Spooky things have come to light on October 31 – namely, exactly who we’ll be playing as in Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2. Paradox Interactive has announced that Phyre, an elder vampire from the 17th century, will take on the starring role.
While Phyre has a distinct origin (and fully-voiced dialogue), Paradox lets players customize pretty much everything else. Phyre’s gender, clan, outfits, and behavior are all changeable, and your choices will be reflected around you in the city of Seattle.
First announced in 2019, Bloodlines 2 is the long-awaited follow-up to the original Bloodlines RPG. ‘Long-awaited’ became ‘even longer-awaited’ as the game was delayed multiple times and changed studios entirely. Paradox announced that The Chinese Room would take over development of the game in September 2023.
Bloodlines 2 sees Phyre awaken to a world unlike the one they knew. While several centuries of undeath gives you plenty of advantages, Phyre will have to claw their way back to full power. To help them along the way, they’ve got their chosen clan – and a mysterious voice in their head called Fabien.
You can learn more about Phyre in this developer commentary video:
“Creating a character that resonates with players in the World of Darkness, yet shakes up what they know about Seattle, is a core pillar of our storytelling,” says The Chinese Room director Ian Thomas. “We maintain Vampire: The Masquerade’s essence and leverage its dark undertones to weave Phyre’s intricate narrative.”
“Leveraging a protagonist adds weight to the narrative choices with room for players to customize Phyre’s background throughout the story”, Thomas continues. “All these elements combine to create a deeply immersive experience that players expect from a Bloodlines game while maintaining our signature Chinese Room flair.”
You can learn more about the upcoming vampire RPG in this Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines 2 release date guide from our sister site, PCGamesN. And for even more vampires, here’s our Vampire the Masquerade Milan Uprising preview.