If Baldur's Gate 3 is "an entire roleplay setting," Bloodlines 2 is a "scenario"

Baldur's Gate 3 is inarguably among the best videogame adaptations of a TTRPG. From its authentic recreation of one of Dungeons and Dragons' most iconic settings, to the beautifully written supporting characters and countless gameplay systems that allow you to bring your chaotic antics to life, it's the quintessential DnD game. But before Shadowheart and Astarion there was Jeanette (or Therese) Voerman and Sebastian LaCroix: for many, the original Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines was what Baldur's Gate 3 is today: the (mostly) perfect virtual representation of White Wolf's TTRPG. But it's now 2025 and Larian's set the bar exceedingly high. With the specter of the first game forever looming, I ask if BG3's success has made Bloodlines 2's development harder.

"I think it's fair to say that it has," narrative director Ian Thomas tells me. "There's that feeling that we should be able to open [things up] and customize [everything from a] completely blank slate. But if you're telling a specific story, I think you need a shape to pour the story into, like a mold. If you completely open up all of the options and throw somebody into a space, how do you make that character the pillar of the story?"

By contrast, Bloodlines 2 is a more focused RPG: the city has clear boundaries, not every NPC is interactable, and you can't (at least in my experience) yeet a vampire off of the side of a cliff mid-boss fight by throwing rats at him (thanks, Lua). "For me Baldur's Gate 3 is writing an entire roleplaying setting, whereas what we've done is write a roleplaying module," he says, promptly sparking a debate about whether the term is 'module,' 'adventure,' or 'scenario' (White Wolf's World of Darkness band manager Jason Carl seems pretty set on scenario).

"It does make it hard when people see [Bloodlines 2] and go 'oh I thought this was an entire setting, I thought this was GTA where we could do anything!' While we're trying to go 'no, it's this slice of time and place.'"

While the idea of a Baldur's Gate 3-scale Vampire: The Masquerade game is certainly appealing, the original Bloodlines was a relatively self-contained, mission-based game, taking you from A (for Ankaran Sarcophagus) to B (for Beckett or bloody demise - you choose) with side-quests along the way. A fully open-world VTM RPG could be amazing, sure, but Bloodlines 2's linearity feels more in-line (pun intended) with the original game. But, a girl can certainly dream.

If you can't wait for the Bloodlines 2 release date, we have a rundown of all the Bloodlines 2 clans to help you land on your pick ahead of launch. Alternatively, if you're looking to practice your skulking and sneaking, we have a list of all the best vampire games - sparkling is strictly forbidden.

Would you like to see a Baldur's Gate 3-style VTM game? Let us know on Discord, and let me know what era you'd set it in, too.