PC Gamer - UK (2022-02)

act. Its basic version should be the
first thing you download when going
off Steam or physical install, but is
actually already included in the GOG
version of the game, thankfully.
I decided to take things just a step
further this time around. Spahl also
offers a more extensive ‘plus’ version
of his patch, which includes quality
of life fixes, cut content, and some
bonus character creation options. I
decided to forgo it on my first
playthrough, purity of the developers’
vision and all that, but this time I

figured, what the hell, let’s try

something new.

FINAL NIGHTS

Vampire: the Masquerade – Bloodlines

is set in the World of Darkness

tabletop setting created by White

Wolf Publishing. WoD’s fiction is

predicated on the ghoulies, ghosties,

wolfmen, and of course, Draculas

of classic cinema hiding in plain sight

in our modern times, or ‘the Final

Nights’. Modern vampires are

descendants of the biblical Cain,

the first murderer, and fear the return

of him or his immediate progeny,

the apocalyptic Gehenna. It’s in this

context that your character in VtMB

is first embraced by a member of Los

Angeles’ vampire underground,

and brought into the fold.

In Bloodlines, you choose a

vampire clan at character creation,

which covers a combined race/class

role. My first time through, I went

with clan Malkavian, mad prophets

whose special insight into the

vampire condition sets them apart

from their fellow kindred.

In Bloodlines’ ruleset, they get some

special abilities that help with stealth

and conversations. The big draw for

me was that Malks have all of their

dialogue completely rewritten in the

spirit of Fallout’s low-intelligence

playthrough, and other characters

react accordingly.

This time around, I opted for clan

Tremere, secretive blood-wizards

who seek to understand their curse

by way of academic study. They get

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

My favourite freaks of LA by night

JACK

A vampire biker

voiced by Bender

‘Bending’ Rodriguez

himself, John

DiMaggio. One of the

few who’s actually

looking out for you.

BECKETT

An adventurer-

archeologist who can

turn into a wolf,

Beckett’s like the

Volo/Elminster of

Vampire: the

Masquerade.

DAMSEL

A foul-mouthed

communist aligned

with the freedom-

loving Anarchs. I just

really want to buy a

bootleg of her

L’Armee Troika shirt.

STRAUSS

Aldi-brand Morpheus

here is the Tremere

Regent of LA. He’ll

soup up your powers,

and offer VtMB’s

version of New Vegas’

Mr House ending.

THE GAME FOUND A SECOND

LIFE THROUGH DIGITAL

DISTRIBUTION

EXTRA LIFE

NOW PLAYING I UPDATE I MOD SPOTLIGHT I HOW TO I DIARY I WHY I LOVE I REINSTALL (^) I M U S T P L A Y
The Giovanni Mansion,
an S-tier ‘vertical slice’ sort of
level if there ever was one.
ABOVE: (^) The Tremere
Chantry, LA’s home
for all that is spooky
and profane.
RIGHT: I want to eat
the worst omelette of
my life at this diner.