Game: Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong
Platform: Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC
Rating: Rating Pending
Cost: $49.99
In the spring, developer Big Bad Wolf released a macabre role-playing game revolving around
fantasy’s most alluring characters—the vampire. In this iteration there are three main characters in the role-playing game (RPG), but every choice you make could have detrimental consequences. Players explore the world of bloodthirsty vampires in Boston Camarilla, but you must remember to respect the Masquerade, a vampire law that prohibits humans from knowing your undead existence.
Story
Vampire: The Masquerade—Swansong follows three members of the Camarilla residing in Boston when a Code Red is initiated. It is up to Leysha, Emem, and Galeb to uncover the cause through a series of investigative discussions, puzzle solving, and overall detective work. Uncover the intricate history behind mafia-esque organization, Camarilla, and who are the assailants behind an attack against the thaumaturges (a sect of magical vampires who the Camarilla ally with).
Gameplay
The key element to understanding the dynamics behind Vampire: The Masquerade—Swansong is that it is a true RPG game that focuses on the politics behind their world. The gameplay is similar to TellTale’s The Wolf Among Us, The Walking Dead and Batman choice options; however, decisions and the ability to sway specific conversations depends on your Discipline bar—something that you manage with your hunger. The more blood you drink, the better your abilities become, but you must do so sneakily and without killing a human. It can be tedious, but a necessary task to dominate conversations. Additionally, you have to perform certain tasks to build up Willpower points, this also helps with staying in control in dialogue scenarios.
Conclusion
Swansong is more of a spinoff from the game Vampire: The Masquerade—Bloodlines, which impressed with its quick wit, undead candor, and depiction of Los Angeles, this year’s outing seems to hit the same mark. For some Swansong drains the magic behind the Masquerade world and focuses less on the oddities of the vampires and more on the politics that govern it. For others it’s just a different perspective and style of game that is less about action and instead about the melding of personalities.
