation, or grammar that ruins the flow of a sentence. I'd almost say this was translated by a machine, if not for some parts reading perfectly fine. It's like they hired multiple translators and let an AI do what they didn't. The game itself is fine, otherwise. The live action footage is gorgeous, the acting is fine, and I like the characters for the most part. The main highlight is the minigames. A few are tedious or too simple, but there's two in particular that are so well fleshed out that they could be their own games: the cafe barista, involving the mixing of elaborate drinks for customers in rapid succession, and the exploration minigame, where the protagonist has to evade a stalker and do side quests along the way. The main downside to those is they use a 'chibi'-ish artstyle which clashes with the main FMV presentation, but it's cute otherwise, so it's forgivable. Overall, Love Too Easily has a good story and a fun cast, but they aren't used as well as they could be, and it does get a little predictable near the end(apart from a few fun surprise endings, one of which is very lesbian-baiting, but enjoyable all the same).
Coteries of New York is a very faithful love letter to the series. It delves deep into the world of Kindred politics, so the writer(s) clearly did their homework. It goes into all kinds of elaborate details on their positions and politics that Bloodlines only touched on, so if you love Cainite political machinations, this is the game for you. They also did a great job on the characters. From the Sheriff to the Harpy to even the fan-service cameos like Aisling Sturbridge(I see you, Regentia), each is well fleshed out and has a great personality and distinct, flavorful artwork. The problems, of course, is that the team couldn't quite take the ball and run with it. Most of the plots involve little to no agency with the protagonist(expect a lot of "but thou must!"s or being railroaded into outcomes), come screeching abruptly to a halt, or leave the more intriguing NPCs out of the picture. If you can excuse that, though, this is still a fantastically written game, and shows a lot of potential if the team ever get another shot at it, or maybe plan on finishing Coteries with an expansion or continued stories down the line. There is massive potential here, it just needs to be built upon. (The devs' lack of communication over social media doesn't leave me optimistic, but I hope to be proven wrong.)
Dead Patient has a great setting and an intriguing plot, but this is just Chapter 1, and barely a taste. The game literally ends right when it should be picking up, so it really can't afford to end here. The gameplay is more of the same from Blood Drive, so whether that's good or not depends on that. It's mostly running from idiotic zombies, but there's the occasional fun(if super simple) puzzle in between, which are usually my favorite parts of the game. The music and sound design is A+... except for the voice acting. CP1 had full VA, this game barely has any in comparison. I can't imagine why they skimped on the VA budget in Dead Patient, and it really shows. The characters themselves? Yeeesh. Mostly caricatures with spikes of interesting story, but for every bit of interesting plot, you have characters fretting over their undergarments or where to find toilet paper. (I wish I was kidding.) The tasteless humor is a massive tonal clash to the otherwise creeping-dread atmosphere of Dead Patient, and it's a shame. Hopefully 2 is more of the good and less of the bad, but since this game out in *2003*, it could be a while. I hope not, though. They've had plenty of time.
Feel I should chime in with an informed opinion. Blood Drive is a mixed bag. It has its moments, but by and large, it raises more questions than it answers, and doesn't do much in the way of providing a resolution. Sure, the story gets resolved... but it doesn't provide anything satisfactory, and the ending stinger is way more of a sequel bait hook than a satisfying ending. It's worth a play, especially if you want more backstory on this crazy universe, but the casual fans are going to be lost. Sadly, Blood Drive doesn't even come close to living up to the stinger in Book of Shadows, which was genuinely enticing.
(This is based on my fond memories of the Sega CD version) Rise of the Dragon is not a friendly game. You can die easily, and often. Even by doing something as simple(and stupid) as walking out of your apartment without getting dressed. (You had that one coming.) But it's rich in cyberpunk, choice and consequence, and awesome dialogue trees. If the PC version is half as good as the classic Sega CD version(and I'm sure it is), you're in for a treat. It's not as good as Snatcher, of course, but it's a damn fine effort.
I'm not sure what the below reviews are talking about, but the translator is fluent in both languages and was personally vetted by Suda51. Any complaints a player has should be with the script, not the translation. The localization is VERY accurate, coming from someone who''s played both versions. The original text is deliberately obtuse and rewards insight, much like all of Suda's written works. This is a game that is near and dear to Suda, and he was personally involved in the localization every step of the way. That said, if you know what you're getting into, this is a must-play experience. This is the first part of the Kill The Past trilogy that began with Flower, Sun, and Rain and ends with the tale of the Killer7. Part visual novel, part adventure game, part procedural crime drama. It's like nothing else you'll ever play. This is Suda51 in his prime. Fresh off of his stint with Human Entertainment, at which he made the absolutely deranged Syndrome games, he decided to go his own way and start Grasshopper Entertainment. The result was The Silver Case. Made with a tiny staff and hamstrung by all kinds of restrictions both financial and otherwise, this lead to the creation of the Film Window system. The SIlver Case's labyrinthine plot consists of pages upon pages of text, yes, but the FIlm Window system brings it to life through all sorts of mediums, including but not limited to: live action, animation, still art, emails, chats, you name it. (Fun fact: a professional film editor cut the live action segments, but he wasn't told the clips were for a game.) This is a Suda51 Trip, the very definition of the phrase, and the fact that it got localized is nothing short of a miracle. Kill The Past.
Real pilots don't need shields.
