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

[Tyranicon]

Making the protagonist an Elder was always a dumb idea. You can't have a protagonist with centuries of history and immense power also function as a player avatar who gradually improves their skills while doing chores for NPCs.

A competent studio would adapt, treating Bloodlines 2 like a high-level campaign. As an elder, even one recovering from torpor or whatever, you shouldnt be fighting baseline human or vampire goons. You should be building a base of power with your own underlings that can handle that for you. If are called out to combat, it should be against sufficiently advanced threats such as werewolves, veteran hunters, etc.

Instead we get the typical 2023 power fantasy: our character is super strong and smart and sexy because we said they are.

 

[Vincente]

You can't have a protagonist with centuries of history and immense power also function as a player avatar who gradually improves their skills while doing chores for NPCs. It just doesn't work.

 

[La vie sexuelle]

You can't have a protagonist with centuries of history and immense power also function as a player avatar who gradually improves their skills while doing chores for NPCs. It just doesn't work.

Medieval levels were much better.

 

[jungl]

character customization was shit anyways in bloodlines only 3 disciplines. Research skill being op created this peak indie shit meta gameplay where you use research to get tons of free skills points. Troika did so many things poorly with bloodlines in the gameplay department.

 

[Storyfag]

Medieval levels were much better.

No. The medieval levels and the modern levels were

 

[Reinhardt]

You can't have a protagonist with centuries of history and immense power also function as a player avatar who gradually improves their skills while doing chores for NPCs. It just doesn't work.

i wouldn't call him "with centuries of history". he was active just for a few weeks before going to sleep.

 

[J1M]

Maybe some of you lore gurus can help me out. I had the theory, and people on Reddit as well, that Phyre is indeed in Fabien's body which would explain the modern hair. But then I rewatched the video and Phyre clearly talks about the mark on her hand and that she was covered in Thinblood vitae and not that she is in another body. So this theory is out, but maybe a Thinblood alchemy experiment failed. Anybody know anything about this?

There is a really dumb element in the lore where consuming the soul of a powerful vampire during diablerie can allow their soul to take over your body and allow the writers to resurrect a dead clan leader.

But I am sure it is popular with people who watch Supernatural so I expect it is something the current day writers wanted to incorporate.

 

[J1M]

Maybe some of you lore gurus can help me out. I had the theory, and people on Reddit as well, that Phyre is indeed in Fabien's body which would explain the modern hair. But then I rewatched the video and Phyre clearly talks about the mark on her hand and that she was covered in Thinblood vitae and not that she is in another body. So this theory is out, but maybe a Thinblood alchemy experiment failed. Anybody know anything about this?

I don't see it. Fabien is a guy. It wouldn't be his body if you're playing as a woman. This kind of twist would only work if you were forced to play as a male Phyre (even if you did choose your gender as female in the beginning, which would actually be pretty amusing; there's a way to make an elder vampire trans right there)

I wonder what Brian thinks of all this

Drinking heavily because he lost this game and his nearly-decade-long marriage over all this.

Kind of doubt it, Nosferatu don't seem like a clan with a wide target audience attraction.
I mean, it's cool to have them, but I'm pretty sure that if we make a popularity chart these guys would be at the bottom.
Frankly this clans dlc idea is kind of ridiculous for single player story rpg.

DLC doesn't have to mean some short game, it could be a 10-12 hour expansion pack sequel where you play as a different character with unique mechanics. Hypothetically speaking, that would be a good way to manage scope, carrying over DLC clans to future sequels. Of course this is a "best of all possible worlds" scenario, given the nigh-universally negative reception the latest video got, we're looking at Paradox either never funding games like this again or filing bankruptcy after release.

 

[Storyfag]

There is a really dumb element in the lore where consuming the soul of a powerful vampire during diablerie can allow their soul to take over your body and allow the writers to resurrect a dead clan leader.

Why is it dumb?

 

[J1M]

Now I'm thinking that Phyre woke up ravenous and consumed Fabien, who is a thinblood. Somehow Fabien stuck around and became a voice in Phyre's head.

Tbh, this is a known side effect of diablerie. And happens often.

Diablerie is pretty fucked up.
Most stupid Kindred who try it, especially on Elders, deserve to suffer its consequences...
I wouldn't allow it either in the game or as a Storyteller.

Camarilla propaganda to keep the cattle in their place.

 

[J1M]

at least it looked like it was trying to be a sequel.

How so?

Just look at the dialogue system, the HSL version clearly was a copy of Bloodlines, the TCR room one is a copy of Swansong.

Which I predicted a year ago. Sorry.

 

[NecroLord]

Now I'm thinking that Phyre woke up ravenous and consumed Fabien, who is a thinblood. Somehow Fabien stuck around and became a voice in Phyre's head.

Tbh, this is a known side effect of diablerie. And happens often.

Diablerie is pretty fucked up.
Most stupid Kindred who try it, especially on Elders, deserve to suffer its consequences...
I wouldn't allow it either in the game or as a Storyteller.

Camarilla propaganda to keep the cattle in their place.

Not necessarily.
It is an utterly evil act, not simply murder, but the murder of one's soul.
You lose humanity ratings just by doing it, not to mention the other myriad problems (insanity, possession by the soul you attempt to consume, etc).

 

[J1M]

Everyone was shitting on HSL and now you're crying after them? Make up your minds.

You say that like change is always good.

 

[J1M]

It's amazing how much better that looks. I'd pay $70 for a game like that.

I wouldn't pay $20 for what I saw Chinese Room (who came up with that name?) put out.

Now search for the leaked gameplay of the old version, watch it, and then have a revelation that what TCR showed is still better (somehow) than whatever Hardsuit were trying to do.

TCR showed what? One conversation?

 

[J1M]

There is a really dumb element in the lore where consuming the soul of a powerful vampire during diablerie can allow their soul to take over your body and allow the writers to resurrect a dead clan leader.

Why is it dumb?

Success is so nearly impossible and with enough lasting consequences already that adding an additional level of "well actually, the nearly dead elder you consumed stole your body after it died!" is retarded.

 

[ChildInTime]

Hey, at least TCR are calling the protagonist as male/female instead of bodytype A/B, that alone makes it better than the version from HSL, who announced choosing pronouns as one of the most important features of character creation.

 

[Roguey]

Hey, at least TCR are calling the protagonist as male/female instead of bodytype A/B, that alone makes it better than the version from HSL, who unnounced choosing pronouns as one of the most important features of character creation.

Pick your poison

a) a predefined character who must either be male or female because of their character background
b) a blank slate, but you can choose they/them pronouns

 

[Child of Malkav]

You say that like change is always good.

Poor choice of words on my part. I didn't mean that, I don't care who's developing this game just that based on some posts it seems that the old dev was unfit and that the new dev is also unfit while some users compared older footage from the old dev with footage from the new one and noticing a downgrade in quality.
Ultimately I don't care who's making this thing as long as it's good(ish) and maintains some unique aspects from vtmb 1.

 

[True Ukrainian]

You can't have a protagonist with centuries of history and immense power also function as a player avatar who gradually improves their skills while doing chores for NPCs. It just doesn't work.

Redemption isn't a good game though.

 

[J1M]

Hey, at least TCR are calling the protagonist as male/female instead of bodytype A/B, that alone makes it better than the version from HSL, who unnounced choosing pronouns as one of the most important features of character creation.

Pick your poison

a) a predefined character who must either be male or female because of their character background
b) a blank slate, but you can choose they/them pronouns

They/them in a game is like someone sounding an air horn and shouting something retarded about US politics every time I read it. Completely jarring.

 

[Reinhardt]

You can't have a protagonist with centuries of history and immense power also function as a player avatar who gradually improves their skills while doing chores for NPCs. It just doesn't work.

Redemption isn't a good game though.

better than bloodlines tho

 

[Reinhardt]

Hey, at least TCR are calling the protagonist as male/female instead of bodytype A/B, that alone makes it better than the version from HSL, who unnounced choosing pronouns as one of the most important features of character creation.

Pick your poison

a) a predefined character who must either be male or female because of their character background
b) a blank slate, but you can choose they/them pronouns

They/them in a game is like someone sounding an air horn and shouting something retarded about US politics every time I read it. Completely jarring.

i'm ancient vampire from faraway foreign country. my invented by dumb modern kwanzanian cattle pronouns are they/them. i totally care about this shit.

 

[True Ukrainian]

Redemption isn't a good game though.

better than bloodlines tho

The only better part in redemption was being able to fry vampires with a taser.

 

[Semiurge]

If malkavian clan is in the game do you think they will rewrite all the dialogue options from the perspective of the clan member or add any unique interactions? Probably not, they struggle to get the game out as it is. Jesus this will be bad.

If clan Malkavian is part of the standalone DLC, then there's some chance of gameplay changes. If playable Malkavians are a part of the base game, then the changes will be minimal considering the low scope of this rewritten game. Either way Malks will be "treated with respect" so you shouldn't expect anything fun. In fact, that applies to the whole game. It will be grimdark, serious and numbing.

Why can't I make my own PC like I could in VtM:B?

You couldn't. You could choose a clan that had its own particular model and a name that no one called you by.

At least the models mostly looked cool. I still can't wrap my head around the audacity of introducing femPhyre with a goddamn undercut. It's like they're trying too hard to please the queer crowd, or to steal away the Bioware one. I've got a bad feeling about this one. That hair better be customizable.

 

[Gahbreeil]

Here's hoping there are choices in terms of character models.

An honest malkavian's opinion.