Fans have had to wait a long time for Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, which is set to release on Steam. MeinMMO editor Jasmin reveals whether the wait was worth it.
The release of Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 has been postponed repeatedly over more than 5 years. Reasons included a change in the development studio and layoffs in the leadership team. Therefore, it remained unclear whether these delays had benefited the game.
At gamescom 2025, I was already able to play 2 hours of the vampire game. I really enjoyed the preview, which is why I looked forward positively to the full release. Now I had the opportunity to test the full version of the game until the end – and after just over 19 hours, I enjoyed the credits.
While playing, I noticed even more things that confirmed but also diminished my impression from the preview report. I will reveal in detail what I particularly liked about the game – and where compromises were made.
Here you can see the gameplay trailer:
The vampire game is like a detective story to puzzle through
We awaken as a nomad or nomadess, depending on our gender choice. This is a vampire ancestor who has been in a deep sleep for a century. Accordingly, we first need to get our bearings and figure out how to navigate the new era.
Quickly, we realize that we are not alone – in our head is a man named Fabien, whose identity we need to uncover. He suffers from amnesia, just like us – not a good combination.
Additionally, we discover a strange symbol on our hand. It is important to find out what this mark is and where it comes from. Throughout the game, there are many puzzles to solve. Overall, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 plays out like an interactive detective story, where you as a viewer can guess who the murderer actually is.
The setting is the snowy Seattle – of course only at night, since we are a vampire who avoids sunlight. In the city, there are only a few cafes and buildings that we can enter. The map we see at the beginning is unfortunately only expanded over time by individual areas like sewers. Our vampire must not have claustrophobia.
Additionally, the city feels empty. Sure, it’s nighttime, but the NPCs I drain see strikingly similar. There are only a few pre-made types that repeat. Cars are also absent, at least moving ones. This might also be due to the snow in the city, but I would have at least expected a few snowplows.
There are numerous twists during the story that I personally didn’t foresee. Many characters have dark secrets or motives that we have to uncover gradually. This makes the characters multifaceted and really interesting, so I wanted to find out more about them.
The agony of choice – or rather not?
This becomes particularly important in another aspect: We can influence the outcome of the detective story a bit. When interacting with the characters, there are different dialogue options. We can determine whether certain people are friendly towards us or if they are already displeased with our presence.
The clans play an important role as well. Different people have different opinions about the various clans, and these conflicts are also important to the story. For those who have never engaged with the universe, the number of foreign terms like Kainskind can initially be overwhelming. Here, I recommend the lexicon, where such words can be looked up at any time – making the game accessible for newcomers.
Depending on the clan we choose at the start and the dialogue options, different possibilities arise for the grand finale. In between, there are also moments where our actions have consequences. Certain characters survive, and we encounter them again later – or not.
However, I didn’t feel that my clan choice or dialogue options had a significant impact. There are individual dialogue options that suddenly appear, but they are not as strongly integrated as, for example, in the RPG Baldur’s Gate 3. Some of them even seemed more hindering to me and annoyed my counterpart.
Even the choice of clothing has an effect. However, there is only a different comment, almost a fit-check from the conversation partner. I did not receive any other dialogue options as a result.
The biggest disappointment for me are the side quests. Here, I noticed no influence on the main story. For a long time, I didn’t know why I was doing them, aside from the experience points. They all follow the same pattern: depending on the clan, I need to retrieve an item, gather resources, or kill people. And this happens over and over again.
One situation remains especially memorable. For one clan, I have to keep following a trail that is shown as a red thread on the map. At some point, I noticed that during the quest, I was guided back to the starting point – during which I felt really silly and thought that the playtime was being artificially stretched.
The game forces you to regularly complete the side quests. Because at certain story points, they simply disappear and are replaced by new ones. This means you can’t just catch up on the quests if you have a little time left at the end of the game to do them.
Even vampires must follow rules
In one half of the game, we play as a detective. In these passages, the focus is not on fighting, but on investigating. Instead of blood and melee skills, we can suddenly manipulate, revive the dead, and extract answers to certain questions.
In the other half, we play our vampire ancestor. He is equipped with everything typical for a vampire: a dislike for sunlight, bloodlust, and supernatural abilities. Depending on which clan we start with, we have different abilities at the beginning of the game. But don’t worry: it is also possible to learn the abilities of other clans.
I chose the Tremere clan at the beginning because it sounded best to me in terms of abilities. And indeed, I loved one ability until the end, as it allowed me to engage in ranged combat even more. I could shoot blood daggers from a distance that could instantly kill small enemies. This allowed me to fully live out my preferred play style.
Even with movement, I felt like a true vampire. You can take a particularly fast sprint and even float around. It gets most fun when you climb a high-rise building and then leap from roof to roof, gliding over large gaps.
However, this style of movement has its limits. The public must not know about the vampires. Therefore, there is a display at the top of the screen that shows the masquerade. It must not be broken:
- With a green display, everything is still fine, and we have only been observed by a few individuals.
- With a yellow display, someone has seen us drinking blood, or we have created a bit more attention. The NPCs in the city will become suspicious.
- With a red display, we have overdone it, and even the police are hunting us.
If you go a step further, even the “Vampire Council” gets involved and causes a quick end. The system reminded me a bit of GTA and its stars, which is why you always have to be careful not to expose your vampire existence to the public.
This can be annoying at times, as you are forced to only walk through the city in a normal sprint or have to look for the next roof first. Since there is no fast travel, you spend a large part of your time wandering through the city. Fortunately, the map is not too huge.
Conclusion: Vampire and detective fans will love it
The extra development time has done the game good. The story is captivating at every moment and is especially accessible for newcomers to the universe. Those who have been waiting for a successor to part 1 for many years will be satisfied with this.
However, the game has some weaknesses that will likely prevent it from skyrocketing completely. Personally, as a fan of detectives and vampires, I had fun with the game and could overlook its weaknesses.
Who is this game suitable for?
You should play Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 if you…
- Love detective stories and/or vampires
- Have already played the first part
- Are a fan of exciting stories with numerous twists
Better stay away if you…
- Must complete everything and want to do the side quests
- Need an immersive world that feels real
- Can’t do without a fast travel function
Is it suitable for newcomers? Since Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 features an extensive lexicon that provides succinct descriptions of individual terms, players are immediately on board. It’s no problem if you haven’t played the first part – you’ll still understand what’s going on.
If you are fans of vampires and also enjoy anime, MeinMMO has another game recommendation for you. Code Vein is a hardcore game in which the mystical beings play a major role. MeinMMO author Ody shares his experiences: I spent 80 hours as an anime vampire in a hardcore action RPG, and you can currently get it very cheaply on Steam
