Stephanie Bendixsen: What makes Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines a cult classic

Critically-panned upon release, Bloodines was riddled with bugs. But then fans devoted themselves to building mods to fix the game’s many issues. Stephanie Bendixsen figured it was time to see what all the fuss was about — and now she’s hooked.

When it comes to video games — is it possible to go back in time?

Believe it or not, it’s actually easier to go way back than it is to play something from a few years ago.

8bit and 80s arcade games are still considered a fun, quick romp. Retro chic.

But unlike film, modern games date extremely quickly.

Technology advances so quickly that what is mechanically possible in terms of game design, scope, detail, size, what a game engine can produce … it evolves in leaps and bounds.

This presents problems for those of us who are newcomers to beloved franchises that began some years ago.

READ MORE: APE OUT AS ADDICTIVE AS A DRUG

DIVISION 2 AMAZINGLY TRUE TO LIFE

WHY I STILL PLAY SEA OF THIEVES

Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines was released in 2004 but is still kicking around among fans as a cult classic.

As an example — my favourite game of all time is The Witcher 3. So, when gamers come to me saying they’re going to give the series a go, they naturally want to start with the first game: The Witcher.

To which I reply ‘Mm, maybe give that one a miss …’ and I generally advise them to watch a catch-up video on YouTube to get a sense of the plot, and start with The Witcher 2.

It’s just too hard to go backwards, back to clunky mechanics, awkward platforming and blocky polygons.

The same goes for popular long-running series’ like Assassin’s Creed.

Starting with the first instalment would be a task akin to pulling one’s own eyelashes out — a far cry from the more recent, stunning offerings in the franchise like Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey.

There is one game, however, that seems to have defied all odds in this regard. I have had so many recommendations to play it, which I’ve resisted, because it was released in 2004.

Now, don’t get me wrong — 2004 was a pretty great year for games. Would I want to play any of those games now, however? Not really.

But when a good friend of mine gifted me a copy of Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines, I figured it was time to relent and see what all the fuss was about.

Marred by development issues, Bloodlines was a veritable mess upon release and critically-panned.

The game was a mess upon release but fans created a patch to fix the bugs and issues and it lives on.

There were unfinished quests, it was riddled with bugs — and the title sold only 80,000 copies at launch.

The game was also the nail in the coffin for dev studio Troika Games which shut down the following year.

And yet … there was something about this game that wouldn’t quit. Not with diehard fans, anyway — who devoted themselves to building mods for the game to fix its many issues, restore lost content and bring the game up to the standard it never had the chance to reach in its first lifetime.

Buying the game today from most online platforms will have the most recent fan-made patch already included.

Diving in — I am immediately drawn into the very sophisticated narrative style, with multiple dialogue options to suit the various options of role-playing your character. It has that cool, early naughties goth-vibe (very on-brand for teen-goth-Steph), a little bit Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, a little bit Anne Rice.

And sure, it’s a tad awkward at first, getting back into the groove of controlling a character with half the motor skills that I’m now used to — but I can see why this gothic fantasy has since become such a cult classic.

This comes from a time before it was commonplace to have a map built into the game, so you have to find your way around using in-game cues, paying attention to instructions and studying the environment — something that’s implemented beautifully in Bloodlines.

The game immerses you in the world that was 2004.

It seems obvious, but we often don’t realise how much larger, more complicated modern games have transformed the simple process of getting around.

We now play with a constant reliance on markers, mini-maps, and obviously-painted ledges and pathways to guide you in the right direction.

There is something gloriously freeing about returning to simpler forms of navigation. Like waking up in a world where Google Maps no longer exists.

But beyond that, the game has a very definitive style.

The characters are lavish, over-the-top and exciting, with sassy dialogue, slinking in and out of sinister alleyways, nightclubs and clandestine hideouts.

And you’re not tasked with the mindless busywork most modern games saddle you with to pad them out, either. Rather, straight away I was sent on a fantastic mission to secure a personal item from a vengeful spirit haunting an old hotel.

Man … the jump scares! The clues! The hidden rooms!

It wasn’t so much that the game no longer felt dated — but rather that my whole world was transported back to 2004 and I felt totally immersed.

I was embroiled in the larger feud between the warring Vampire Houses, the drug ring, the murder.

I started to get a feel for myself as a newly-turned vampire in a world where not all was as it seemed, and my growing powers threatened to break the vampire’s code to remain hidden from the human world. The Masquerade. It was exciting!

So, I’m hooked. I get it. I get why so many people have such love for this vintage beauty.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like the game has seen glorious success since these patches — but among fans of the series, it’s certainly taken on a new life.

One that I will wholeheartedly recommend despite its somewhat dated exterior.