Bloodlines 2’s new vision is smaller, tighter — and dividing fans

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Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 has faced a lot of difficulties during its development. After fans thought the game had been cancelled, it was brought back with a new team in charge. Since then, it’s gone through significant alterations, including changes to key gameplay features and the overall story.

With the game launching in just over a month, its narrative director is asking players not to get their hopes up too high.

This follows recent concerns from Reddit users about how much of the game’s original design has been lost since development shifted to The Chinese Room.

Narrative director addresses expectations

Instead of a vast, open world like the first game, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is focusing on a smaller, more personal story with a carefully designed experience.

In a recent PCGamerN interview with Lauren Bergin, narrative director Ian Thomas explained that Bloodlines 2 isn’t aiming for the same level of open-ended player freedom as games like Baldur’s Gate 3. He described Bloodlines 2 as a more focused experience, similar to a self-contained roleplaying module with a tighter story and smaller scope.

Thomas went on to explain:

When crafting a story, it’s helpful to have a defined structure – a framework to contain it. If you give a character complete freedom without any boundaries, it becomes difficult to make them the central focus and driving force of the narrative.

Ian Thomas, Narrative Director at The Chinese Room

In Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, you’ll play as a pre-made character named Phyre. You won’t be able to heavily customize your character, as the game’s story will focus on Phyre’s personal journey.

Additionally, Ian Thomas explained:

It’s challenging when players expect [Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2] to be a huge, open-ended game like GTA, where you can do whatever you want. We’re aiming for a more focused experience, a specific time and place with its own story.

Ian Thomas, Narrative Director at The Chinese Room

It’s not that the game is necessarily *bad*, but a lot of the complaints come from how much it’s changed from the original vision. So, what are people actually saying about it?

Community reactions and growing skepticism

Over the past year, fans haven’t been thrilled, and recent statements asking them to lower their expectations haven’t improved things. A Reddit post about this received a lot of attention – over 600 likes and 400 comments – with many players surprised to hear the narrative director talk about Baldur’s Gate 3, a large-scale game they weren’t anticipating.

Fans were hoping for a proper sequel to Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines, built with all the new technology and improvements in gaming that have come out since the original game.

One fan pointed out that people have been hoping for a sequel to Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines for over 20 years, and would likely prefer a polished version of that game rather than Baldur’s Gate 3. Another fan agreed, suggesting that most people have given up on seeing that sequel at this point.

After a long development process, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is now scheduled to come out on October 21, 2025. However, many fans are unhappy with some recent changes, including the removal of features like character customization, key RPG elements, and guns – a topic I discussed last month.

I don’t see a fundamental problem with making a smaller-scale story within the World of Darkness. However, this project feels like it needed a different title, and the name ‘Bloodlines 2′ should have been saved for a game that truly continued the original Bloodlines’ legacy.

It remains to be seen if the reception is positive and if people will enjoy it. For now, we can only hope no further issues arise that might lower expectations.

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2025-09-15 17:12