World of Darkness Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 from Hardsuit Labs

[Wesp5]

Paradox purchased White Wolf in 2015, and since then, they have released nothing from that IP.

Huh? Maybe they didn't appear as publisher themselves, but we got Vampire: The Masquerade – Coteries of New York, Vampire: The Masquerade – Shadows of New York, Vampire: The Masquerade – Night Road and [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werewolf:_The_Apocalypse_%E2%80%93_Earthblood']Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood.[/URL]

 

[DeepOcean]

Yes, they indeed released nothing from that IP.

 

[Nephilim]

Paradox purchased White Wolf in 2015, and since then, they have released nothing from that IP.

Huh? Maybe they didn't appear as publisher themselves, but we got Vampire: The Masquerade – Coteries of New York, Vampire: The Masquerade – Shadows of New York, Vampire: The Masquerade – Night Road and Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood.

Most of the garbage they've published so far are visual novels. I don't understand why these are classified as video games and quite frankly I am puzzled as to why these projects got greenlighted in the first place.
There is no quality control whatsoever.

 

[Roguey]

Most of the garbage they've published so far are visual novels. I don't understand why these are classified as video games

They're interactive computer software.

and quite frankly I am puzzled as to why these projects got greenlighted in the first place.

Cheap to make, decent return on investment.

There is no quality control whatsoever.

Also true, though the New York Vampire VNs have a nice art style at least.

 

[Nutria]

Imagine playing a visual novel when you could just watch another episode of the Rockford Files. You don't need a lot of technology to experience stuff that's above-average content.

 

[bertram_tung]

I am cautiously optimistic for Vampire Swansong since it is made by the team who made The Council and I quite enjoyed that for what it was.

 

[jungl]

Huh? Maybe they didn't appear as publisher themselves, but we got Vampire: The Masquerade – Coteries of New York, Vampire: The Masquerade – Shadows of New York, Vampire: The Masquerade – Night Road and Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood.

Every single one is passable. Earthblood is not even worth pirating that game is the biggest example of cash grab/take paycheck and move on game I have ever played. Extremely stupid gameplay design elements like sniffing plants to get xp. Paradox should of never bought the IP if they have no in house development studios that can make a decent game out of it. In the 5 years they owned the IP someone could of made a free WoD themed flash game that is a hour long in content on a website like newgrounds that is more entertainment then anything produced in those 5 years.

 

[bertram_tung]

Earthblood actualy isn't too bad for someone who likes the setting. Better to wait for a sale though.

 

[Xelocix]

Paradox purchased White Wolf in 2015, and since then, they have released nothing from that IP.

Huh? Maybe they didn't appear as publisher themselves, but we got Vampire: The Masquerade – Coteries of New York, Vampire: The Masquerade – Shadows of New York, Vampire: The Masquerade – Night Road and Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood.

Most of the garbage they've published so far are visual novels. I don't understand why these are classified as video games and quite frankly I am puzzled as to why these projects got greenlighted in the first place.
There is no quality control whatsoever.

They get greenlit because VN's are cheap to produce and usually sell pretty well, especially in cases like VTM where the fandom has been starved for content for so long that they'll purchase virtually anything with the WoD label on it. It's not hard to understand when you think about it.

 

[Marat]

So you're saying western private businesses operating solely with (private) profit in mind are marxist and leftist?

You must be new to the internet. Rightoids have been saying this for years now. They almost started believing it too.

 

[Semiurge]

Yes, they indeed released nothing from that IP.

Why did they purchase it? It's starting to look like they just want to safeguard it from nasty right-wing developers who might make something fun out of it.

 

[randir14]

Earthblood actualy isn't too bad for someone who likes the setting. Better to wait for a sale though.

I like the setting and I uninstalled it after 30 minutes. It's rare that I ever find a game to be a total piece of shit - but Earthblood is.

 

[Flying Dutchman]

Wasn't the game almost finished? Why stop suddenly at the finish line?

I think Hardsuit might have thought and prayed (?) it was finished, but no one else did. The narrative of "oh, we're just making sure it works on next gen consoles" and "oh, COVID is fully to blame" didn't really hold water. If anything, Hardsuit might be better served to do console ports than actual content.

On the evaluation front, I was surprised because I thought the Ubisoft hatchet man was actually hired by Hardsuit as a full-time employee, but LinkedIn suggests otherwise (he only lists his consulting company, I think).

The fact he might have been brought in as an independent evaluator is even more of a loss-of-faith in Hardsuit, and maybe Paradox as well (maybe they realized they couldn't evaluate the game properly beyond recognizing something was wrong that needed a 3rd person viewpoint).

Hope Paradox paid him well, and we might owe him a debt of thanks for helping to cancel it or move it to another developer (we'll see how that pans out). Maybe he has an OnlyFans we can donate to.

 

[Lambach]

Hey guize, remember when they thought this was good enough to show to the public?



Seems even more hilarious now in hindsight.

 

[Flying Dutchman]

I like the setting and I uninstalled it after 30 minutes. It's rare that I ever find a game to be a total piece of shit - but Earthblood is.

Best review. 1 sentence, gets to the point, and the 30 minutes qualifier reminds people that the product falls well within the Steam return policy.

 

[TT1]

There we go

 

[Lambach]

3/4 main writers have pronouns in their bios, this Jordan guy being the sole exception.

Boy, I really wonder what the overall tone and themes of the game were going to be prior to them getting the axe. I guess it's a mystery we will never unravel.

 

[TT1]

We believe in low turnover, and take steps to guard against the “staff-up and lay-off” cycle that is so common in this industry. When we hire, we hire for the long term.

 

[Bara]

I bet one of them gets a job with Larian for bg3.

 

[TT1]

I bet one of them gets a job with Larian for bg3.

I don't think so. Larian is mainly based in Europe and Quebec, Hardsuit is based in Seattle.

 

[Bara]

I bet one of them gets a job with Larian for bg3.

I don't think so. Larian is mainly based in Europe and Quebec, Hardsuit is based in Seattle.

Remote employment is my speculation

 

[Jenkem]

Huh? Maybe they didn't appear as publisher themselves, but we got Vampire: The Masquerade – Coteries of New York, Vampire: The Masquerade – Shadows of New York, Vampire: The Masquerade – Night Road and Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood.

you forgot Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Heart of the Forest, mate!

 

[Heroic Liberator]

Huh? Maybe they didn't appear as publisher themselves, but we got Vampire: The Masquerade – Coteries of New York, Vampire: The Masquerade – Shadows of New York, Vampire: The Masquerade – Night Road and Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood.

you forgot Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Heart of the Forest, mate!

From the top rated Steam review:

While the story is coherently written, it reads like a short young adult novel directed at rebellious preteen girls. There is no character creation or choice whatsoever, so you're saddled with the unlikeable Maia—a selfish, rude American girl with an anger problem. As for the other characters/allies, they aren't much more interesting. I consider myself very liberal and open-minded and these poorly-written, hollow characters made me eyeroll and facepalm quite a few times. There's the literal man-hating lesbian from an all-female feminist werewolf tribe, a cowardly male from a pacifist tribe, and a cross-dressing straight man who is only characterized by the LGBTQA+ pins and patches on his jacket and the fact that he looks like "a heroin-addicted rockman". This is nothing like the Werewolf: The Apocalypse RPG I played a decade ago.

 

[TT1]

I bet one of them gets a job with Larian for bg3.

I don't think so. Larian is mainly based in Europe and Quebec, Hardsuit is based in Seattle.

Remote employment is my speculation

Not sure about Quebec, but for Europe? Forget about it.

 

[Jenkem]

From the top rated Steam review: While the story is coherently written, it reads like a short young adult novel directed at rebellious preteen girls.

Have you ever met Werewolf fans?