World of Darkness Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 - VTMB sequel from The Chinese Room - coming early 2025

[Delterius]

at least there’s a plot reason for you to be able go around with your dick out and slap everyone around.

in before

you become the elder of your clan in the city, and a sheriff figure of sorts

 

[La vie sexuelle]

Go on Brazilian disco or play in VB2, no matter what you choose, both things are equally gay.

way ahead of you, padawan

Only BioWare could have done it. They gave us gay fantasy operas, they gave us gay space operas, they were the only ones who could have given us urban fantasy operas. Note the lack of gay as an adjective. That's how in the zone BioWare would have been.

Padawan? You felt insecure and you first evoked me...you flirty Brazilian.

Well the perk of being an elder, at least there’s a plot reason for you to be able go around with your dick out and slap everyone around.

It will be Antediluvian from first game. I bet for this.

 

[Delterius]

It will be Antediluvian from first game. I bet for this.

Nah that's too much. If I'm not mistaken someone as old as 6th or 7th gen would already throw the balance of power out of wack. Antedilluvians and Metusellahs are straight up gods and more like forces of nature and plot points than characters.

 

[Vincente]

Sarkile , she's the veiled woman at the end of the trailer.

and a sheriff figure of sorts

You're thinking small. I'm thinking of becoming a Prince.

 

[La vie sexuelle]

It will be Antediluvian from first game. I bet for this.

Nah that's too much. If I'm not mistaken someone as old as 6th or 7th gen would already throw the balance of power out of wack. Antedilluvians and Metusellahs are straight up gods and more like forces of nature and plot points than characters.

I don't believe in their sense of scale or knowledge of lore. Besides, after the New World of Darkness, anything is really possible.

 

[Delterius]

and a sheriff figure of sorts

You're thinking small. I'm thinking of becoming a Prince.

Well... I can see a Sheriff acting like an RPG protagonist. They are the sort to do what the Prince wants them to. They get their hands dirty. They might do espionage, interrogations, executions, exploration, and so on. It would be a strange Prince the one who down to the slums to talk to thinbloods and other dregs of the night.

To be certain, I'm saying 'Sheriff of Sorts' as the initial plot hook and a solution to the question of why an Elder is doing grunt work. The trailer talks about a power vaccuum in Seattle. So either there's no Prince at all or the Prince is weak. And so as your character navigates this weird world of steel cars and wi-fi signals, they end up playing politics with the city's faction leaders, the primogen and so on. Quid pro quos all around. You need territory, I can get you some. You need money and influence, I have both. So, uh, could you kill some Sabbat grunts pretty please?

Can't really speculate further without knowing the protagonist's motivation. BL1's protagonist was just trying to survive and learn the ropes. BL2's can be anything. Maybe you're right and the game is actually about working towards princedom. That would mean the Elder starts small as they begin their coalition building for the title.

 

[Vincente]

So either there's no Prince at all or the Prince is weak

In the Seattle by Night play thing they did before the news reveal, city's Prince was someone named Campbell, so there is a Prince at least.

 

[Delterius]

So either there's no Prince at all or the Prince is weak

In the Seattle by Night play thing they did before the news reveal, city's Prince was someone named Campbell, so there is a Prince at least.

Oh good to know. Now I have a new timewaster for my life.

 

[Tyranicon]

-watches behind the scenes video-

Expectations lowered significantly.

 

[Jaesun]

Bloodline is up there as one of my favorite games (and setting). All I can say is they better not fuck this up...

If TCR can actually pull off a good World of Darkness setting and a good story I'll at least be pleasantly surprised.

Also since I actually live in Seattle this will even be more amusing....

 

[ChildInTime]

It will be Antediluvian from first game. I bet for this.

Nah that's too much. If I'm not mistaken someone as old as 6th or 7th gen would already throw the balance of power out of wack. Antedilluvians and Metusellahs are straight up gods and more like forces of nature and plot points than characters.

Antes have this cool power labeled as 'plot device' in tabletop, meaning - do whatever you want, so it won't be that. You'll get someone like Christof who went into torpor half a millenia ago, lost all their skills, but has high blood potency and generation.

Spoiler

And you'll fight a tzimisce methuselah in the sewers under the city, as is tradition.

 

[Cricket McBangle]

the fact that 25% of the video is trying to estabilish 'TCR' as a brand, while the studio is a real life ship of theseus is kind of amusing

Before Dan Pinchbeck left, he said The Chinese Room should be the "Naughty Dog of the UK."

 

[Jaesun]

It will be Antediluvian from first game. I bet for this.

Nah that's too much. If I'm not mistaken someone as old as 6th or 7th gen would already throw the balance of power out of wack. Antedilluvians and Metusellahs are straight up gods and more like forces of nature and plot points than characters.

Antes have this cool power labeled as 'plot device' in tabletop, meaning - do whatever you want, so it won't be that. You'll get someone like Christof who went into torpor half a millenia ago, lost all their skills, but has high blood potency and generation.

Spoiler

And you'll fight a tzimisce methuselah in the sewers under the city, as is tradition.

Yeah somewhat thinking you might be someone along the lines of Christof who is quite ancient. He actually knew the Cappadocians, before they were all murdered.

 

[ChildInTime]

'An awakened elder at odds with the voice in her head.' - I hope it's voiced by the guy who voiced Darkness.

 

[Jaesun]

'An awakened elder at odds with the voice in her head.' - I hope it's voiced by the guy who voiced Darkness.

Source?

 

[ChildInTime]

'An awakened elder at odds with the voice in her head.' - I hope it's voiced by the guy who voiced Darkness.

Source?

https://www.paradoxinteractive.com/games/vampire-the-masquerade-bloodlines-2/about

 

[Grampy_Bone]

Lol all combat and gameplay removed, walking sim story about coming out as a gay vampire

 

[Jaesun]

Lol all combat and gameplay removed, walking sim story about coming out as a gay vampire

You didn't watch the trailer?

 

[Jenkem]

the fact that 25% of the video is trying to estabilish 'TCR' as a brand, while the studio is a real life ship of theseus is kind of amusing

Before Dan Pinchbeck left, he said The Chinese Room should be the "Naughty Dog of the UK."

Amy Hennig Naughty Dog or Neil Druckmann Naughty Dog?

 

[Morgoth]

I liked the new trailer. It was much more tasteful than the garbage the previous studio spew out. Combat looks fun and TCR has a fairly good track record overall. I really enjoyed their Amnesia spinoff.

Cautious

 

[Zayne]

The real question is how you introduce the player character to computers, cars, cell phones, digital cameras, internet etc.

They can introduce player to mechanics while introducing character to concepts

 

[Harthwain]

Playing as an Elder amidst licks was cool in Redemption. Hope it gives a similar feeling.

Redemption had both: you start as day-1 vampire and then have a time-skip to modern times. It was interesting, because you had a bit of a history with some well-established vampired when you wake up, but are still relatively new, despite being considered an Elder in 1999.

BL1 was about bringing the player into a dark and twisted world. Shock, horror, self-transformation were at the core. It was about becoming.

I felt that way more in Redemption than I ever did in Bloodlines, because Redemption gave you time to play as a human first and the transformation was roleplayed all the way so it had an impact. In Bloodlines it starts way too rapidly for you to be shocked. The "transformation" is done in a flash and there aren't moments in the actual game that make you question yourself after you become a vampire, because you start as one from get-go.

Thinking in relative terms LaCroix was from the Napoleonic era. Jack was even older, as he's from the golden age of caribbean piracy. Both were arguably 'Elders' but not enough to break the balance of power in a city. So, are we going to be even older than that? Such a character is inherently interesting... unless they basically work like an amnesiac who takes everything in stride. Which they probably will because they are an RPG protagonist.

I wouldn't be surprised if they go with "mostly amnesiac" route. As you said, it does fit into how RPGs handle these things. That said, it would be refereshing to play as someone a bit higher the ladder than the usual, but they have to handle that properly. As much as I liked KotOR2, I do agree that the character knowing things that the player didn't was a bit odd. Some sort of mental journal could help (or flashbacks).

Seems to be to be the same result in the end. What I have seen from the Thinbloods of HSL BL2 they were more powerful than normal vampires too! Also don't forget how overpowered the player ends up in Bloodlines. Is this really a good thing to already start off that strong? Also how would an Elder react to the modern world?

I really hope it won't end like Sleepy Hollow (2013-2017). The idea of having an officer who fought during the American Revolution (1781) transported to 2013 was cool. But Ichabod Crane gets over it waaaaay too fast (after a single episode? Maybe two?). The scenario practically begged to have many more funny interactions between "the old man" and his police sidekick about how things were in the past and how they are today. I guess that happens when you take yourself too seriously. The show had a whole bunch of similarly disappointing moments when they could've done cool things with them.

 

[Grunker]

That trailer looked jank as hell

So many uh-ohs:

- The same 2-3 combat animations copy-pasted
- Barely any NPCs doing any amount of interaction
- Not a single populated environ shown
- No systems mentioned or hinted at
- Hardly any voicework shown
- No NPC dialogue glimpsed
- Extremely stiff, awkward silent scenes showing lack of development (such as bar scene)

I’m calling it: game won’t just be bad, it’ll be an underproduced nightmare on bargain bin level

 

[Herumor]

'An awakened elder at odds with the voice in her head.' - I hope it's voiced by the guy who voiced Darkness.

Awww, what did they do to Jenny? She was a burden, this is freedom.

And speaking of, Nightdive Studios will apparently remaster that one for PC.

 

[deuxhero]

I agree that the premise is good, I'll go so far as to say that the difference between this being good to being great is down to how they introduce this 'elder' vampire to the modern world. Which in turn depends on how much of an Elder they are.

Thinking in relative terms LaCroix was from the Napoleonic era. Jack was even older, as he's from the golden age of caribbean piracy. Both were arguably 'Elders' but not enough to break the balance of power in a city. So, are we going to be even older than that? Such a character is inherently interesting... unless they basically work like an amnesiac who takes everything in stride. Which they probably will because they are an RPG protagonist.

Worth noting that LaCroix had less than 200 years as a vampire. Gary Golden, and Dr. Alistair Grout were both less than 100. VtM's standard for being "elder" was 300 (VtR made it 150). Strauss was legit elder though (old enough to have been around over 500 years ago).