Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodhunt

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Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodhunt
A 3D render of three vampire characters
Promotional art
Developer(s)Sharkmob[b][2]
Publisher(s)Sharkmob
Composer(s)Atanas Valkov
SeriesVampire: The Masquerade
EngineUnreal Engine[3]
Platform(s)Windows, PlayStation 5
ReleaseApril 27, 2022[a]
Genre(s)Battle royale
Mode(s)Multiplayer

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodhunt is a free-to-play battle royale game developed and published by Swedish developer Sharkmob. It is based on the tabletop role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade, and is part of the larger World of Darkness series. The game was released on 27 April 2022 for both Windows and PlayStation 5.[4]

Overview[edit]

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodhunt is a battle royale game set in the streets and on the rooftops in Prague, in the World of Darkness.[5] It takes place following a vampire gathering in the city, after which war between the vampire sects broke out and the Second Inquisition became involved.[6] Players take the roles of vampires who try to survive the sect war,[6] battling both each other and an entity who tries to exterminate vampires. They can choose to fight on their own or in a team, and use ranged weapons, melee weapons, and vampiric powers.[5][7] Players also need to conceal their identities as vampires from humans, a practice called the Masquerade.[6]

Archetypes[edit]

Bloodhunt consists of five clans that each have their own special abilities that can assist them in combat. Each clan has two archetypes apart from Tremere which only has one. The factions include:

  • Brujah
  • Nosferatu
  • Toreador
  • Ventrue
  • Tremere

Brujah[edit]

All Brujah members are able to perform a soaring leap which has the furthest, fastest movement in the game.

  • Brute: This vampire can perform a shockwave punch which throws a shield which moves forwards and can do 22 damage. Brutes passive allows them to heal after two seconds when not being shot at.
  • Vandal: This archetype can do an earth shock which stuns and deals damage to enemies it lands on, with their passive being that they take less damage at close range.

Nosferatu[edit]

The Nosferatu clan provides players with stealth abilities, including a vanishing dash that turns the player invisible for a short while.

  • Prowler: The Prowler can launch a crowd of bats to reveal an opponent player's position, in addition to passively spotting wounded opponents.
  • Saboteur: This archetype can place explosive boobytraps and passively turn invisible by crouching.

Toreador[edit]

Toreador players can use a teleport-dash to move in any direction at will. Using the preservation of momentum players can use this to reach heights.

  • Siren: This archetype can blind opponents and passively charm civilians.
  • Muse: Muse players can heal themselves and allied players within a short radius. As a passive ability they can use their healing and teleport abilities after being downed, allowing them to escape death.

Ventrue[edit]

All Ventrue vampires have an ability that makes them invulnerable for a brief moment.

  • Enforcer: Enforcers can charge towards opponents, preventing them from using their powers. As a passive ability Enforcers slow down opponents that are nearby.
  • Warden: Wardens can "chain" an opponent to a given area, damaging them if they choose to leave; furthermore they gain an armour bonus from feeding on opponents.

Tremere[edit]

Tremere vampires can fly in any direction.

  • Scholar: This archetype allows players to cast a spell that passes through walls and leaches an opponent's health. As a passive ability they can see an opponent through walls after damaging them.

Development[edit]

Bloodhunt was developed by Sharkmob, a Tencent-owned game developer based in Malmö and London, founded in 2017 by former staff from Massive Entertainment and IO Interactive, as one of three video games they are developing simultaneously.[8][9][10] The game is an adaptation of White Wolf Publishing's 1991 tabletop role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade,[9] and was known internally under the codename Tiger [Project Lonely Fish].[11] Because of the source material, the developers did research on the Vampire: The Masquerade setting to see how to create an event and location that could enable battle royale gameplay while going against the setting's established lore as little as possible, and portraying Prague accurately to how it appears within the World of Darkness setting.[6]

The game was announced in October 2020 with a teaser trailer,[8] following the leak of a video of the game,[11] and was released in an early-access version for Windows on September 7, 2021.[1] The full game was released on April 27, 2022, for both Windows and PlayStation 5,[12] and it as of January 2024 free-to-play.[4]

Not a year after release, Sharkmob ended further development on Bloodhunt on May 15 2023.[13] The servers however remain online as of January 2024.

Reception[edit]

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.

PC Gamer and Destructoid considered the project odd for its combination of the battle royale genre and the Vampire: The Masquerade setting, with PC Gamer calling it "baffling to fans and non-fans alike".[5][18] Game Informer called it intriguing and full of potential, however,[19] and PC Gamer said that they thought the game could turn out well considering the development staff's experience.[5]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ An early-access version was released for Windows on September 7, 2021.[1]
  2. ^ Additional work was developed by D3T.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Chalk, Andy (2021-08-25). "Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt comes to Steam Early Access on September 7". PC Gamer. Future plc. Archived from the original on 2021-08-25. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  2. ^ "New Project Announcement! Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt Coming Soon". 13 July 2021.
  3. ^ "Sharkmob unveils title and trailer for their new vampire battle royale game and announces closed alpha 2nd July". Sharkmob. 2021-06-10. Retrieved 2021-09-14 – via Game Developer.
  4. ^ a b "Vampire: The Masquerade free-to-play battle royale Bloodhunt arrives on PC and Playstation 5". Flickering Myth. 2022-04-27. Retrieved 2022-05-13.
  5. ^ a b c d Bolding, Jonathan (2020-11-01). "There's going to be a Vampire: The Masquerade Battle Royale". PC Gamer. Future plc. Archived from the original on 2020-11-03. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  6. ^ a b c d Lochiatto, Jonathan (2020-11-13). "Vampire: The Masquerade - Everything We Know About the New Battle Royale". Comic Book Resources. Valnet, Inc. Archived from the original on 2020-11-19. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  7. ^ Peppiatt, Dom (2020-11-01). "Vampire: The Masquerade battle royale coming in 2021". VG247. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on 2020-11-03. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  8. ^ a b Oloman, Jordan (2020-11-02). "Vampire: The Masquerade Battle Royale Game Revealed For 2021". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 2020-11-03. Retrieved 2020-11-04.
  9. ^ a b Sintorn, Niklas (2020-10-31). "Speljätten tar sig an kultförklarat rollspel" [Game giant takes on cult classic role-playing game]. Sydsvenskan (in Swedish). Bonnier Group. Archived from the original on 2020-10-31. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  10. ^ Wilson, Mike (2020-11-02). "Sharkmob Announces Battle Royale Title Using 'Vampire: The Masquerade' License". Bloody Disgusting. The Collective. Archived from the original on 2020-11-02. Retrieved 2020-11-04.
  11. ^ a b "Wyciekły informacje o Vampire: The Masquerade Battle Royale" [Information leaked about Vampire: The Masquerade battle royale]. Gry Online (in Polish). 2020-10-31. Archived from the original on 2020-11-01. Retrieved 2020-11-04.
  12. ^ Makuch, Eddie (2021-11-15). "Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt Delayed To 2022 For PS5 And PC". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 2021-11-16. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  13. ^ "Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodhunt ends development, servers to remain live". Gematsu. 2023-05-15. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
  14. ^ "Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
  15. ^ "Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt for PlayStation 5 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
  16. ^ Makar, Connor (May 5, 2022). "Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodhunt review: An authentic newcomer, thirsting for the competition". VG247. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
  17. ^ Ayden, Jeuxvideo (October 10, 2021). "Test Blood Hunt : Un Fortnite gore chez les vampires". Jeuxvideo.com. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
  18. ^ Moyse, Chris (2020-11-02). "Vampire: The Masquerade battle royale title coming in 2021". Destructoid. Enthusiast Gaming. Archived from the original on 2020-11-04. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  19. ^ Ruppert, Liana (2020-11-02). "A Battle Royale Vampire: The Masquerade Game Announced". Game Informer. GameStop. Archived from the original on 2020-11-03. Retrieved 2020-12-03.

External links[edit]

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