There’s always a tightrope to walk when it comes to revivals of old classics. There’s always an expectation, a sort of nostalgic attachment, that can be hard to recapture. Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is taking up such a task, as the original RPG is a beloved classic, but from a very different era. The team is looking to update those aspects of the original that are a bit dated by today’s standards.
In an interview with DualShockers, Lead UI/UX designer Rachel Leiker and Paradox Producer Nikhat Ali talked extensively about the game and how it compares to the original. Leiker specifically singled out the treatment of the Malkavian clan and how they were used in the original game, something that probably won’t fly well today. That, along with the obvious technical aspects, are ways she sees Bloodlines 2 as improving over the original cult classic.
“It was definitely a product of its time,” she said. “We’ve obviously improved the look of it. We’re using Unreal Engine 4 which is very, very cool for us. We’ve spent a great deal of time sort of maturing the content if that makes sense. Brian and Cara have done an excellent job of bringing more modern sensibilities into the game.
“As you know, Malkavians were announced for the game as a playable clan. Malkavians were very complicated in the original game and were used a lot for comedic effect. The idea around Malkavians has sort of shifted in recent times and they have done a great job to be more sensitive and respectful of representing that in this game.
“I also like to think that our systems have matured quite a bit from the first game. We worked in parallel with the World of Darkness, both the pen and paper Vampire: The Masquerade and our game, to make the systems very cohesive. If you’re playing the pen and paper, a lot of that will translate into our game as opposed to these two wildly different systems for the same IP. That brings a lot more cohesion to both the gameplay and the game as a whole.”
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 will release some time in 2020 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. You can check out our own interview about the game for more information about the upcoming title here.
