Vampire: The Masquerade® - Bloodlines™ 2

Vampire: The Masquerade® - Bloodlines™ 2 has been met with a mixed reception from players, largely due to its divergence from the original game's RPG roots. While the game offers a visually atmospheric Seattle setting with strong voice acting and an intriguing, slow-building story, many players lament the lack of traditional RPG elements such as inventory, character customization, and meaningful player choices. The gameplay blends detective-style investigation segments with action-oriented combat, but combat is often described as repetitive and simplistic.

Players appreciate the detailed world-building and enjoy the feeling of playing a powerful elder vampire, with fluid parkour traversal and varied vampire powers. However, the open world is criticized for being lifeless and empty, and side quests are often repetitive fetch or kill tasks with little narrative depth. The ending is seen as rushed and unsatisfying, contrasting with the strong narrative buildup. Technical issues and missing expected features like manual saves and FOV sliders also detract from the experience.

Overall, the game is viewed as a different experience than the original Bloodlines, more of an action-adventure with vampire themes than a true RPG sequel, leading to disappointment among fans expecting a faithful continuation.

Highlights

Players praise the game's atmospheric and well-designed Seattle cityscape and strong, immersive soundtrack that evoke the World of Darkness mood.

The voice acting and character writing, especially the detective Fabien, are well received, adding depth to the narrative.

Many enjoy the fluid parkour traversal mechanics across rooftops and the varied vampire powers and combat abilities that make combat moments satisfying.

The main story is appreciated for its gradual buildup and intriguing mysteries, providing an engaging vampire thriller experience despite pacing issues.

Criticisms

Common criticisms focus on the lack of RPG mechanics such as inventory, stats, character customization, and meaningful dialogue choices, which disappoint fans of the original.

The open world is considered empty and lifeless, with NPCs lacking interactivity and side quests reduced to repetitive fetch or kill tasks.

Combat is often described as clunky, repetitive, and lacking depth, with limited enemy variety and overreliance on a few moves.

The story's ending feels rushed and unsatisfying, with important plot points underdeveloped.

Technical issues like missing basic PC features (manual saves, FOV sliders), bugs, and performance problems further mar the experience.

Many feel the game fails to live up to the Bloodlines name and would have been better received under a different title.