In news that seems unbelievable, even as I type it out, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is still in the works. There is even a brand new developer diary outlining the three gameplay styles players will be able to choose between.
According to Alex Skidmore, the creative director from The Chinese Room, the company behind the upcoming horror RPG, the game will start players off with an almost strategic stalker playstyle, which can be thought of as a stealth assassin.
“Did you enjoy the Dishonored series, or playing stealth-focused builds in Fallout or Elder Scrolls games? Me too! It gives you time to prepare what Discipline power you’d like to use and when. Once your plan is ready, summoning the powers of the blood, sneaking up on an enemy, distracting them, feeding on them before a fight breaks out or hit and run tactics are options for people who love to play this way.”
Players can also transition into an action-brawler style, which, according to Alex Skidmore, will be very much like what the God of War series offers players.
“References for this style are action-brawling games like the God of War series, as well as Shadow of Mordor and Elden Ring. It is about being in the centre of the brawl and using your abilities to control the crowd so you can deliver as much damage as possible.
We see the above playstyles as two extremes on the same action spectrum, with players being able to play any mixture of the two to find the balance of stalking and brawling that works for them.”
The game’s final playstyle is a narrative adventurer style, which will let players journey through the entire game without having to grasp the finer points of combat, achieved by offering different outcomes for the same mechanics depending on how they’re used.
“If dodge is used towards an enemy performing a melee attack, it becomes a counter, staggering the enemy—it is fine for players to never do this move, but for those that want a higher skill-ceiling, it is there.”
These insights into the ways that the game can be played come after The Chinese Room, known for Dear Esther and Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, has taken over the development of Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 to rebuild it and hopefully, get it over the finish line.
Before this developer diary, very little was made public about the rebuild other than that The Chinese Room kept Bloodlines 2’s initial planned setting of Seattle and uses a new code base with different gameplay mechanics and RPG systems.
But now we want to know from you: are you still holding out hope for Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2? Let us know in the comments.