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Download masquerade bloodlines 28/20/2023 ![]() ![]() Forming a working relationship with Strauss in the early game does not lock you into the ending where you align with him, so even Tremere kindred who favour the freedom loving, dorky good guy Anarch faction, like I do, have good reason to help him out. Tremere players get access to a bonus player home and some thaumaturgy power ups by chatting up resident vampire archwizard Maximillian Strauss, and completing sidequests in his favour. I progressed through Bloodlines' critical path opting for mostly the same resolutions of quests and moral choices (I'm a big softy and I don't know how to be mean, even in games), but experienced something new in the form of some Tremere-exclusive content and a cut questline added back in by Wesp5. The first hub you get to explore, Santa Monica, is a fantastic introduction to Bloodlines' whole aesthetic, melding classic noir with an early 2000s punk raver vibe (think the dorks Neo hangs out with at the beginning of the Matrix). VtMB's early game had me excited and invested right away, just like the first time, a rare thing in a genre that loves beating around the bush in starting villages. I'm still kicking myself for how much I got in the way of my own fun that first playthrough, but I'd argue it's a huge point in Bloodlines' favour that even such sub-optimal and unsupported styles of play can still see you through right to the very end of the game. When I abandoned stealth and subtlety and went in loud, slinging blood missiles around and letting my only concession to pacifism be dialogue checks, I found myself really enjoying its combat despite Bloodlines' sluggish, early 2000s action RPG mechanics. Bloodlines' levels are too cramped, its enemy AI simultaneously too dumb and too unpredictable, for it to be played like a stealth game. The issue is that while Bloodlines shares a first person perspective and similar commitment to player agency as immersive sims, it's coming at these ideas from a completely different lineage of game design: CRPGs like Fallout or Troika's previous effort, Arcanum. I approached VtMB as I typically approach those sorts of games: opting for perfect, non-lethal stealth. My problem when I booted up Bloodlines for my first playthrough was that I'd heard all these comparisons to immersive sims, especially Deus Ex. These fun Tremere abilities completely changed the game for me. Later thaumaturgy skills include an AoE stun and a highly damaging blood explosion. The skill's progression begins with a blood-based magic missile that, when timed right, has effectively infinite ammo. Thaumaturgy is the in-game representation of that signature Tremere blood magic, and it rips. They get some bonus dialogue options by way of their ‘dominate' special ability, but the real draw is thaumaturgy. This time around, I opted for clan Tremere, secretive blood-wizards who seek to understand their curse by way of academic study. The big draw for me was that Malks have all of their dialogue completely rewritten in the spirit of Fallout's low-intelligence playthrough, and other characters react accordingly. In Bloodlines' ruleset, they get some special abilities that help with stealth and conversations. My first time through, I went with clan Malkavian, mad prophets whose special insight into the vampire condition sets them apart from their fellow kindred. In Bloodlines, you choose a vampire clan at character creation, which covers a combined race/class role.
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