Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong Reviews
I really wanted to love Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong. I already am a fan of its setting, desperately want AA video games to rise in prominence again, and love slow burns that are focused on character dialogue and interactions. However, there is just too much getting in the way of Swansong’s success. There is no way of knowing exactly what happened, but the final product is one that I can’t even recommend picking up on sale.
I just couldn’t bring myself to pick up the controller and play it again. One time was more than enough for me. If the graphics were made for a next-generation console and some combat was involved then maybe I would give it another go.
Whilst it may seem like an intermission before Bloodlines 2 comes out, Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong isn’t engaging enough to fill the gap. Lacklustre gameplay, unsightly character models and a sense of “You should know this already” are enough to put off the new players. Maybe for the fans, but that’s only if they’re coffin up the money for it.
Vampire The Masquerade: Swansong is a dialogue-driven RPG that stakes everything on writing that isn't up to the task.
A complex, vampire-centric role-playing game where conversations replace violence, but whose boring puzzles and undercooked script suggest its budget didn't stretch nearly as far as its ambitions.
The world of vampires, the idea of implementing it as a single game was not bad. But the puzzles were unreasonable, and growth system seems failed to mean so much. Also, Poor graphics quality and lip sync interfere with immersion. Lastly, the story can be hard to follow if you are not familiar with WoD.
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A less-than-ideal cohesive story and poor systems design make Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong a game that perhaps should not have seen the light of day.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong should have been fantastic, but it wasn't. It has some excellent characters and an array of interesting missions. Somehow, though, it still falls short. With bland conversation and a flat atmosphere, every task is an uphill struggle. It's a real shame as it could, and should have worked well.
With boring, glacially paced gameplay, janky controls and far too many technical issues wiping out any sense of pleasure gained from playing through to the games anti-climax, I was left wanting.
Should you manage to look past the shoddy presentation and dodgy visuals, Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong will reveal itself to be a mildly engaging tale of hidden.
I truly wanted to love this game, and beneath the muddled surface lies the bare bones of an awesome detective RPG just begging to be let loose. Unfortunately, it looks like that skeleton will remain in the closet. Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong is plagued by more than just the undead: its systems aren’t fun, puzzles are irritating, and the lack of depth seals the deal. I want to learn more about our protagonists, I want the story to be Criminal Minds but with vampires, however, it simply isn’t. Having waited so long for VTM to return triumphantly, Swansong is quite the letdown. For avid fans it’s a must, but if you’ve been brought here by Bloodhunt we’d suggest just sticking to that.
A bland and occasionally baffling return for the Vampire: The Masquerade series
Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong falls short of its ambitions as a story-focused detective RPG due to a dense but uninteresting plot, bland characters, and unintuitive puzzles.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong offers an impressively flexible story, but that can't save it from its mediocre writing and scattershot game design.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong features an intriguing and mysterious storyline that hooks players but its bugs and restrictive nature prevent it from biting quite as deep as fans may like.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong manages to suck almost all the fun out of being a vampire. Billed as an RPG, it functions more like a frustrating puzzle game. Only the most patient players will have the time for it.
Swansong boasts an incredible world with intriguing characters and a deep story that does the source material justice, but the gameplay is long in the tooth and irritating at times.
As a newbie to Vampire: The Masquerade, I wasn't impressed with Swansong. There were moments when I found myself enjoying the investigation aspect but these were still marred by technical issues, graphical inconsistencies, and an unsettling atmosphere.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong has grand ambitious, but its dated presentation, shallow gameplay and uninteresting story make for another disappointing outing from this brooding universe.
Much like the humble zombie, vampires have been part and parcel of video games for quite a while. As monsters go, they’re quite a versatile bunch who can lend their hand to a multiple of genres. Whether it’s the action-oriented ‘Legacy of Kaine’ series or the terrible (and much) forgotten ‘Vampire Rain’, or even the classic ‘Castlevania’ – each game offers a different portrayal of the blood-sucking undead creature.