Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines 2. Is it what we were waiting for?

This year's E3 seemed to be the year of the unexpected revival.

Rewind back to 2012, and I was about to get my hands on a game that married many of my favourite gameplay elements in a manner I hadn't ever considered before. Stealth gameplay was always big for me, the fantasy of ghosting in and out of an area without anyone being the wiser was somehow more impressive than gunning everyone down mindlessly. Suddenly the patrolling guard seemed much more dangerous than your typical clone-a-thug, all it took was one impatient move, one misjudged action and they would send the whole place raining down on you. Similarly, I loved the immersive weave of a good RPG. The type of game capable of putting me in the shoes of a fresh, plucky adventurer and allow that character to grow in person and talent as my immersion in this world grew. Never would I have thought of these two genre's mixed together until 2012 when I played Dishonored.

Now, by no means is Dishonored the first to offer such a paring of gameplay elements (predated by the much revered Deus ex franchise and VTMB) but it was the first time I had ever played anything like that. And I loved it. Of course 'RPG + Stealth' aren't the only ingredients in this particular dish, just the easiest to identify. Baked into the essence of games like these is the concept of choice, both in story and gameplay. I can choose to run and gun or I can choose to sneak in undetected and both options are just as fun and rewarding (at least that's the idea.) Dishonored, however, got it right. A simple premise with great stealth, fantastic combat and satisfying, open level design that promoted replayability.

Not too long after, I was seeking every game like it. I played the fantastic Deus Ex: Human Revolution and wanted my next fix. Fate and circumstance would lead to me coming across the 2004 title: Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines. Needless to say to anyone who has played the game themselves, it wasn't exactly what I was expecting. It was odd, buggy, questionable in core design choices but ultimately won me over like it had so many others with it's twisted charm.

Although almost a decade old when I first played it, Bloodlines managed to pleasantly surprise me in almost every department that mattered in a game like this. Smart writing with memorable characters, an authentic, diverse, (occasionally cheesy) world to dive into and uncomplicated but diverse RPG elements. To say the game still holds up today is debatable. Basic gameplay is pretty stiff and connection in combat is only slightly better than what is offered by Morrowind, but choice in gameplay gives enough variety to look past these faults and admire the whole product for what it is. A fun Vampire romp with enough dark twisted themes mixed in with early 2000's cheese to leave the player satisfied and/or charmed.

15 Years after the original and Bloodlines fans finally got a glimpse of this long awaited follow up and Troika Games seem to have studied and learnt from all those genre defining games along the way. The E3 PC gaming conference was disappointingly light on details when it came to the anticipated sequel, offering us a tiny glimpse of the full demo before shuffling along their line up for the evening. However, on YouTube one can find a much more comprehensive look. The Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines 2 extended gameplay reveal (Whew, that's a mouthful) has been featured by a handful of the usual suspects. IGN, etc. and from this footage comes a great look at what the game has to offer in the modern age.

Vampire-the-Masquerade-Bloodlines-2-Extended-Gameplay-Reveal-The-Crimes-of-Grindelwald starts off in your genre typical slummy-but-not-unlivable apartment. The type that it the absolute envy of anyone who is currently apartment hunting. (Don't get me started on Adam Jensen's suite of an apartment) and then carries on to the lightly Gothic stylings of the city whereupon the game flaunts it's first major improvement: The visuals. 'No duh, the game is fifteen years on' but even then it's worth commenting about just how pretty the new world looks. Far more dark and eerie than it's predecessor with an absolutely gorgeous use of lighting later on. This time around it seems the team intends to make the pale light from the moon the primary source of outside light rather than clustered streetlamps and it most definitely complements the cold, dead aesthetic that a Vampric theme demands. However, they seem keen to let you know that they haven't abandoned the campy nightclub neon of the original game nor the diabolical dancing animation that game immortalised. Dance like no one's watching and all but whatever you do, don't do this:

Here we start meeting characters. The proprietor of the nightclub Elif, Echoing the Voerman twins from the original Bloodlines. An underground informant with shades of Bertram Tung about him and the poor victim of your Vampiric wrath Slugg who... reminds me of literally every video game debtor ever. But the take away is that the developers want to lean on the angle of familiarity with this demo. So that we all feel we recognise the world they're teasing and equate it with our own warm, fuzzy, nostalgic memories. A valid tactic in this regard as the twisted tale of the Voerman 'twins' was one of the most disturbing, memorable moments from the original and to invoke it's spirit certainly speaks to the ambitious approach to the writing of this new story. It makes me excited for the twisted tale they can weave in this new outing into the universe of the World of Darkness.

I bought up Dishonored earlier, and it was for good reason. When it comes to the combat for Bloodlines 2 that was what immediately popped into my head. The first person slash-centric systems may lack the fluidity and punchiness of Dishonored's combat but, if married with the RPG elements correctly like the original game did, could end up being just as compelling. As for what we saw, some lead pipe bashing and Vampric metamorphoses skills made quick and easy work of just about everything in the demo but such is the way with E3 demos. The final product will likely have much more involved fights and maybe even some cool mythical boss fights just like the original.

Overall, I found Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines 2 to be one of the more exciting reveals this E3, even with it's March 2020 launch window. Troika Games seem to know all the right buttons to push when it comes to showing off their game and they seem to have a solid grasp of exactly what it was that made the original such a cult classic. That's why I'm comfortable speculating on what might be, using the last game as reference. There may have been little stealth but I have no doubt the final product will support that playstyle. The level showcased might not have been the most impressive or imaginative but I just remember the haunted hotel from the original and I know that the team are saving their big surprises for the main game.

As a fan of the dark and twisted alongside the campy and silly, Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines 2 scratches an itch other games cannot. In the same way how The Outer Worlds looks like Borderlands with dialogue trees, VTMB 2 looks like the kind of RPG no one else would or perhaps could make in today's market. Maybe my old rose tinted glasses are getting in the way but heck if I can't help it. I've said it before and I'll say it again. I'm excited.