Vampire: The Masquerade - Coteries of New York Reviews
Excellent writing and vibrant characters help to overcome prominent technical issues and unwelcome repetition.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Coteries of New York is essentially a collection of subplots for their own sake, largely set in stone. But they’re written with talent and confidence and I would gladly read some more.
While clearly not as impressive in gaming terms as the Bloodlines series, Coteries of New York is a welcome addition to the digital world of The Masquerade. Offering up an immersive and atmospheric take on the politics and personalities of the undead Big Apple, it seduces with it's quality of writing and characterisation, proving to be more than a mere snack to tide the Hunger over until the main course of Bloodlines 2. If you have any taste for the Gothic you should give yourself over to the vampiric delights of Coteries.
I went into this game really expecting to like it – and I did, for the most part. In the end, I couldn't get past the odd tone and the feeling that it was penned by someone who didn't actually respect the source material, but wanted to write a self-aware parody of it.
World of Darkness marks its return to the videogame scene with a simple, yet intriguing visual novel. It's not the most memorable story about vampires, but despite being a low budget game, it definitely has its good vibes.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Though a little too short for its own good, Vampire: The Masquerade - Coteries Of New York is nonetheless a highly entertaining visual novel that provides a grand introduction to the world of Vampire: The Masquerade at large.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Coteries of New York is an interesting complicated story that trying to explain World of Darkness to those who never experienced it. It may be helpful in anticipation of a full-fledged role-playing game in the same universe. Everyone else who does not have a sufficient level of English, is not ready to spend time in the local encyclopedia and read thousands of lines of not very simple text, it is better to take any early book of Anne Rice and skip the game.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Vampire: The Masquerade – Coteries of New York left me feeling hungry. The game is certainly well-written, but its truncated story doesn’t quite do its complex, captivating world justice. If you’re a dedicated VTM devotee, Coteries of New York is a solid appetizer, but you’ll have to wait until next year for something to truly sink your fangs into.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Coteries of New York is a beautiful-looking visual novel for the Nintendo Switch that features a finely written plot and dialogues, as it should with any self-respecting visual novel. While the game's length feels short, those who have a penchant for an experience that's not based on action gameplay but rather on plot choices will find an immersive world and many incentives to return to the adventure in order to discover more characters and more plot developments.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Vampire: The Masquerade – Coteries of New York is a hell of a mouthful, but one that you should at least take a nibble at. The streamlined gameplay and engrossing story make it an approachable title that artfully embraces The World of Darkness. While its relative lack of role-playing depth, linearity, and brevity may be off putting to some, when taken for what it is there is a lot to enjoy here.
Vampire The Masquerade: Coteries of New York transports the heart of the paper game into a visual novel full of charm and emotions. In this adventure every player, accustomed or not to the World of Darkness, can totally immerse himself, feeling full and satisfying sensations.
Review in Italian | Read full review
I'm hoping that Coteries is the first modern step forward for an IP long overdue for mass recognition. Vampire: The Masquerade fans will enjoy this, and fans of vampire fiction in general might want to give it a whirl, as this is an easy introduction to an awesome universe.
Coteries of New York is an excellent entry point and a good adaptation of the traditional tabletop RPG. If you’re looking for a solid vampire story this is definitely for you.
I completed this game three times and I'm still left hungry and unsatisfied.
Vampire: the Masquerade - Coteries of New York is a well-written interactive story in the World of Darkness that fans of the franchise will enjoy. While mostly a good read, it's let down by repetitive visuals, bugs, and relatively shallow choices. Players used to approaching Vampire as an RPG should temper their expectations.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Coteries of New York is a visual novel that has bright spots and some intriguing moments but is brought down by a lot of filler material that adds little to the overall package.
You've played the tabletop games and the PC games... now play the visual novel.
While the writing is surprisingly high-quality and the UI is slick, the lack of any real choice and abrupt ending make Coteries Of New York tough to recommend.
Coteries of New York is definitely a game made to be experienced in the context of a connected universe. As an introduction to that universe, it works. As a game on its own, it's just okay. Fans of the franchise will likely love it, and those who are interested in trying the franchise will find plenty to enjoy. But it's hard to recommend this as a game for everyone to jump on.
Playing this game feels every bit like playing the tabletop pen-and-paper experience with a good GM weaving the story. Sadly, by nature pen-and-paper RPGs are about fun stories rather than anything meaningful, and Coteries of New York doesn't really have anything meaningful to say. Throw in some confused mechanics and this one won't be remembered as a classic of the genre.