The playable character in Vampire Masquerade: Bloodlines 2 will be fully-voiced, and some would-be Kindred are already worried about it. Developer The Chinese Room announced this rather huge change to the Bloodlines formula on Halloween (via YouTube), and when I first heard the news, I'll admit I shared the initial set of concerns. I've long championed the fact that we need more vampires in video games, especially when it comes to creating a totally original character, and the tighter storyline implications of having a voiced lead in Bloodlines 2 risks shattering that fantasy.
But having finally started playing last year's Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong, though, I'll take what I can get. I didn't get any say over Galeb, Emem, and Leysha's traits at all, but their voice acting is arguably what keeps me interested in their stories. As much as I would've loved to design my own Bloodlines 2 character in more granular detail, having a preset archetype with thoughtfully-written backstories to color in sounds like the best of both worlds.
