#vtms

finally, three of them 🌹🩸

Sometimes I really want to read a short summary of what to expect from a game… and thankfully people can also submit their summaries of games they played and help me (and others) find games that cater to their interests!

submitted by @lairofsentinel

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what to expect from VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE, SWANSONG

Story-driven detective-like RPG, which changes its endings and the availability of certain paths [ways to solve some situations] depending on your actions in previous chapters.

You play using three main characters that belong to the Camarilla of Boston: Emem [Toreador], Leysha [Malkavian], and Galeb [Venture]. 

The game has 16 [or more] chapters. The addition of extra chapters/ scenes depends on your actions. More or less all the main characters have the same amount of “screen time” in the game.

It’s placed in Boston, with a new Prince after the death of Quentin, the Mad King [who appeared in other stories of the franchise]

Graphically speaking, the textures and the designs are rich and beautiful, but the animation is really wonky and awkward. Characters are quite stiff, long hair floats weirdly, and there is bad clipping sometimes.

However, it’s a game where I found, in some NPCs, realistic body shapes and a good amount of non-white characters as important NPCs, not just “background”.

Is it me or Galeb is designed as an almost copy of Johnathan Reid, the main char in Vampyr?

It has a weird system of energy and focus, that some NPCs can modify at the moment you pick an option. When it’s tied, you see a dice without numbers rolling and claiming failure or success. It’s very confusing.

There is no Humanity system, so evil actions or good actions have no immediate consequence in terms of the humanity of the vampire, but they will have some effect along the chapters.

There are some game-breaking bugs that prevent you from continuing side quests or the main goal. When that happens, you need to restart the chapter and change the order in which you did certain things since the nature of most bugs are “if you talked with X npc before talking with Y, you are permanently unable to speak with Y.”

It’s a game that heavily relies on the tabletop lore, so new players will need to read a good amount of codex inside to understand the concepts used in it. Players from the old game Vampire: the masquerade - bloodlines will probably find it easier to follow.

Lore-wise, it incorporates concepts from the new 5th Edition such as The Beckoning. It seems to follow most of the lore from the corebooks. It also shows characters that have been in the franchise for a while, such as Victoria Ash.

There is no personal horror in the characters. They are a bit stiff, in more than just the animation. You don't see their humanity struggling with the Beast, which is usually an essential mark in this franchise. I would point out this as one of the biggest cons of the game. I feel that these characters are more thin-blood than real vampires of their corresponding clans. If anything, the game does a bad job in showing how the characters have to deal with their clan's weaknesses.

Despite the critics, I personally don’t think it is a “terrible/bad” game.  It’s far from perfect, but it’s very entertaining if you like games a la Sherlock Holmes, slowly discovering the truth below many layers of secrets. However, it’s true that the beginning is very slow.

The puzzles are mostly based on codes that you find out by reading papers in [not always] hidden places. It’s a game that requires a good amount of reading. 

Conclusion: for new players who have no idea about the lore of World of Darkness, it will be a nightmare game. For people who have been following the lore, it will be an entertaining game with some lore-failures, but nothing that cannot be considered a quirk from the characters if you still want to enjoy the mystery of the narration.

——- Plot? ——-

The prince of Boston has made an agreement with a Church of Warlocks [Tremere group] to guarantee a blood supply to the Camarilla. To celebrate, a party is set but before everyone attends to it, a Red Code is informed to every single member of the Camarilla. Red Code means that the Masquerade has been breached severely. Old Vampires claim that this kind of code means that they have to run away and hide for years if they want to survive the danger upon them. The main three chars you control are sent to investigate and assess the situation.

——- Gameplay? ——- 

Unlike Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, there is no combat in this game. It’s more a Point&Click game:  you collect items and information that slowly unfold the truth behind the events. Exploration is rewarded with items that can be used immediately or many chapters ahead, and conversation [or any other action using your willpower] is rewarded with new traits that improve your powers.

——- Characters? ——- 

The main ones you control: Emem [Toreador], Leysha [Malkavian] and Galeb [Venture], plus a lot of NPCs with broad backstories and motivations. 

The game has a Codex section where you can find  the background of the main NPCs and the main characters in extreme detail.

 ——- LGBT? ——-

Some NPCs that are attacked by Vampires were in same-sex relationships. 

One of the main chars you control had a romantic relationship with her Sire.

Warning: Vampire relationships are always quite twisted since it’s how its lore makes them “work”. However, nothing in this game requires a trigger warning outside the usual gore/violence/blood level one expects from it.

——- Sadness level? ——- 

Not much. The story is more focused on the mysteries and the dire situation you are trying to solve, than the emotional state of the vampires. 

——- Happy ending? Deaths? ——-