It's hard to think of a game that fits the bill of "cult classic" better than 2004's Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, a narrative-driven action-RPG with a wickedly alluring take on the modern vampire. In the two decades since its release, Bloodlines has birthed a dedicated following online, viewed as a charming oddity characteristic of early-2000s PC gaming. As the IP's visibility has grown, so too have its associated works, such as visual novels, the Bloodhunt battle royale, and, of course, the long-awaited Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2.
A funny thing about cult classics is how they grow beyond themselves. The first Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines is miles away from being perfect, and some may even say that it's actually poorly crafted in several respects. Certainly, its writing and world-building are best-in-class, but its combat, open-world, and RPG elements are woefully underdone, even by 2004 standards. And yet, fans of the game overlook these weaknesses—weaknesses that would be fatal to lesser games—in favor of its strong suits, viewing Bloodlines as more than the sum of its parts.
This is how Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 should be viewed, because much like its predecessor, it has some extremely rough edges. Its open-world design is trite and boring, its RPG systems are half-baked at best, and its quest design is about as pedestrian as it gets. But I had a great time with Bloodlines 2. More than that, I loved its story, and can easily call it one of 2025's best-written video games.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 Has a Bloody Great Narrative
Any fan of the original Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines will readily tell you that its writing is its crown jewel, and its sequel puts the same premium on storytelling. The world of Vampire: The Masquerade, which is based on the early-90s TTRPG of the same name, is dark, edgy, inventive, and cohesive - one of only a few urban fantasy IP that don't feel immature or explicitly YA-oriented. Appropriately, it's not a franchise that's afraid to get dark, nor does it attempt to reassure its audience with regular appeals to contemporary morality. Vampire: The Masquerade is about blood-sucking monsters, and it doesn't make any effort to make these monsters more palatable. There's a certain confidence about Vampire: The Masquerade that's not often seen in modern, big-budget stories, and it's incredibly refreshing.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines came out of the now-defunct Troika Games, but its sequel comes from The Chinese Room, the studio behind narrative powerhouses like Still Wakes the Deep and Everybody's Gone to the Rapture.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 still has the deep and multilayered vampiric lore of its predecessor, but it excels through a far more compelling plot, starring a more engaged, interesting protagonist. Players take on the role of Phyre, also known as Nomad, a centuries-old Kindred famous throughout vampiredom, who finds themselves in Seattle just after a major Camarilla (vampire government) power shift. It's good to think of Phyre along the same lines as Cyberpunk 2077's V: you can steer their personality during conversations, make key decisions, and even define certain parts of their backstory, but their core desires and value system are predetermined. This might be disappointing for fans of Bloodlines 1's more traditional, open-ended RPG design, but others will find that Phyre's bespoke story makes for a far more focused narrative experience.
There's a certain confidence about Vampire: The Masquerade that's not often seen in modern, big-budget stories, and it's incredibly refreshing.
As Phyre, players will slowly unfurl the tangled web of Seattle's Camarilla, bringing secrets to the light, illuminating the city's shadowy history, and bearing witness to a frenzy of political intrigue. It's a tight, tidy little narrative that puts a lot of faith in its characters and lore, only ever giving players the most toothsome samples of what makes these elements tick, thus encouraging them to explore. So many contemporary games bend over backwards to make their characters and worldbuilding captivating, but Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 makes it look effortless. No characters are wasted, no lore is contradicted, and the whole story glows with slick competence, even as it barrels toward a messy climax that you won't want to look away from.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2's Gameplay Is a Mixed Bag
In some ways, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2's gameplay is tragic, not because it's terrible (it's certainly better than that of the first game), but because it rarely realizes its potential. Like the first game, Bloodlines 2 is set in a small open-world, though the snow-laden streets of Seattle are nowhere near as dense and compelling as those of its predecessor. In the first Bloodlines, Los Angeles feels like a grimy, greasy character in and of itself, with innumerable secrets, optional dialog encounters, Easter eggs, and more. It's not the best stab at the mini-open-world, but it's a surprising, multifaceted, and eerie sandbox, whereas Bloodlines 2's rendition of Seattle is soulless and trite.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the game's side content, which feels like little more than a necessary tithe to open-world conventions clashing with Bloodlines 2's otherwise untainted vision. Side quests are all some variation of "walk here, do this," and they never chain together in any meaningful way. To add insult to injury, many quests will either have no reward, or will only reward players with a specific type of XP, which can be easily obtained through other, less time-consuming means. Beyond structured side missions, there are various collectibles scattered about Seattle, but collecting them also feels like a chore, since they are so numerous and seemingly placed about the map at random.
This ties into the game's broader problems with RPG fundamentals, which never truly launch. There are no stats, items, or gear available that would have allowed for some degree of creativity or power creep, and progression is almost exclusively tied to a suite of abilities. To the game's credit, many of these abilities are unique and fun to use, but only four of them can be equipped at any given time, which makes unlocking them feel less like you're getting more powerful and more like you're just getting new options. It's a nice idea, but the novelty wears off once you figure out a handful of powers that work for you. There are some passive abilities, but they are far too insignificant for how hard they are to unlock. Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2's abilities can be clever, but their inexplicably conservative integration into the rest of the gameplay loop keeps them from reaching their full mechanical potential.
It's a shame, because when Bloodlines 2's gameplay is firing on all cylinders, it's a beautiful thing. Phyre is blindingly mobile, able to sprint along the ground with feline agility, leap several feet into the air, glide, double-jump, and climb, which makes both traversal and combat encounters delightfully frenetic. This gels nicely with the aforementioned focus on abilities, which adds structure and expression to the chaos, allowing you to dominate the battlefield in your own way. Phyre can also use telekinesis at any time, allowing them to grab and throw all manner of items, and even fire guns, which is always satisfying. The combat and traversal sandboxes truly shine in the game's second half, when there's the most enemy and environment variety, but at its slower moments, it can feel like the strong moment-to-moment gameplay is hogtied by a progression model that's far too rigid, and quest design that rarely encourages using Phyre's more novel powers in new or unexpected ways.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 won't be a game for everyone. If you're looking for the depth and variety of content offered by other leading AAA RPGs, The Chinese Room's relatively modest take on Seattle-at-night might leave you feeling a little underwhelmed. But if you want a story that you can sink your teeth into and gameplay that, while not always given the proper room to breathe, often gets the job done, then you'll likely settle into this relaxed-fit action-adventure quite nicely. In a way, Bloodlines 2 is a fitting continuation of its predecessor's legacy: it's deeply flawed, but masterfully written.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 63 /100 Critics Rec: 27%
- Released
- October 21, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, Sexual Themes, Nudity, Drug Reference, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- The Chinese Room
- Publisher(s)
- Paradox Interactive
WHERE TO PLAY
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- Fantastic story, characters, and dialog
- Great moment-to-moment gameplay
- A unique fantasy world
- Creative, original powers
- Bad progression
- Boring, trite side quests
- Ineffectual world design
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 releases on October 21, 2025 for PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. The Best War Games was provided a PC code for this review.