Paradox says Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 is more of "a spiritual successor" than a sequel, and it "maybe shouldn't be compared to" the original RPG

Longtime fans shouldn't expect Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 to be a direct sequel to the 2004 original, according to publisher Paradox Interactive's deputy chief executive officer Mattias Lilja.

Speaking in a recent interview with Rock Paper Shotgun, Lilja explains that the developers didn't look to the first action RPG for too much inspiration but drew from it rather cautiously as, despite it being "a good game," it's also "an old game" with an air of nostalgia surrounding it. "It's about setting the right expectations," he says. "The first Bloodlines game […] it's a game from 2004, that is now patched so that it works."

Due to its age, Lilja states "there's also a lot of ideas about what that game was, that are more, not to offend anyone, mythical." Paradox wants to "clarify" what Bloodlines 2 is "so people have a clear understanding of what they're buying" and so they "don't come in with weird expectations." The new game, with its differences, "maybe shouldn't be compared to" the original, as fans need to "understand what they're getting into."

Lilja stresses this point once more: "Mainly we want to clarify that we're making a spiritual successor, not an actual same blueprint type of game, so people don't get disappointed and feel cheated. We really don't want that." As a dedicated fan of the tabletop RPG and original Bloodlines game myself, I'm just hopeful that we'll get anything at all at this point - and that the second entry's recent delay actually proves to be its final one.

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After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.