I don't know what to make of Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 any more. After all and the game's been through, the long-anticipated sequel has landed on an identity . That sounds great and everything, though at this point I wouldn't be surprised if the game launches in as rough a state as Stalker 2, or indeed the original Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines.
Thankfully, whatever becomes of the troubled sequel, the original game is—after nearly two decades' worth of —still brilliant. It's got a great mod community too, and one of its most interesting projects of recent years has been VTMB Prelude, an episodic story that charts the events leading up to the first game. when the first episode of Prelude launched, but [[link]] now you can .
The story sees you starting out as a human vampire hunter working for the Society of Leopold, a violently religious Inquisition-like faction dedicated to ridding the world of vampires, ghouls, and other supernatural entities. The first episode featured new levels, tons of dialogue, boss fights, and—from what I gather reading the community's feedback—a bit of a twist ending. The trailer for Prelude II shows off some lovely environmental work and level designs, and really reminds me just how ahead of its time Valve's Source Engine was. Those clean sharp geometries, the lovely lighting; it fills me with early 2000s nostalgia while still holding up beautifully.
Prelude is being developed by modders EntenSchreck and Hareishan, as well as Werner Spahl (aka [[link]] Wesp5), whose Unofficial Patch for Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines has turned the once-broken broken game into a complete and polished experience. The unofficial patch is pretty much a necessity to play the base game, and is also required to play Prelude.
Prelude II is still in Early Access, so expect some jankiness, but once that's all wrapped up then the team will get to work on the third and final episode, which will probably [[link]] come out in a few years. It's a bit of a wait, but at least we'll have Bloodlines 2 to sink our teeth into by then… won't we?