Matt Wales
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Now that Paradox has, after much secrecy, revealed Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture developer The Chinese Room as the new developer on Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, the news floodgates are open; the studio’s latest development update has revealed a new main character, who this time will be fully voiced.
As per The Chinese Room’s latest developer stream, Bloodlines 2 casts players as Phyre, a somewhat pre-defined Elder vampire recently awoken after a 100-year slumber and slightly bewildered by modern-day Seattle. While Phyre’s backstory might already be in place, there’s some flexibility as to how they present in-game, with players able to choose their gender, clothing, and clan.
Phyre carries a mysterious brand on their hand which might just be connected to the mysterious voice in their head, belonging to a modern vampire known as Fabien, who is bound to Phyre for reasons initially unknown and accompanies them on their adventure.
As a story driven RPG, Blodlines 2 will offer different ways for players to shape their narrative experience beyond the usual conversational dialogue trees, including their clan choice, which will affect the powers available to them. These abilities can be further augmented and adaptation by considering the emotional resonance of potential prey. Even elements like a player’s choice of clothing might have an impact on how characters respond to Phyre.
This latest Bloodlines 2 video forms the fourth entry in a relatively new series of development updates from The Chinese Room that have so far covered the likes of the game’s atmosphere, themes, and neo noir art style.
Bloodlines 2 has, of course, had a rather troubled history since its announcement back in 2019. Publisher Paradox Interactive ditched original developer Hardsuit Labs back in 2020 following a number of controversies, and the game was almost cancelling the game, before a new studio – now known to be The Chinese Room – was hired to take on the title.
With development now seemingly in full swing, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is set to release PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X late next year.