Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodhunt Review
Fortnite meets Edward Cullen
I was genuinely excited when I first heard about this fantastic upcoming action role-playing game titled Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines 2. Initially announced in 2019, various layoffs and production delays have placed the game in development hell, resulting in a release date to be determined.
My fix for fantasy RPGs has been fulfilled by The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim for over a decade now, and the premise of being able to level up my vampire and gradually strengthen their powers appealed to me as a fresh new take on the genre. After owning no less than five copies of Skyrim (six if you count the free PS5 upgrade), I can only give Todd Howard and Bethesda so much money.
So when I stumbled upon a free-to-play battle royale game set in the same universe as Bloodlines, I had to take a closer look. But is it worth your time?
Gameplay
Players take control of one of four possible vampire archetypes, divided into two or one subtypes per archetype. The four archetypes are Brujah (strength-based vampires), Nosferatu (more sickly/hideous but rely on stealth and subterfuge), Toreador (seductive vampires), and Ventrue (an intimidating foe.)
The subtypes for the archetypes have slight variations in their abilities for combat, and players can choose which one best suits their playstyle. I like prioritizing stealth in video games, so I played and customized a Saboteur class from the Nosferatu clan.
You face off against rival players trying to survive the round as a storm slowly encroaches on the map, just like Fortnite. Caches of weapons and healing items litter the map waiting to be collected, and each is color-coded according to its rarity in the traditional RPG fashion (grey, green, blue, and orange.)
While there aren’t any building mechanics in this battle royale game, players can quickly scale Prague rooftops to gain a height advantage. Players can also drain blood from randomly scattered NPCs to bolster some of their passive abilities but must maintain a level of secrecy in doing so to prevent the Second Inquisition (a group of NPC vampire hunters) from finding and attempting to kill them.
Final thoughts
There’s a unique balance that has to be struck between finding weapons and health kits, draining NPCs, and hiding as the match progresses that provides players a fun new twist on the battle royale genre. While I enjoyed playing the game for a couple of hours, it didn’t quite have the staying power of the much more established Fortnite.
After playing Duos matches with my brother in the Fortnite: Zero Build mode, I can confidently say the game drew me back in, in a way no other content update has for me in some time. Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodhunt offered me a fun distraction for a couple of hours, but it’s not something I would’ve signed up with my email if I knew it lacked a solid reason for me to come back to it.
