Vampire — Out for Blood

The writing starts off reinforcing the initial sales pitch of small town horror. However, the second half turns into vampire politics, practically forcing the player to join a faction that in my case I just couldn’t care less about, especially as I had no reason to like (or dislike) either vampire side. Vampire faction politics is almost a whole different genre. Probably great for Vampire the Masquerade fans, which didn’t work for me as I’d been avoiding that game since it came out. (I did, however, check out Night Road, which set up expectations better - by then I knew more about the Masquerade world and the tone was consistent at least.) On the plus side, this game IS professionally executed and has good production values, explaining the hefty price tag. Still, never connected with any of the vampires… and also couldn’t muster enough dislike to want to off them, either. End result: no emotional connection. The only guy I actually liked was the shop assistant, who it turns out might have become a typical Asian character in American fiction: a potential red shirt. Give me a break.

Interesting for a couple chapters. Then the writing takes a hit after the demo ends. Attempts to be driven by player choice, but compensates for the exponential growth inherent to multiple choices by making none of them matter. Looking at all the pointless stat options for all the characters, this game likely had to ship very early. A second play through draws the eye to what appear to be hidden stat checks mixed with the stated stat checks. Could have been interesting if better developed but not something I really like.

I had a lot of fun playing this game as I did with Night Road (which was superb), but I felt like I was kicked in the head by the end of the game. I was rather dead set on siding with Chastain from the beginning, so I sided with her on everything, killed two of the thinbloods, informed her about *everything*, and yet but the end of the game, when I tried to negotiate peace between her and Monroe, she got killed. At this point, I realized just how much time I wasted on this game and how much everything was for naught. I’m just sorely disappointed with how badly it turned out.

Long time V:tM fan, but my first time playing (reading?) an interactive novel. I didn’t really know what to expect, but I ended up loving it! At times, it honestly felt like I was playing the pen and paper rpg. Will definitely recommend this one to my friends.

A wonderful game which definitely kept to the feel of the old World of Darkness. I appreciated the subtle nods to vampire lore and truly enjoyed the supporting cast. The stats and response options also made for a realistic feel. Great job to the author!