Bloodlines 2 is 'a bit more of an action RPG,' Paradox exec says: 'People who have seen it talk about Dishonored'

GamesRPGVampire: The Masquerade—Bloodlines 2Bloodlines 2 is ‘a bit more of an action RPG,’ Paradox exec says: ‘People who have seen it talk about Dishonored’When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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(Image credit: The Chinese Room)

Ventrue vampire glowering at camera

It was a very big deal whenVampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2was announced in 2019, and it’s been a very big shit show ever since. Which is perhaps not inappropriate for a Bloodlines sequel—those of us who are honest about it will admit the original was a remarkable shit show in its own right—but nonetheless irritating for those of us who have been waiting patiently for 20 years for more.

Whew! It’s a lot, eh? In an interview withGamesIndustry, Paradox deputy CEO Mattias Lilja acknowledged that changing studios midway through development was a “pretty drastic measure,” but said that despite all its troubles the game is coming along pretty well. “I’m a huge World of Darkness fan myself,” Lilja said. “So, when I play it, I’m starting to see that actually you’re in that world, which is the experience we’re going for.”

As for the nature of that experience, “generally, it’s a continuation of the same vision,” Lilja said, but The Chinese Room “had to make it theirs.”

Comparisons with the original Bloodlines are inevitable, but in gameplay terms, “people who have seen it talk about Dishonored,” Lilja said. “So it’s a bit more of an action RPG, but very steeped in the lore in the sense that you’re a vampire in World of Darkness.”

That’s not the worst idea ever: Dishonored is only two steps removed from being a vampire simulator anyway, and that style of gameplay wrapped in a Chinese Room take on the World of Darkness could be genuinely compelling. Will it also disappoint Bloodlines fans who will be satisfied with nothing less than an unadulterated, unbroken continuation of the mood they experienced in 2004? Almost certainly. But that’s almost certain no matter what TCR and Paradox do, so they might as well just fly free and hope for the best.

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