Super Retro Game Review: Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption

Title: Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption
Platforms: PC
Release Date: 2000
Final Score: 7/10

BORING NOTE: I am labeling this a "Super Retro Game Review" as it covers two sub-review types I will be attempting in the future. Retro just means it is an older game (Anything that came out before 2005 will most likely fall into this category), and the "Super" title just applies to anything that I have a lot to say about. In other words, it is a way of telling you that this review will be VERY LONG.

VtM: Redemption is, in theory, everything I could possibly want in a video game. It just appeals to me on so many personal levels. Hack & slash RPG? Check. Sexy vampires? Yep. Heavy gothic aesthetic? You betcha!! Epic story of forbidden love that spans centuries? Oh, fuck yes! Put me down for 10 copies! You know, because...reasons.

But obviously, the execution of these things is kind of a big deal, and this is where Redemption falls a little flat. There are a lot of good ideas here but the game is hindered by some seriously poor design choices along the way, like stilted voice acting, dialogue and animations, extremely clunky gameplay, and...well, it seemed to forget that it was, in fact, an RPG somewhere down the line. I hold the game very close to my heart for nostalgic reasons, but it's sad to see such a mediocre game when it has the potential to be so much more.

Just your typical dance club/blood bank

The game is loosely based on the pen and paper RPG of the same name. It's a series with a very rich mythology and set of rules that the designers could have explored, but opted instead to pick and choose what they liked and made up the rest as they pleased, with mixed results.

The plot is kind of heavy, so I'll try to sum it up quickly (in hindsight I failed miserably at this, deal w/ it).

The game starts off in the Prague during the dark ages, and you play as a French crusader (with a suspiciously American-sounding accent) who, after suffering a terrible injury in battle, is nursed to good health by the beautiful nun (and obligatory love interest), Anezka, and this scene is where we learn that the in-game graphics somehow look better than the pre-rendered cutscenes:

LOL

Soon after awakening, he learns that the mines just outside of town are infested with demons, and even though he's still weak, he ventures in there to fuck up their shit, and it's here that he encounters the hideous abomination, Ahzra the Unliving:

And when I say hideous I am of course referring to her WARDROBE! I mean, justlook at her. Fashion nightmare, am I right?

She warns him about a vampire who will rise and bring about the end of times, something which may or may not be important later (spoiler alert: it is). Christof promptly stabs her to death and tells her about how she is eternally damned because he is VERY religious, and the game makes a big point of this a lot throughout the story. It turns out that Ahzra's followers were not too fond of you murdering their messiah or whatever, so they attack the convent shortly after your return to town.

But oh no! Anezka is in the convent! Christof rushes in just in time to save her, and then tells her about his undying love for her because this seemed like the time for that. That's cool, after all, he's known her for all of two days. Fortunately she feels the same way, but unfortunately, falling in love with a nun is a big no-no, so Christof flees the convent in the dark of the night in order to save Anezka's immortal soul... or something.

As it turns out, his recent activities have peaked the interest of a vampire from the Brujah clan (the vampires have clans), Ecaterina the Wise, who wants to welcome you into her family...And... she does. As Christof is moping around the streets of Prague late at night, she pounces and turns him into a vampire, and this is where the whole "Redemption" part of the game comes in. Now that he is one of the damned, Christof is forced to question his faith, and to look for redemption as a creature of the night. He soon learns that not all vampires are totally reprehensible beings, because as it turns out, most of them like earth just the way it is, and would like to put a stop to this pesky apocalypse business.

LOL again

Christof's real driving force to continue on is Anezka, who has been kidnapped by the shittier representatives of the vampire species, and he intends to save her. It's all very romantic, actually. <3

So, that covers the first hour or so of the game. It probably sounds really interesting, and...it is, to some extent. Unfortunately, as mentioned before, the dialogue and voice acting can be very jarring at times, and the cutscenes tend to be very stiff, drawn out, execution dumps where people stand around, telling you everything about everything while looking and sounding bored about the whole affair. It's a great story with some very questionable execution.

But enough about the plot, let's talk about the other stuff!

Gameplay is a pretty standard "click on this thing until it dies" type of thing. You have a party of characters to switch between and each one has special (mostly useless) vampire abilities based on the clan they come from, with their current health and stats being displayed at the bottom of the screen. This is a mechanic that sounds great in theory but is still very poorly executed, mostly because whichever character you aren't currently controlling will be strategically useless.

Your team mates will run straight into the gigantic beast that can eat their head in 5 seconds flat, use all of their blood to use those aforementioned useless abilities, and if you are naive enough to let them wield a ranged weapon, they will stand there like an idiot and fire off all of their arrows or bullets at the wall because there might be an enemy standing behind it.

Do we let him put us in his mouth or...?

Fortunately the enemy AI is almost equally stupid so combat isn't too much of a challenge. If you're like me you'll probably spend most of your time luring enemies away from their friends so you can dispatch them one at a time, like you're the pied piper of dumbasses.

The game also calls itself an RPG, but it is an RPG only in the loosest sense of the term. You are sometimes given branching dialogue options during conversations with NPCs, but they have almost no bearing on the plot, except for your character's overall "Humanity level" which effects which ending you get. And as for leveling up and choosing your skills, it is a stupidly convoluted process where the stats you choose to boost really only effect which kind of abilities and weapons you're able to use. Many of these stats lack any sort of function or purpose, so choosing them would literally be a complete waste of XP, while many of the abilities are just carried from the pen and paper game and basically useless in the video game.

Believe me, it looks far more complex than it really is

Now, back to the positive. The game is absolutely beautiful. While character models may look slightly outdated after 13 years, the game still looks great due to some fantastic art direction in the level design, and it  boasts some truly awesome monster design as well! Most of the areas you explore are unique and memorable, the likes of which include the peaceful streets of Prague in the 1400s, to a dilapidated castle filled with abominable horrors,  an Egyptian-inspired brothel & temple, a cathedral literally crafted from the flesh of tortured souls, and many more. :D

This wide range in environmental design is never more evident than in the change from the Dark Ages to the modern day. At about the half-way point, the protagonist goes into a coma which lasts for about...oh, 800 years or so. This transition is flawless, it really feels like you've stepped into a completely different world than the one Christof had previously been accustomed to (and there were some fairly entertaining fish-out-of-water moments as well).

Unfortunately, this section of the game really wants you to use guns, and as I mentioned before, ranged weapons are very bad.. It is fortunately possible to get one generic sword for everyone, but I missed the wide range of melee weaponry I had to choose from in the dark ages. At the end of the game I kind of decided, "fuck it" and gave one of my team mates a rocket launcher. He blew all of us away in our next battle. I believe we were fighting large rats.

"ALRIGHT, LET'S GO GET KILLED!"
"YEEAH!"

The game also sounds great, hammy voice acting aside. The score always keeps in tune with the game's overall tone. Each area in the game is given a theme that captures the essence of it. It just works really well, and in some areas it even adds depth and emotional resonance to what otherwise might have been empty and shallow scenes.

Overall, Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption is a fun but flawed game that never really reaches its full potential. The AI is frustrating and the RPG elements are half-assed, but it's a visually stunning game that's still fun to play in spite of its shortcomings, and the story and aesthetics kept me engaged throughout. I recognize all of its flaws but I still deeply love this game. It was a very memorable experience and I don't think there are many games that look and play like this one does. 

I'd recommend it if anything here sounds remotely interesting to you, but the sequel improves on most of the problems mentioned and isn't connected to this game at all plot-wise, so if you're gonna play one, play Bloodlines, please.

A generous 7/10