Paradox Interactive & Hardline Labs Bring Us ‘Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2’ For 2020

Publisher Paradox Interactive and developer Hardsuit Labs have revealed the sequel to the 2004 “Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines”.  With a story written by the creator of the original Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines game, Brian Mitsoda, the new game will be a first-person RPG set in the city of Seattle, where the player character and a bunch of other humans will be transformed into vampires during an event known as “The Mass Embrace”.  With tensions high in the city due to stress between factions, the player’s character will choose between one of the different vampire groups for protection, while trying to figure out the secrets behind a giant conspiracy.
Particularly interesting about this title is it’s decision to be more political with its storytelling.  While most games seem to be shying away from politics or claiming any parallels seen are accidental, the people working on V:TMB2 claim to be going as political as possible–right down to the character creator that allows players to decide a character’s body type, gender pronouns, and even employment history.  It’s a fascinating change that if nothing else will certainly put the “role-playing” back in the “role-playing game”, something that has been sorely lacking with the proliferation of lite-RPGs into the mainstream.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines launches in Q1 2020 for Steam, Paradox, GOG, Epic Games Store, as well as PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.  They’ll also be offering different pre-order packs–including one that will have an in-game developer commentary from writer Brian Mitsoda. In addition, there will be a season pass called “Season of the Wolf”, which will include two addtional story packs and an expansion, for $89.99.