They just released the sequel, (sadly not up to its predecessor from what I gathered), and it’s Halloween, so what better time to talk about this special vampire game?
It was the last game by Troika and they were creating a mix of RPG and Acton and an early version of open world with a lot of incredible side content. And it is precisely this optional content that fleshed out the world so much and made it feel more real. The action part was not exactly stellar, although it was kind of funny as a Nosferatu in the late game to simply be invisible for ever and just stealth takedown all the enemies. Boss fights did not go so easily in contrast… I would even say the main story is nothing to write home about, although with a fun twist. The side content is what I enjoyed immensely however. Because it didn’t feel like the game was telling me: oh, go down that alley, it looks like there could be something with a big arrow. Instead I was simply put into the world and was free to explore it. And if I stumbled on something, that made the enjoyment that much higher, because I felt that exploration was rewarded.
It’s great strength is also that it takes role playing serious and let’s you commit to a certain character. Depending what vampire clan you belong to, your game experience can be very different. I chose the butt ugly Nosferatu, which meant I couldn’t even be seen on the street by humans without them calling me a monster and attacking me. So i was forced to move in the sewer or go invisible. That made certain interactions much harder. But other Nosferatu NPCs were cool with me but aren’t so friendly to normal pretty face vampires in contrast to how they treated me.
This game is set in the Vampire: the Masquerade setting of World of Darkness, which is normally a tabletop RPG. You do not need to know anything to enjoy the game. It contains a lot of explanation for new players to understand the world. For me it was also the entry point without any other knowledge before.
If you want to try it out: use the fan patch, it fixes bugs and adds some cut content.
So to those who played it: tell us some of your stories and what you liked about this game, to wake the interest of new players.
VerilyFemme@lemmy.blahaj.zone 9 hours ago
That Rik Schaeffer soundtrack is fucking irreplaceable. VTMB oozes atmosphere from its every crevice.
This game also has a stacked voice cast. Dee Bradley Baker, J. Grant Albrecht, Grey DeLisle, John DiMaggio, Steve Blum. If you grew up in the 2000s, you’re going to hear the voices of your childhood.
I think that what I adore about VTMB is how it’s designed to let you play the game with extreme variance depending on your build. I love New Vegas, but if you want to get into a place, you’re either talking your way in or shooting your way in. VTMB lets me complete objectives by finding ventilation systems to crawl through and hacking terminals to get the info I need rather than speaking to or fighting any person. This blend of RPG and imsim elements really scratches that itch for me.
Really, that’s just an indicator of how this game is designed to be Roleplaying-forward. If you play as an ugly bastard monster man, you better get ready for everyone to treat you as such. Luckily, the devs thought of that, so you can also complete most everything as if you were an ugly bastard monster man.
This all falls apart a bit in the end. The game is built upon the Source engine, so combat is really fun. With that being the case, I guess they didn’t have too many issues with making the final stretch of missions a LOT of combat. I don’t think the game falls apart there, per se, but I could definitely see someone not speccing for combat and then suffering the consequences late game.
But that said, the side quests in this game! Holy shit! Whether it’s becoming a bounty hunter, saving people with your vampire blood, or taking out vampire-hunting strippers, this game is memorable as fuck.
Play it. I had not played a game that felt similar to VTMB until the recent release of The Outer Worlds 2, which has that same RPG/imsim design to it. Gems like this are rare, and you’re doing yourself a disservice if you never take them off the shelf and play.