#beatxt

bias disclaimer: I just finished the game so some of these opinions might change in the following days as I have more time to marinate on what I saw. I played as a brujah that wanted to side with the camarilla for stability and job security but was hesitant to compromise and tried to reason with all sides (until the very end, where I changed my attitude a bit). This is also my first CoG game, although I don’t think this is entirely relevant since I know each game is written by a different person, and criticism like plot and pacing only apply to the specific writer of this story.

strong points:

incorporation of a v5 sheet as the stats page: plain “you love to see it” moment. I think the v5 character building system is really concise and approachable and there’s no reason not to use it. Plus, if you ever feel like playing your night roads character in a ttrpg session, you can easily transpose them to another setting, or vice versa

how ingrained your character is in the world, who their sire is, when they were embraced, etc: look mates, in all honestly, i’m getting kinda tired of computer rpgs just being vague about every facet of your character. If I wanted to build everything from the ground up I’d just go play the ttrpg version, I like when games mention important things about my character like friends and family

all the cars: I like cars, and in a game about driving, I like that specific models were mentioned and not just vague descriptions

gangrel prince: i’m so tired of ventrue, and lettow was a really charming character.

how disciplines were handled: i still got a sour taste in my mouth over how coteries handled disciplines, and I think night road’s system was pretty solid. I always had a way to do things without disciplines, just relying on my raw stats (for example, throwing something far away vs throwing something far way with potence) and the hunger and masquerade violation mechanics carried over from the v5 system insured I couldn’t abuse them without consequence

banu haqim and gangrel in the character select, plus tremere and caitiff free dlc: i am BEGGING for vtm games to include less explored clans like the lasombra, hecata and ministry. Miss me with that “oh the games need recognizable clans” bs, vtm has been around since the 90s, we can afford to take risks

good relationship with your sire (on the brujah route): Pattermuster ily <3 i hate vtm’s tendencies for evil or absent sires, i really enjoyed reading the small flashbacks between my character and his sire and what they did before the events of the game

The constant reminder of time, the sunrise and where to sleep: It might seem like a little detail but I appreciate how much focus the game puts into where you character sleeps and how to find sleeping arrangements. Long roadtrips when you’re a vampire are tough!

weak points:

constant mentions to other vtm games: we get it, we’ve all played BL1 and we’re all excited to play BL2. Stop reminding me vtmb exists, it just makes this entire product look weak and like the author isn’t confident enough in the merits of his own writing. Stop looking directly at me and going “haha get it?? get it??? remember this game???”

how many times the game gives me an opportunity to side with julian: oh my god how many times do i have to say noooooooooooooooooooo i’m so tired of all the games being so heavily biased towards one side of the conflict, don’t give me options if you’re gonna spend the entire game going “but wouldn’t you rather be an anarch tho 🤪🤪🤪”

weird descriptions of fat female characters: idk how to feel about dove and donati because on one hand this game as fat women and the art makes them really attractive and they're never treated as jokes by their peers but on the other hand the author keeps referring to them as "heavy" and "big”. Dude just call them fat, it isn’t a slur.

how the text keeps telling you you’re just a random independent courier but then everyone asks you for favors: either my character is important or they’re not. Enough with the “teehee remember you’re not camarilla and never will be and we can get any other courier we want BUT ALSO please run these hyper specific and sensitive missions for us <3”

plot points taken out of the ass: love how everything’s always super vague until you get some deus ex machina crap right at the end. And the game just be like “girl wym you haven’t heard of the bozo exploits developed in the clown car by the circus clan”

weak romances: if you can even call them that

weak characters: i think the interactive novel is THE medium to explore character relationships and I’m so sad the game never takes that opportunity to have some proper roleplaying sessions with the npcs. I KNOW programming dialogue trees is hard but I wish I’d know more about these characters besides getting to the end of the game where it says Dove respects me but the only interaction I’ve had with her was a brief chat right at the beginning of the game.

muddy plot: haha what if we have three main conflicts but none of them get the weight they deserve <3 haha just kidding... unless??