No Friends to be Found in Bloodlines 2; Devs Introduce Main Protagonist
The protagonist of Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 has changed a lot since the new developers took charge of the game. The developer revealed how we will explore the World of Darkness from the perspective of an elderly bloodsucker.
Devs at Chinese Room have promised to regularly share new information about their next project. The team has kept its word and today the developer revealed something about the plot of Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines 2.
When Paradox Interactive revealed to whom the work on this highly anticipated game was handed over, an intriguing change was announced from the get-go. Originally Bloodlines 2 was to follow in the footsteps of its predecessor: players would take on the role of a young Cainite (Kindred) - a vampire who, like the player, would only be entering the World of Darkness.
Meanwhile, the new developers decided that the main protagonist of game will be an elderly bloodsucker "on a leash", unable to access most of his powers. Bound by an unknown perpetrator, the vampire will have to find his way in the grim reality of the Masquerade in the city of Seattle, where there will be no shortage of influential characters - potential enemies or allies (read: people more useful alive than dead at any given time).
World of Bloodlines 2 will be maintained in a neo-noir style (about which we will learn more in the next entry), full of "themes of revenge, paranoia and alienation" and "nihilistic, morally gray anti-heroes." Players will be able to ally with them, but will have to be careful who they trust: with whom they share valuable information and whether they believe the words of "friendly" vampires.
"Humanity is something distant, so what are humans to you? Centuries of existence can be difficult for someone who feeds on others. Are they just something to be devoured, or is it possible to build a sense of trust and kinship? Is everyone just a chess piece or a trophy?"
Putting the player in the role of an elderly vampire fits in with the philosophy laid out by the developer in a previous post: the player is supposed to be a "hunter," someone in control of the situation, even if not absolutely omnipotent. At the same time, the developers still want to leave players the freedom to play the protagonist according to their own preferences, while giving them the opportunity to explore the World of Darkness without breaking immersion.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 will debut in the fall of next year. The title is heading to PC, Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5, and we'll also get a comprehensive gameplay presentation in January.
