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It is official that Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2’s development odyssey is nearing its end, with the game set for release on October 21. Fans of Troika’s 2004 cult classic have been eagerly awaiting a sequel for over two decades. The game was in development at Hardsuit Labs under the original game’s writer, Brian Mitsoda, until Paradox Interactive removed them from the project due to unsatisfactory quality work. There was a serious risk of cancellation, but developer The Chinese Room convinced Paradox to continue with some key differences.
Ahead of Gamescom 2025, Wccftech received access to the game’s initial missions as Phyre emerges from torpor in Seattle. Phyre has a voice in their head: Fabien, a Malkavian vampire who is playable in flashbacks and allows players to investigate events before Phyre’s awakening.
Fabien and Phyre are starkly different characters. While Phyre is an Elder vampire with action-oriented abilities, Fabien is a younger local detective with access to powerful abilities like scrambling minds or appearing as someone else. His ability tree appears fully unlocked from the start, but Blood Resonance events still appeared in his segments.
Phyre must remain hidden, as actions like sprinting, climbing, and feeding on humans quickly fill the masquerade-breaking bar if witnessed by pedestrians. This system is core to VtM; when the bar fills, an assassin stakes Phyre, ending the game. While interesting, a manhunt would have been more engaging.
Phyre can change gender and clothing, but the full version will allow selection of different faces and hairstyles. Players can choose from six clans: Brujah, Tremere, Banu Haqim, Ventrue, Lasombra, and Toreador (locked behind Premium Edition or DLC). Each clan has a ‘mastery rating’ and affinities that lower the cost to unlock abilities.
The melee combat feels solid with basic attacks that can be charged for more damage. However, at Hard difficulty, multiple enemies make it challenging to avoid hits. Elixirs are the only major form of loot; searching environments yields experience but no gear.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is not an open world game but allows exploration with civilian NPCs to feed on. There were no side missions in this build, but they will likely appear in the full game. The demo showed regular stuttering despite support for NVIDIA DLSS and AMD FSR 3.1.
From a taste of the game, The Chinese Room has done well. While it may not reach the heights of masterpieces like The Witcher 3 or Elden Ring, Bloodlines 2 is likely to be a solid, fun action RPG with an intriguing neo-noir story.
