Late last week, Paradox Interactive “leaked” news that cult hit action-RPG Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines was getting a sequel following a fifteen-year hiatus.
Many fans of the original Bloodlines found the news surprising to say the least. After all, the first game flopped due to the publisher flubbing the launch, and SJW meddling has sent VtM’s brand spiraling toward final death.
Nevertheless, it looks like we’re in for round two. Here’s the trailer.
Being a teaser with no actual game play footage, that didn’t give us much to go on. Luckily, some of the more reputable gaming press outfits are on the job.
And what they’re reporting lends credence to fears aroused by the clown show surrounding VtM 5th Edition.
We’ve learned politics are going to be core to the experience in the recently announced Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2.
The news comes via an interview with developer Hardsuit Labs and VG247, where Hardsuit Labs creative director Martin Ka’ai Clooney noted their studio is putting their personal politics – including political stances on what they think is right and wrong – directly into the game’s story.
“It is a political game but I think it’s one of those few opportunities that gives us the chance to let people make their own political statement in a way that’s not cheap. I don’t believe you can look at both sides of a political argument without understanding both sides,” Clooney said.
“It’s easy to say this is good and this is bad. But it’s definitely taking some political stances on what we think are right and wrong. In terms of the main conflict what is interesting is it’s one of those truly balanced issues.”
Clooney added, “One of the reasons why that particular conflict attracted us so much was because it’s an inherently political conversation but it’s one of the few ones where it’s hard to… there are valid approaches. The world has to move forward, right?
Translation from the Leftist Death Cult ritual cant:
“Here at Hardsuit Labs, our devotion to SJW dogma far outweighs our duty to customers. Now shut up and listen while we ham-handedly ply you with cheap bumper sticker canards. Love is love! Seattle has no place for hate! No person is illegal! My body, my choice! ORANGE MAN BAD!!1!”
Seriously, the closest any of these cosmopolitan coastal bubble boys ever came to engaging with the other side of a political argument was squirming next to someone reading a Glenn Beck book on a connecting flight from Provo to Portland in 2009.
I’ve pointed out before that even the first game, released way back in the more innocent days of 2004, ended up as a textbook example of a SMRT story due to its demythologizing bait-and-switch ending.
Though it must be said, VtMB turned out pretty based and redpilled thanks to the wild card element of player choice.
Troika thought their not-so-subtle nudgings in the Sibling Rivalry mission would impel players to side with the slut over her chaste twin. Turns out they didn’t know me very well. #DeusVult intensifies!
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| Therese Voerman: Patrolling THOTs before it was cool. |
More than a year out–no, Paradox, nobody believes you’ll launch VtMB2 in Q1 2020–it’s impossible to say exactly how pozzed the finished game will be. You never know, the West could repent en masse, convert to Christ, and get the heretic bonfires roaring in time to save the game.
Failing another Great Awakening/DoTR combo, there’s always the possibility of an unofficial aftermarket patch. A similar method reportedly saved the dismally woke Battletech.
Speaking of which, raconteur par excellence Razörfist throws in his two tarnished cents on the upcoming VtMB2 bloodbath.
By the way, if you’re in the market for a mech story that’s anything but dismally woke, check out my new mil-SF thriller Combat Frame XSeed.
The middle market is the future as far as Western games go. The AAA is nothing but social justice propaganda and nihilism slathered across your screen and buoyed by PS3-era gameplay.
This game is the same reason I want Gearbox to stay away from Duke Nukem. I can already tell how Pitchfork's "comedy" team will handle it. That is, if they're not shuffling it off to a third party developer and pocketing the publishing money for another project.
I'm amazed that DOOM hasn't been destroyed yet. I think it's the only western property that hasn't been yet.
Careful. Don't tempt fate.
Smart advice.
The reveal for this game was surprisingly excited. No Socjus, no uptalking blue hairs, no AAA jargon, no overblown bullshots, just in game footage, concept art, and developer and customer excitement was enough to almost make me believe it was 2001 again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2cNUDT7Tpo
A glimpse into a world that once was.
Bloodlines was totally worth $5 on steam.
Maybe another unofficial patch will fix Bloodlines 2 bugs and add a red pill storyline.
It's to be hoped.
Vampires without a Christian foundation just do not work. Full stop.
Correct. Which is why VtM did work–at least in its first three editions.
Wait, what happened with Battletech?
On the Bloodlines front, my excitement for the new game is very much tempered by my complete lack of faith in the game studio to avoid getting preachy. I watched one of the developer interviews and was cringing from first word until I shut it off (no, I couldn't sit through the whole thing).
"Wait, what happened with Battletech?"
The latest video game's story was totally SJW converged.
Happily, an aftermarket patch fixed it.
I also heard they're tweaking the Malkavians too to be "sensitive to those with mental illness". It'll be a mess but hopefully a beautiful mess like bloodlines 1 (please please god).
As go the Malkavians, so goes VtM.
That clan alone saved the whole franchise from being wall-to-wall brooding 90s goth kitsch. They've got the most intriguing lore and offer the most challenging RP experience–and also the most rewarding.
I don't mean the glut of players who went all Bunny Ears Lawyer with their Malkavs. See Bloodinles' "Sibling Rivalry" mission for a master class in Malkavian madness at its chilling best.
Its just a rumor but I also heard that Jack and Beckett are canonically dead too lol. I have a feeling you'll cry no tears over Beckett especially.
You heard right.
Therese and Jeanette = super successful club magnates with Asylum franchises in multiple cities.
Beckett & Jack = dead.
The world isn't fair, but sometimes we get justice.