Over Hyped Hate vs Reality:
Bloodlines 2 has been getting dunk on long before it was released, and the internet had a field day calling it shallow and disappointing, mostly because it does not try to be a full on Bloodlines sequel in RPG depth. Some of the criticism made me chuckle and wonder if people were taking their childhood traumas into the wrong forums.
Setting the jokes aside, when I put expectations on the shelf and played the game for what it actually is, I found it surprisingly decent. The developers were upfront about wanting a smoother, more accessible experience, and judged by those goals, the game does, when you look past the performance issues, a lot right.
Gameplay and Combat:
The combat feels at times like a cafaine overdose system, its punchy, and sporadicly very satisfying. I am personally still getting the hang of it. At times every hit made me feel like a vampire ninja; other times I flailed around like I was swatting a fly with a pool noodle. That is definitely me, not the game.
Stealth is not always that gracefully. I tried to distract a ghoul with a bottle. He reacted, commented on it, then stood completely still and stared at nothing. Maybe a bug, maybe shy AI, but, It certainly broke my rhythm.
However, when the combat clicks, it clicks hard. Sneaking, feeding, and brawling all feel good, and the combat system does not require deep study to enjoy. It is very satisfying if you simply want a more brainless brawler.
Story and Characters:
The narrative leans fully into a dark vampire-noir style.
The dialogue and world-building make the world feel alive and hidden beneath the surface.
Fabien surprised me early on. He knew I was the Nomad before I even said anything, as if he had scanning my thoughts. He is also unusually calm for a Malkavian, which only adds to the mystery how he got in Phyres head.
Safia continues to be the part of the writing that feels most off.
From the moment I met her, she acted like she knew my entire backstory before I spoke a single word. At first I brushed it off as quirky writing, but the more I think about it, the more it feels like a mistake or very clumsy foreshadowing.
If the intent is to hint at her deeper role, it is so obvious that it ruins any sense of mystery. If it is unintentional, then it feels like her introduction was simply written poorly. Either way, her scenes stand out for the wrong reasons.
Tolly is more subtle. He seems simple and cocky at first, but I have a strong suspicion there is more going on with him. For the other characters like Benny Maldoon, Lou Grand, Ryon, and for me Ysabella (because I am playing a Toreador), I feel these characters are all very well written and voiced very specifically to give weight to their personalities.
The next problem comes from choices.
I tried to play based on what felt right for my character. For example, I handed the Sheriff over to the Anarchs because it made political sense and felt like the right call.
I expected the Camarilla to react strongly. Instead, Ryon expresses irritation. But then she offers me Benny's position as Sheriff anyway. Even refusing does nothing. You get the role no matter what. It turns what should be a meaningful decision into a cosmetic one.
These problems do not ruin the story, but they weaken its impact.
Blood Resonance and Masquerade:
Bloodlines 2 links NPC mood to feeding through the Blood Resonance system. Pink Sanguine NPCs let you feed freely, while Red Choleric and Purple Melancholic types often require a fight or a chase. It is a clever idea, though mostly situational.
The Masquerade, however, feels slapped together like a quickly stirred egg.
I genuinely miss the original Masquerade and Humanity systems.
There is no humanity mechanic to support the idea of restraint, and the new version feels far less impactful. I even had to go out of my way to break it. I fed in the open streets more times than I can count simply because the game lets you, and after a short cooldown you can do it again unless you push things into a full breach.
NPCs walking in tiny loops make the world feel oddly dense.
There is rarely a truly secluded spot when you need to feed. For example, Choleric marks need to be kited into quiet corners just to feed, and chasing Melancholic targets is a lottery; you can only hope they run somewhere quiet. On Normal difficulty, violations stack at a steady rate. Bite and run too often and it adds up, though a single mistake usually means little. Feeding in front of a cop isn't smart, its the one immediate spike I encountered.
And honestly, even then I was still able to get away.
While the mechanics try to add some personality to feeding, it definitely lacks the weight and it feels like a oversimplified version of what made the original so memorable.
Graphics, Sound, and Performance:
Performance is the hardest issue to accept. My system is more than capable. Nothing bottlenecks, nothing maxes out, and I have plenty of headroom. Yet the game stutters like it is struggling to stay conscious.
The odd part is how consistent the stutters are. They appear in the same corners of the open world, the same spots inside hubs, and the same transitional areas. After a while you can predict them. This strongly suggests that the Unreal Engine was not optimized correctly.
Mods and engine tweaks help. You can remove unwanted visual effects, stop auto-enabled settings from tanking your performance, and reduce many of the hitches. Even then, the game never becomes fully stable. Some sessions are smooth. Other sessions feel like someone smeared butter on the performance graph and stepped on it.
It is playable, but the inconsistency is frustrating. The hardware is not the problem. The optimization is.
Voice acting is excellent. The only distracting thing is the giant dialogue arrow that constantly demands attention. Thankfully, the sound design and music rebuild the atmosphere quickly.
Character Choice and Minor Bugs
I am playing a Toreador traveler. The background fits the mood nicely. It also mirrors the approach of the original Bloodlines, where clan selection shaped personality and style more than it locked off content.
I have seen bugs, but nothing game-breaking. Most are cosmetic issues, lighting glitches, or small performance hiccups that can be fixed with simple tweaks. Compared to the original Bloodlines launch, this might as well be a miracle.
Final Thoughts
I am not very far into the game yet, but I am having fun. The game is stylish, engaging, and atmospheric. At the same time, it is hampered by performance issues that can be frustrating. It is not a copy of the original Bloodlines, nor did it ever claim to be. At its core, it is a good vampire game, though one weighed down by high expectations.
Naming it Bloodlines 2 likely did not help. People expected a direct and extremely deep sequel. A different title might have set expectations more fairly and prevented much of the pre-release criticism.
Now to China House I say this, fix the performance!
Thank you very much...
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