So I played VTMB2 and was sorely disappointed. The original is a cult classic, one that I'm a big fan of, If you like RPGs Id say give bloodline 1 a shot its pretty cheap on GOG. The sequel though, I should have realized it was doomed when paradox (The games publisher) fired the original dev team half way through. Originally being developed by Hardsuit Labs and then replaced by The Chinese Room. This game was in development hell for like over 6 years and you can tell. The gameplay is what suffered the most, the game is supposed to be an RPG but its like bloodlines 2 only heard the concept of what an RPG is and tried to fit in. Unlike the first game you cant upgrade stats or skills you can only use earned skill points to unlock a vampire power from your specific clan. you can get powers from other clans but that requires grinding out bloodpoints by just finding random NPCs with the right kind of bloodpoints you need.
By the end of the game I had over 23 skill points that I couldn't really spend because I already had all the powers I wanted. The combat is an exercise in annoyance because its first person hand to hand combat. The original game you could use fists, fire arms, melee weapons, but in two all you get is trying to fisticuff a bunch of people and vampires who can use melee weapons and guns so it becomes a cluster fuck with any encounter bigger than like 3 enemies. You dont even have a block button you just have to keep running around and dodging hoping you dont get shot in the ass with buckshot while trying manhandle a vampire. The story is equally lack luster, It tries to give the illusion of being a mystery with a twist villian who only really works as a twist because the game is so short you don't spend enough time with them to have any foreshadowing or clues to their betrayal. You play as Phyre, or the Nomad, who wakes up in Seattle with a brand that saps their power and a voice in his head named Fabien who was a detective vampire in the city. Most of the characters, including Phyre, are really forgettable and one note. Fabien being the one exception I actually had fun listening to him and playing as him occasionally.
Honestly I think Fabien should have been the main character, hes like the one character in the game with a personality and he has much more of an vested interest in Seattle and its inhabitants vampire and human alike. He has more of a relationship with his fellow vampires and honestly it might have made the twist villian hit more given Fabiens relationship with them. That might just be my bias towards detective characters though. The game does have side quests but they are completely option and feel like tacked on busy work because rpgs are supposed to have side quests. are there good parts? sure, its not as technically jank as the original. Some of the powers where cool. But when the only improvements you can give to a sequel of a game from 2004 is graphical and technical, you've kind of fucked it. Thats it for me TTFN!