T
he Vampire: The Masquerade franchise has had something of a long and difficult journey over the years.
The series was born in 1991 as a tabletop RPG,
Vampire: The Masquerade, as part of Mark Rein- Hagen’s World of Darkness series. Masquerade made its first foray into video games with the release of Nihilistic Software’s Vampire: The Masquerade – Redemption. However, it arguably didn’t make its true impact on gaming history until 2004, with Troika Games’ troubled masterpiece RPG Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines. Despite being one of the best vampire video games
to hit the market, Bloodlines was for a long time the final entry to the series. Upon release the game was riddled with bugs – even today, fresh installs of the game require an unofficial patch to address many of the game’s issues. Adding onto that, Bloodlines released in competition with Half Life 2. A fight that it… did not win, with Bloodlines ultimately performing poorly financially. Troika Games later closed its doors in 2005. Despite this, the game has attracted a cult following
in the years since. While there have been various attempts at vampiric video games, arguably none have
quite the reputation and devoted fans as Bloodlines. Fans who, following the demise of Troika Games, kept the game alive through patches and re-adding cut content found in the final release. That was seemingly the end for the series’ video
game efforts. (We won’t dwell on CCP Games’ unproductive stewardship.) Until, in 2019, the franchise was reborn with a number of new entries, including the long-awaited sequel to Bloodlines. Bloodlines 2’s troubled development has meant that
fans have even longer to wait for a direct followup to the 2004 classic. The game’s publisher, Paradox Interactive, cut ties with its original developer Hardsuit Labs in February 2021. The game has seemingly survived cancellation, but it’s fair to assume that fans will have to wait a little while longer. Thankfully, the franchise isn’t quite as cursed as its
history might make it seem. While the direct sequel might be further along the horizon than initially thought, the franchise has risen from the grave with a number of smaller indie titles. If that doesn’t satisfy you, Sharkmob has something with a lot more triple-A shine coming your way later this year – Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodhunt.
March 2022 MCV/DEVELOP | 47
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