Am I the only one with serious misgivings about Bloodlines 2?
Okay I know I'm not the only one - I'm just prone to hyperbole.
And this isn't about how long development is taking, either - while that seems like a red flag, they could just be taking their sweet time. My two main worries are as follows: 1. It's a Chinese Room game. Now, I love The Chinese Room's work; their most recent entry, Still Wakes The Deep, is a masterpiece of the Frictional-style walking horror game genre, and I even enjoyed Amnesia: Machine For Pigs. They know what they're doing when it comes to story and atmosphere, which I think could translate to a solid WoD themed game in theory.
But the thing is, Chinese Room games are generally smaller-scale walking sims with minimal interactive systems and linear, environmental stories. They've branched out some from this model with mixed success, and VtM:B was a semi-linear narrative with an rpg framework (more of an immersive sim when compared to modern, more open games like BG3, which is also semilinear but in comparison gives the player a lot more narrative freedom with its scale and options). Plus, studios have branched out into new territory before with fantastic results - Creative Assembly were making tactical strategy games before they busted out Alien: Isolation - and there are certainly parts of VtM:B that suit the strengths of The Chinese Room's more open-ended, environmentally driven modus operandi (the quests The Ghost Haunts at Midnight, Calling Dr. Grout, and Going the Way of Kings come to mind). But that leads to my other worry....
- They named the thing Bloodlines 2. There are a lot of good, or at least comfortably mid, VtM video games. While I'd say most of us consider VtM:B the gold standard, the Telltale visual novels are solid Vampire stories and Redemption is an underrated good time (though I'm biased). From what I can tell - and granted, I'm not paying very close attention to the devs, I'll admit that - it's not going to be at all related to Bloodlines the first, so even if they're copying its narrative structure, they're hitting the pitfalls of the Dead Space vs. Callisto Protocol problem where not only will the game inevitably be scrutinized to hell by people's expectations in comparison, but the devs and Paradox are purposely stoking the urge and I think encouraging that is not a great idea. I'm sure someone with marketing knowledge can explain to me why it's good for generating hype - hell, it's even working: I'm making this post. Damn - but I think they're shooting themselves in the foot long-term if the thing ever actually comes out.
Listen, I know I'm a cynical bitch who hates fun and I really, really hope I eat my words. If the game ever materializes, I want them to blow it out of the water and make something cool, even if it isn't something particularly evocative of the name "Bloodlines 2" - I'd love a Chinese Room story in the WoD universe. I hope the long dev time means a polished, well-made game that we don't have to fanpatch the fuck out of. And by all means, if you're excited for this game, continue to be and I hope you can tell me you told me so. But for now, I'm somewhere between "I'll believe it when I see it" and "this is like watching a trainwreck in progress".