Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 Reviews
Despite its problems, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is not the disaster one might think after seeing the stormy development process of the Paradox Interactive title.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is a game with great narrative and atmosphere, but it fails as an RPG. It succeeds in dialogue, setting, and themes, but stumbles in game design, variety, and meaningful choices. For those looking for a dark and well-written story, it's worth the experience. However, those who expected a true spiritual successor to Bloodlines (2004) will be left thirsty for blood—and depth.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
As a sequel to the famous vampire RPG, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 failed miserably simply because it’s not an RPG. That was a bad decision. But that's far from the only flaw. The empty and boring city is replaced by gameplay that couldn't be more repetitive. The game forces you to just walk from place to place and talk to a handful of characters in linear dialogues. You can influence very little, and there is even less to experience. The story itself is actually fine, but it is suffocated by everything around it.
Review in Czech | Read full review
Is Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines 2 a worthy successor to the first game? Yes and no. It is an interesting game with many good features, but it is also riddled with problems and strange gameplay solutions.
The sequel to the legendary Bloodlines disappoints expectations, even though it constitutes a functional, narrative action game.
Review in Finnish | Read full review
Bloodlines 2 doesn't get my blood pumping quite as much. The special moments don't quite measure up to those in the first Bloodlines. Even 20 years later, I still remember the horror detour to the Ocean Hotel and the “Sibling Rivalry” quest with the llama. Nevertheless, Bloodlines 2 still grabs me with its grandiose level design and soundtrack, which varies between classical, rock, and electronic music.
Review in German | Read full review
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 sheds the skin of its ancestor in favour of a more action-focused, linear experience that's brought down by a lack of technical polish and mostly hollow side content.
Bloodlines 2 has style, it has fangs, it has potential, but it lacks the depth that would make us want to return to play again. As a vampire game, it leaves a solid impression, but as a sequel to a classic, it doesn’t come close to quenching the thirst.
Review in Unknown | Read full review
A rather underwhelming sequel to Troika's legendary RPG, which is somewhat redeemed if treated as a simple VtM action-adventure with an interesting detective story at its core.
Were it not burdened by the legacy of its predecessor nor limited by its thin RPG systems, Bloodlines 2 would shine as a strong, story-driven action experience set in the haunting world of Seattle’s undead. It’s stylish, immersive, and confident in its own dark identity—flawed, yes, but captivating all the same.
Its open world is fun to explore but basic, its combat is equal parts simple and frustrating, and it doesn't lean into the RPG mechanics of the tabletop game as much as I hoped. Still, Phyre and Fabien's journey is one I don't regret experiencing, and it proves to me that there's potential for a AAA RPG starring vampires.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is a contradiction: it's a game with a lot of power but no purpose, a lot of style but not enough substance. It's not a disaster, but it's not the great return that fans were hoping for either.
Given the long and troubled development, the fact that “Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2” exists is a miracle by itself. The Chinese Room delivers a solid story with some fantastic characters and voice acting. As someone who craved a game with RPG mechanics in a modern setting, it is more than enough for me.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is the sequel to an amazing game that was full of life, where everything felt meaningful, and the design felt purposeful. Unfortunately, anything that its highly-regarded predecessor had has been stripped away and replaced with a generic combat system, a story that tries too hard to be the next big crime drama, and a lifeless world with little to do and a Masquerade Court that, like me, has lost all care in the world. Very few benefits outweigh the negatives that have befallen this fictional version of Seattle, leaving me feeling sorry for all the fans that waited 21 years to get a story that, if it wasn’t for the Bloodlines name, would be forgotten to time except by the most faithful scene queens and goths.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 will certainly appeal to the die-hard fans of its world, thanks to the story. Unfortunately though, it commits the cardinal sin of simply not being fun enough to play, and that's a difficult coffin to clamber back out of.
Across the board, Bloodlines 2 is just a disappointment. It should be oozing with style and gothic vibes that make you want to paint your fingernails black and put on some My Chemical Romance. Instead, it's just the same thing over and over again that feels uninspired and unchallenging.
Bloodlines 2 isn’t your typical RPG. It tells a great and complex story while taking you on an adventure where every choice you make affects the narrative, inside a city that feels alive with lovable and hateable characters. However, it could have done so much more to live up to its predecessor and TTRPG inspiration.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 could have been an excellent vampire experience, but its uninspiring gameplay, technical issues, and frustrating combat leave it in the dark.