Nearly six years ago, we learned that 2004’s clunky cult classic RPG Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines was going to get a big ol’ sequel. Now, flash forward to October 2025, and Bloodlines 2 is nearly here after a rocky development cycle that saw one studio replaced with another and multiple delays. So is the game worth the 20-year wait and all the delays? Well, it depends who you ask.
On October 17, three days ahead of Bloodlines 2′s launch on consoles and PC, reviews for the upcoming Chinese Room-developed action adventure RPG went live across multiple outlets. And critics are all over the place with this one. I’ve read a few reviews that make it sound like one of 2025’s worst games, other reviews that call it fine, and even a few that make it clear the reviewer truly enjoyed their time in the digital streets of rain-soaked and vampire-infested Seattle.
Some critics praised the game’s atmosphere, storytelling, writing, and side characters, while others found a lot of that stuff to be disappointing. Others enjoyed Bloodlines 2’s combat and stealth, while some seem like they would rather eat glass than play anymore. The one thing nearly every review agrees on is that this isn’t really a sequel to Bloodlines. Instead, to many, it’s a linear, action-focused spin-off set in a bland open world with bad side quests and some neat ideas.
While some might find such a wide array of critical reviews disappointing or annoying, I love it. These are the kinds of games that can often surprise you, though not always in a good way. Either way, I’m going to try and check out Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 when it launches on October 21 on PS5, Xbox, and PC.
Bloodlines 2 is good, sometimes even great, and it absolutely sated my appetite for a blood-fuelled undead yarn. But it is a sequel in name only, and it never really enthusiastically embraces being an RPG. Given its predecessor’s cult status, and the source material, that’s bound to be a disappointment for some. – Fraser Brown
This is an action RPG with barely any character development (or even customisation) in it. You have four abilities you can use, tied to the clan you belong to, and you will unlock all of them within a couple of hours of play. And that’s it – you won’t get any more powerful after that. Powers don’t evolve or change. You can, if you like, unlock powers from other clans, but this won’t increase your overall power or offer more abilities to use in combat. It only offers variation and the potential to mix which four abilities you use, which might lead to finding a new combination you prefer, but it didn’t for me. I ended up using more or less my default abilities for the entirety of the 25-hour game. This, coupled with there being no loot or equipment in the game, makes character development feel thin to the point of nonexistent. – Robert Purchase
Where it falls down the most, unfortunately, is as an RPG. You are playing as an elder vampire, so it’s not exactly a typical zero-to-hero story. But just to give a representative example, the damage your melee attacks do at the very beginning is exactly the same as it will be in the final boss fight. You awaken new powers called Disciplines, like being able to turn invisible or smooch an enemy to turn them to your side, but you’ll get all of them for your chosen clan within the first eight hours or so, after which point anything else is mostly a sidegrade. You can upgrade your health track by finding hidden symbols painted in blood across Seattle, but overall there isn’t much of a sense of power progression throughout most of the campaign. -Leana Hafer
Bloodlines 2 isn’t the typical RPG many were expecting. It tells a great political story, taking you on a grown-up adventure where every choice you make affects the narrative, and it’s wonderfully complex. The city that The Chinese Room has built has a great atmosphere, and it’s populated by lovable (and hateable) characters. However, it could do so much more to live up to its name by taking great elements from the TTRPG to make you really feel like a vampire. As an adventure game, Bloodlines 2 shines, but those missing features suck the life out of it as an RPG, for better and for worse. – Jessica Filby
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is the definition of a crying shame. Clumsy writing and flat, repetitive world design expose a handful of good ideas that never take root, while its poor technical quality and unstable performance will render it unplayable for some. The result is a half-baked, blunt-toothed action-mystery hybrid that disappoints at almost every turn, struggling to leave even the ghost of a good impression. – Jasmine Gould-Wilson
Fortunately, I think the wait (and the absolute chaos of development) was mostly worth it. Though I wouldn’t call Bloodlines 2 a great game, per se, I had a great time playing it. For better or worse, it retains a lot of Bloodlines’ DNA, blending action, stealth, and mystery to create a mature and enthralling, choice-driven RPG. Though not as nitty-gritty or system-heavy as its predecessor, it still largely feels the same to play. I swear, I experienced deja vu as I crouched through warehouses and nervously spoke with characters seemingly eager to sink their teeth into me if I said the wrong thing to them. However, it also carries with it some jank and technical issues that make it feel like an early aughts title. -Jessica Cogswell
It seems The Chinese Room has taken all of Bloodlines‘ bad bits – chiefly janky combat and performance woes – and somehow magnified them. Bloodlines 2 is neither a satisfying sequel nor a strong enough RPG experience to make the splash that the franchise sorely needs. If you’re a long-time Vampire: The Masquerade fan, you might just find enough to enjoy Bloodlines 2. I myself loved meeting its characters and lurking in the more hand-crafted sections of Seattle. But if you were hoping for a game that comes close to recapturing the magic of Troika’s classic, you won’t find it here. – Lauren Bergin
