Summary
- Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 has received an ESRB rating, possibly hinting that a release announcement could be on the horizon.
- Naturally, the game is rated M for Mature, with oodles of details about the type of gameplay fans can expect.
- To this point, the game has been in development hell, with shifts in personnel and constantly changing release dates.
If you’ve given up hope of ever seeing Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 release, then it looks like hope is back on the menu. That’s because the game has just received an ESRB rating, potentially signaling that a release announcement could be imminent.
As first spotted by Wccftech, the development hell-marred game has now received a rating for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series line of consoles and PC. Naturally, the game is rated M for Mature, which shouldn’t be too surprising.
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The description of its M rating is as follows:
This is an action role-playing game in which players help two vampires regain their memories and their powers to stop an uprising. From a first-person perspective, players explore city streets, investigate murders, interact with characters, and battle vampires in melee-style combat.
Players use physical attacks (e.g., claw slashes, kicks, feed/bite attacks) and vampiric powers (e.g., telekinesis, possession) to kill enemy vampires. Players can also employ stealth attacks (e.g., neck snap, feed attack) to kill enemies discreetly. Battles are frenetic, accompanied by impact sounds, realistic gunfire, and large blood-splatter effects. Some attacks can result in close-up sequences of players’ character decapitating and/or impaling enemies.
A handful of areas depict decapitated corpses in pools of blood; large bloodstains also appear in several environments. The game contains suggestive/sexual material in the dialogue (e.g., “snacking on wh*res,”; “p*ssy musta…real sweet”; and “D*ldo of consequence don’t come lubed, does it?”). The word “f**k” is heard in the game.
Fans Have Been Waiting For A While
As savvy gamers may recall, the original Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines came out all the way back in 2004. And while a sequel was considered a pipedream for many, in 2019 a sequel was indeed announced.
However, in the time since then, things have hit roadblock after roadblock. The game was delayed into an unspecified date in 2020 before getting shifted all the way into 2021 shortly after. If things couldn’t get any worse, they did, as its narrative lead was fired and its creative director removed.
A few months after that, the game’s senior narrative designer departed the beleaguered project. In 2021, Hardsuit Labs was announced as no longer developing the game. Things were bad enough that the game was almost scrapped before being handed off to another team.
By 2022, it was being reported that the game was still alive and “in good hands.” A year later, it was re-revealed once again with a Fall 2024 release window, which it did not hit. Ultimately, only time will tell whether the game does release, though one thing is for certain: it’s had one heck of a ride.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2
- ESRB
-
M For Mature 17+ // Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, Sexual Themes, Nudity, Drug Reference, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
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Hardsuit Labs
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