When you think of Vampire: The Masquerade, you probably picture eerie vampires quietly making their way through high society without their powers, not wall-running gunfights in the streets of Prague. Bloodhunt is here to change that.
Bloodhunt is now in the middle of its first season and while it’s certainly a unique take on the genre it’s also very respectful of its source material. The biggest teething problems are not with the vampires themselves, but the fact its fast-paced and intense action can sometimes make for stressful play.
Currently, there’s no story of note in Bloodhunt, although I suspect it’ll follow other live-service games and develop one as the seasons carry on. This lack of a narrative means it can slot neatly into the series canon, as the game makes good use the property’s trademarks - most notably the Masquerade itself, which sees players avoid using their powers in public or suffer the consequences of the titular bloodhunt, their icon flashing for everyone to see on the map. The lack of a story is a bit of a shame considering the series’ rich history, but it feels like something that can be expanded in the future.
While the story might not draw you in, the world itself envelops you in its leathery wings. Rain drips from the rooftops, blood is sucked from necks with a delicious squelch, nightclubs reverberate with romantic basslines, and while the fighting takes place on the streets, more buildings have the familiarly decadent interior design of modern vampire lore than you’d expect. Prague, the game’s only map so far, is packed with detail and defines Bloodhunt’s unique playstyle with its focus on verticality and tight spaces. It’s much more cramped and intimate than Fortnite’s open island. Focusing on smaller spaces over expansive areas to roam in is different from everything else in the genre, and it’s a risk that has paid off.
That is a bit of a double-edged sword, however. With clothing, items, and the city itself all being so detailed, a product of Sharkmob scanning in individual pieces of clothing to make them look as realistic as possible, the prospect of more content coming in a timely manner feels uncertain. We know that more cities are planned for the game, but we have no word on when that might be or where we might go, and Prague doesn’t seem likely to be changed over the season as the maps in other battle royales are. As impressive as Prague is, there are reasons why other games in the genre go for wider maps with smaller landmarks that can be edited and swapped out with ease, helping to keep the game fresh. If you’ve been playing the game frequently, you might already be a bit sick of its one and only map. Only time will tell, but it seems.
Still, it’s very clear that Bloodhunt is not trying to be like those other games, so perhaps we shouldn’t expect it to. For starters, players get to choose between seven different classes from four different clans when they spawn (there’s also no dropping in), and each one has different vampiric abilities that work on a cooldown. These abilities, ranging from powerful leaps or vanishing into a flurry of bats that allow you to see through walls and flash-bang grenades, the class abilities are essential tools in Bloodhunt.
Another essential tool is movement. All characters can climb pretty much any surface and take no fall damage, meaning firefights can swap instantly between shotgun skirmishes in tight alleys to suddenly becoming long-ranged rifle volleys atop clock towers. This variety is aided by red gas that closes in on the map, forcing players away from the edges. In another break from BRR tradition, this gas doesn’t close in a predictable circle, instead offering different shapes that create new chokepoints and keep players on their toes. This verticality and freedom of movement is the game’s biggest strength.
Thankfully, no matter where you’re fighting, combat feels responsive and crunchy. Almost all guns pack a punch (except crossbows which handle like a whoopie cushion on a stick) and the range of melee weapons are great fun to use, especially with the tanky Enforcer class. Bloodhunt is such a surprisingly good shooter that it often ends up feeling way more intense than the traditionally cartoonish and arcadey BRs like Fortnite. Add in an extremely fast TTK and every encounter makes you sweat.
There are ways to make things easier on yourself, like sucking NPC blood to gain buffs, but Bloodhunt is never the relaxing time the rest of the genre is typically thought of as and might end up putting some players off. Or maybe I’m just awful at it.
As awful as I may be at Bloodhunt, I still found myself playing to work through the surprisingly decent battle pass. From Blade-inspired outfits to more punk rock vampire attire, there are a lot of cool unlockables here that feel worth the time and money. The non-premium version of the pass is a bit empty and the item shop is a little on the expensive side, but that’s just part and parcel with free-to-play games these days.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt manages the impossible and makes the battle royale genre feel fresh again, with smart changes to the formula and movement that completely change the game. Its fast-paced action isn’t for the faint of heart and Prague might get a bit old after hours of playing, but it’s well worth sinking your teeth into just to see what the heck a vampire battle royale even looks like.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt
