Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines

VtM: Bloodlines clearly has potential, but it's best features are marred by clunky and frustrating gameplay mechanics. The game has so much going for it in terms of its auxillary aspects. My highest praise has to go to the game's dialogue, which is top notch. The characters, atmosphere, and storytelling are steeped in grungy alt aesthetics, mystery, horror, and intrigue in a way that makes the World of Darkness setting feel well realized. The RPG systems are also fresh and interesting. The humanity and masquerade systems further enrich the roleplay. Exp gain through main and hidden quest objectives rather than by defeating enemies incentivizes the player to explore alternative solutions to problems and the modular level up system means characters can be easily built to the player's preference. Coupled with the unique powers and dialogue from your vampire clan, you can tell a lot of enthusiasm was put into the game as a concept. However, these aspects can only heighten player experience if the fundamentals of the game are well executed, which in this case, they are not. The base game is incredibly clunky. In the first 2 hours of the game I had to reload my save due to a glitch 4 times (tutorial prompt not loading, clipped through the ground, stuck between a door, etc.). I eventually installed the unofficial patch, but even then I still encounter a progress-stopping bug once every couple of hours. Combat is clunky and imprecise to the point of being tedious, which is this game's biggest sin. Early on there are other methods of circumventing combat, but as the game goes on, you'll be forced into more difficult combat encounters, which ultimately boil down to slug fests contingent on resource stockpiling and abusing enemy AI. The physics system in the game is also atrocious. Your character will frequently get caught on all manner of objects or people, getting you trapped or pinned down in combat, and if you step on any moveable object no matter how big or small, your movement will slow to a snail's pace. I think the story being told here and the way it's being told are both fantastic, but the gameplay is so lacking I'm hesitant to pick it up again. 0 Likes