Why Fans Are In An Uproar Over This New Battle Royale
Fans of the Vampire: The Masquerade franchise may be surprised to learn of the existence of a new game set in that universe, particularly because of recent developments in the franchise. A few months ago, Hardsuit Labs and Paradox Interactive announced that the long-awaited Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 was unfortunately delayed yet again. Bloodlines 2 is of course the follow-up to the original Bloodlines, which was a huge flop for Activision Blizzard, but has also gained cult status over the years.
On Halloween, Sharkmob Games announced the development of its first project, an untitled battle royale game set in the Vampire: The Masquerade universe. After viewing the trailer for the new game, fans of the franchise are less than pleased with this announcement.
The teaser trailer certainly makes an effort at capturing a dark mood. Characters can be seen posing with all manner of weaponry, and there's an eerie shot of multiple vampires scaling the side of a building, rushing into battle. Another shot shows two groups of vampires leaping off of opposite rooftops and firing off gunshots at one another.
The trailer also seems to offer brief glimpses of some of the special abilities that will be found in the game. One vampire unloads a clip from a semiautomatic weapon, but gets immediately pushed back when another vampire lands with in front of them with an explosive thud. This is all intercut with a shot of a female warrior slicing her way through the opposition and seemingly emerging victorious. The last shot of the trailer comes with a surprise, however, as the female vampire is suddenly struck down by another combatant who appears to be clad in some kind of knight's armor.
On YouTube, the description beneath the trailer video offers a few more details of the game, which apparently doesn't have an official title just yet. According to Sharkmob's description, this battle royale is set in Prague and features different vampire sects warring with one another. Players will have access to different powers and weaponry, and can choose whether to play solo or with partners. Most interestingly, the description refers to an "Entity" that is hunting and killing all vampires. This likely refers to the mysterious knight seen at the end of the trailer. There's no exact release date, but Sharkmob says to expect the game "in the later half of 2021."
The action seen in the trailer is pretty impressive, but it has rubbed many longtime fans the wrong way. Some of the comments have accused the developers of being "out of touch" with what the fanbase wants. Others are simply tired of the battle royale craze and don't necessarily want to see Vampire: The Masquerade becoming a part of the trend.
Several fans of the franchise have pointed out that the very concept of a Vampire: The Masquerade battle royale game seems to run counter to the entire point of the franchise. One of the comments brought up how far this game seemed to stray from the series' roleplaying roots. This person wrote, "Hey, remember that tabletop game about heavy roleplaying, political intrigue and manipulation? WHAT IF WE MADE A BATTLE ROYALE OF IT."
Another person remarked that a big, bombastic battle royale game ignores the very title of the series. The "Masquerade" in the title largely refers to the fact that so much of the vampire world is kept a secret from ordinary humans. It's kind of impossible to maintain that secrecy if vampires are running around in the open, jumping off of rooftops and firing machines guns at each other. Another fan concurred with this sentiment, commenting, "Just one question, how does open warfare in the streets qualify as a masquerade?" Basically, no matter how cool the action may look at this point, fans can't help but see this game as a betrayal of the series' central premise.
On Twitter, at least a few people were actually excited by the announcement and the game's potential. One gamer theorized that affiliations with different vampire clans could give players different abilities. Ólafur Waage of Massive Games complimented the trailer and congratulated Sharkmob Games on the work. Still, the majority of the responses have been negative. One fan simply wrote, "As a long time fan of VtM, I think this is a terrible idea."
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 will be arriving sometime in 2021, presumably close to the same window as the new Vampire: The Masquerade battle royale. Sharkmob Games has encouraged fans to keep an eye on its social media pages and website for future updates regarding the game's release and beta testing.