Fans of the original Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines were likely shocked when the announcement of a sequel arrived 15 years later. Now, those same fans have a new reason to be excited, as Hardsuit Labs is now teasing the return of a familiar face from the original title.
Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines launched for the PC back in 2004, and struggled to find its footing. Although the game ultimately found a cult fanbase, the myriad of bugs and glitches present in the original release left it with less than critical acclaim and ultimately, poor sales.
Although Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines 2 has relocated to Seattle from the original's Los Angeles location, it seems as though at least one familiar face will be making a comeback. Hardsuit Labs and Paradox Interactive have now released a short trailer teasing the return of the Anarch vampire Damsel.
In the original, Damsel acted as a sort of den mother to the Anarch group operating out of a bar in Los Angeles. Although she initially treated the player character with disgust, she'd ultimately come around if the player resolved several quests involving a Los Angeles plague bearer. As of yet, Paradox hasn't offered a reason for her presence in Seattle in Bloodlines 2, though clearly she's not particularly happy in her reveal.
Unfortunately, the same can be said of several fans thus far. Numerous viewers have commented on the video, complaining that Damsel looked better in the 2004 game than she does here, or that something about her model strikes them as odd, from her hair to her shirt. Of course, Bloodlines 2 is still under development, so there may yet be significant polish added to her character model prior to release.
With any luck, the game will find its place among next-gen releases. Bloodlines 2 was delayed from its planned Q1 2020 release, with it now slated to launch by the end of the year, in an effort to help avoid some of the problems that plagued the original game. Given that the fanbase has managed to stay devoted to a now 16-year-old game, they'll likely be willing to continue waiting for a while, so hopefully Hardsuit takes all the time it needs to get the game done right.
Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines 2 is slated to release in late 2020 for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X.
