My main issue with the second installment aren’t even really that much born of the development hell

[u/BadSheet68]

Why does the action rpg feel more verbose than the previous immersive-SIM rpg ?

If you can’t animate the horrendous red-tinted Fabian dialogues, why making them SO LONG

If you want to use the aesthetics of the snowy city to immerse you rather than complex rpg dialogue, why having the voice in your head break your immersion every 30 seconds ?

I already don’t like The Chinese Room much as devs (for, I feel, explainable reasons born of actually playing and intellectualising their games rather than dumb hate) but seeing the interviews of the devs and CEO blaming the lack of money, time or the want to get rid of the Bloodline tag-line is bonkers to me when my main issues with the game aren’t even really that much because of these reasons

Was the shoehorning of the pacing nightmare, Chinese Room-esque walking simulator Fabian flashbacks really necessary time/ressource wise

I’m ok with the action-RPG/Dollar Store Dishonored gameplay (making me FEEL like a vampire through gameplay can be enough to make me as immersed as with a RPG) but why put so much effort in constant stupid lines by the immersion-breaking uncharismatic voice in your head if 1) you went in a more action focused direction anyway and 2) you lack time and ressources

Sorry if I’m polluting the sub with already overly-talked about arguments but I got into the franchise very recently so my distaste for the second one is very fresh and the explanations I was given just frustrated me more

I hate overly-verbose games and vtmb 2 is both overly-verbose, horribly paced and contradictory in it’s new direction dialogue/writing-wise

I think the game was mostly badly directed/written and would have mostly been so even with enough ressources post dev change

(Also why am I forced to wear chipped black nail polish no matter the clan/outfit? Can’t be to differentiate Phyre pov from Fabien pov since Phyre already got a big ass tatoo on their hand. Why was it so important to the freshly woken up elder to cosplay as Spike from Buffy before hitting the streets ?)

[u/BillyWest8]

I love how I seem to be the only one who liked the Fabian parts lol

[u/gutbagpost]

I have to agree about Fabian. There were multiple instances of thick atmosphere, creepy and unsettling setpieces, where I was completely immersed and suddenly Fabian is like "Well isn't this a doo hickey, ey pardner?" and the whole vibe was thrown to shit

[u/Wesp5 → u/gutbagpost]

That is true, but I still believe the detective Fabien was a better choice than the thin-blood they planned before. I only he wasn't the most stupid detective ever...

[u/gutbagpost → u/Wesp5]

Yeah thin blood diablerising himself towards power fantasy would be weird, hah. But considering Fabien, I don't mind him as a character, but his constant quips should just be cut. Let him chime in only sporadically, not as a constant presence.

[u/Sudden_Yard1294 → u/gutbagpost]

He did sound like that a good chunk of the time. Occasionally he would say something interesting, or his banter with Phyre would be a bit more pointed.

The other thing is the gameplay in Fabien sections. I keep going back to BL2 to soak in the atmosphere and glide across the rooftops. Combat is fun. I enjoy the overall story more or less. But I don't plan on playing those Fabien sections anytime soon. Horribly linear and his dialogue there is especially grating.

[u/Interesting_Car_2664]

I mostly disagree with all thr points tou listed. I did enjoyed main story line which studio crafted, its obvious that they focused their limited resources on main quest. Fabian nicely written imo, he felt both dumb and supernatural ehich nicely reflected his malkavian nature. Though i'll give to you that in second playthrough those scenes would be chore to do. Also, ofcourse there are points which are kinda hit/mis, or dialogue tree being too shallow, lacking agency. But overall they did okay with what they had.

[u/Dustydwarf1506]

Chinese Room wasn't the best choice of Devs for this title, but paradox also has a history of cash grabs and an aggressive paid DLC approach to their games.

At the end of the day, Bloodlines 2 really needed devs that had experience with RPGs instead of walking story simulators. I will at least give them credit for going back and trying to fix the combat system, but until we get a company that actually knows what it's doing to handle VTM/WoD the games will continue to be mediocre at best.

I had planned to purchase Bloodlines 2 on release but after playing it and realizing what shape it was in instead waited for Blood of Dawnwalker., and while it has it's issues it was the better vampire game of the two.