Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is an Absolute Disaster That Everyone Saw Coming

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After a significant game release falls apart, people always wonder what warning signs were missed, and how long ago they appeared. In the case of Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, there are many possible moments to point to, but I believe the trouble started right after the game was announced. While the original Bloodlines is a fan favorite for good reason, it wasn’t a commercial success, and it was plagued with enough bugs that fans created their own patch to fix it.

When Paradox Interactive bought White Wolf and the rights to World of Darkness, their announcement of a sequel in March 2019 came as a total surprise. It seemed unlikely they could successfully create a role-playing game, especially one with a combat system so different from their usual fare, even with a new development team, Hardsuit Labs, at the helm. Still, they promised a story-driven experience lasting 25-30 hours with meaningful choices, along with updates to improve the original game’s older elements. They even initially aimed for a 2020 release – a goal that, looking back, was clearly unrealistic.

Despite the challenges, there was reason to be optimistic. Brian Mitsoda, the lead writer of the original game, was heading up the narrative design. The idea of playing as a Thinblood vampire after the Masquerade was broken on Christmas sounded interesting, and the planned combat system, inspired by Dishonored, seemed promising. Even if the combat didn’t quite work out, fans would have likely still appreciated a story and world reminiscent of the first game, crafted by someone who truly understood its unique atmosphere.

It’s really disappointing to hear how things went with Bloodlines 2. After the game got delayed back in August 2020, both Mitsoda and the creative director, Ka’ai Cluney, were suddenly off the project. Later, Mitsoda shared that he was actually fired, not that he left on his own accord. What makes it even stranger is that he didn’t think the delays were caused by any issues with the story itself.

You likely already know the story. Hardsuit Labs stopped working on the game in February 2021, and The Chinese Room, a studio famous for story-driven adventures like Still Wakes the Deep, took over – though the exact timing wasn’t clear. They kept the existing artwork and levels, but reworked almost everything else. The game shifted to focus on an Elder vampire with amnesia, and the number of playable clans changed from five to four (later increased to six after players protested that some clans were only available as paid DLC). This significant overhaul should have been a red flag for Paradox Interactive.

With its release, Bloodlines 2 perfectly illustrates how a sequel can go wrong. It’s not simply the uninspired world, weak story, or shallow combat that disappoint. The game lacks basic features – you can’t equip weapons unless you psychically steal them, there’s no inventory system, and skills don’t meaningfully develop. What’s most frustrating is that selecting a vampire Clan and its associated Discipline feels pointless. It doesn’t create unique character builds or allow players to truly embody different vampire archetypes, like the rebellious Brujah or the tragically disfigured Nosferatu.

Honestly, on top of everything else, the whole Masquerade system in Bloodlines 2 is just… broken. In the first game, it was about a careful balance – you tried to hide being a vampire while still, you know, being a vampire. Mess up too many times and hunters would come after you. But here? One slip-up and it’s game over, instantly. Seriously, I could kill someone with a chair and the game would be like, “Okay, you’re dead now.” Unless I’m super sneaky or can run away really fast, I’m toast. And forget about even trying to manage your humanity – that whole thing is gone. It’s just frustrating.

Many feel the team behind the potential Bloodlines sequel wasn’t the right fit for the project. Putting a developer with limited experience on a role-playing game of this size was a clear misstep, and I think they’re right. Even the core features, like the combat system, are flawed or just don’t work well.

For a story-driven game, the world needs to feel alive with interesting characters, not empty. The game originally looked to Dishonored for combat ideas, so why not build on that and let players complete missions in different ways, instead of repeating the same tasks? Meaningful choices would also make a big difference. Ultimately, even if you try to judge the game on its own merits, it doesn’t quite succeed.

Considering the design choices and how The Chinese Room was brought in, it’s clear they were primarily tasked with rescuing a troubled project. Unfortunately, they likely didn’t have enough time to fully refine it. Players immediately noticed numerous problems at launch, including crashes, glitches with characters in quests, and broken keybindings. Basic features like a field-of-view slider, the ability to disable the HUD, and manual saving are all missing. While the developers are trying to fix these issues, the game currently falls far short of expectations for a modern RPG.

Honestly, looking back, it all seems to come down to the choices Paradox made. I keep wondering if they should have just cancelled the project after everything that happened with Hardsuit Labs, like they initially planned. Maybe handing it over to a different studio, one better equipped for the job, would have been a better move? I also think more supervision and a longer development timeline could have really helped. Or, even before announcing it, should they have waited? Perhaps working closely with Mitsoda to figure out what was going wrong at Hardsuit Labs and then fixing those issues could have changed everything.

Game development is tough, and you have to sympathize with the team who aimed high. But ultimately, the publisher made the choice to release this unfinished product and sell it for $60, fully aware of its flaws.

Even with a charismatic leader like Johnny Silverhand guiding development, I don’t expect Bloodlines 2 to overcome its problems in the same way Cyberpunk 2077 eventually did. While they might fix some issues, truly overhauling the combat and role-playing elements would take significant time and money. Currently, it seems Paradox Interactive is focused on recovering its investment through DLC before moving on from the game.

Like the first Bloodlines, the sequel is likely to fail – and this time, the chances of anyone wanting to revive the series are even slimmer. The original game had a dedicated fanbase who loved its gameplay, world, and story, but the sequel lacks that support. It’s especially disappointing because Bloodlines 2 had the potential to be truly memorable, even in failure. The franchise deserved a more impactful end, but unfortunately, it seems destined to be forgotten.

The opinions shared in this article are solely those of the author and don’t reflect the official stance of GamingBolt.

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2025-10-28 15:14