Today, the best battle royale game dies. Much to my lamentations, September 26 marks the final day of formal service for Vampire The Masquerade Bloodhunt, with developer Sharkmob shuttering the game’s doors to Elysium one last time, turning off microtransactions, and rendering it a husk of its former self. As I wave goodbye to my beloved Toreador Muse and Nosferatu Saboteur, it’s worth asking why Bloodhunt – and battle royales as a whole – arguably aren’t working like they used to.
Now don’t get me wrong: Bloodhunt wasn’t flawless. It released with the Nosferatu ruling the roost (quite the switch-up for the World of Darkness’ most hated clan) and nerfs simply came in too late. The delayed release of duos mode was generally disappointing, and the seemingly never-ending queue times that ensued killed the action dead before it even really began. Even the suave, blue-blooded Ventrue and mysterious Tremere witches couldn’t save the battle royale game from its sorry fate, so when I saw the announcement that it would be entering its final march towards death starting today, a part of me wasn’t surprised.
But that doesn’t mean I wasn’t absolutely gutted. I plowed hours into this game, picking up the original founder’s pass and everything. I forced my partner to play it during the early stages of our relationship, and my love for the game introduced me to the VTM tabletop world, the allure of which is tantalizing. I even created my first-ever male custom character in a videogame – and he was hot as hell. Of course he was, he was a Toreador; step aside, Astarion, my Muse is a real vampire.
Personal feelings (and infatuations) aside, though, Bloodhunt actually had some neat mechanics. Stacking different buffs by drinking Blood Resonances was fun and added a bit of strategy to the gameplay. If you’re running Nosferatu, Melancholic blood is always a great call, whereas Brujah will want to snatch up Choleric to enhance their melee damage; it adds a bit of strategy to a genre that’s often reduced to just ‘pop heads and take names.’
I also loved the little side-quests that the various Primogens would send you on. While they were short, they gave the world an extra bit of lore, making it feel more real. And, honestly, Sharkmob’s Prague is still one of my favorite maps to date: I could spend literal hours just sitting at the top of the cranes as a stealthed Saboteur or Prowler, looking down over the city streets. Or, alternatively, hang out in the Divine Disco and just vibe. With the flickering lights of the Burning Church gently illuminating every street corner, Sharkmob’s Prague is one of my all-time favorite videogame maps.
In fact, Bloodhunt itself is just fashionable. The character cosmetics are gorgeous and make you want to grind through the battle pass to get there. There wasn’t a single ‘bad’ item there – especially because you could get Mia’s outfit and become the literal embodiment of Toreador superiority. The customization was limitless, and the character designs truly channel the essence of VTM. Bloodhunt nailed the concept but failed to stick the landing in what is a truly overcrowded genre.
After all, whether you love them, hate them, or are entirely ambivalent to them, it’s no secret that Apex Legends, Warzone, and Fortnite have become the pillars of the battle royale genre – in fact, I’d go so far as to say they are the battle royale genre on PC. It’s the same with League of Legends and Dota 2 when it comes to MOBAs, and World of Warcraft with MMORPGs – how many LoL and WoW killers have there been now? Do you remember their names? I don’t.
When Fortnite exploded, everyone tried to get on that bandwagon (or battle bus), but it was never going to work out. Fortnite defined a genre while simultaneously appealing to both adults and kids. It has partnerships with some of the biggest brands on the planet, transcends boundaries, and has carved out its own dedicated cultural space. While it may not be as talked-about as it once was, Fortnite largely owns the BR genre – everyone else just lives there.
Apex Legends is the outlier, of course. While some of us still lose sleep over the loss of a potential Titanfall 3 (guilty, as charged), the stagnation of Call of Duty: Warzone and the thoroughly ‘meh’ response to Warzone 2 left a gap in the market. Apex is well balanced, its characterization is slick, and it’s simply one of the best-playing games on the market.
Bloodhunt was always going to struggle against two well-established behemoths. Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines is no Titanfall in terms of its modern-day popularity, and while Bloodhunt was conceptually great, it couldn’t hope to amass the same insta-following generated by the likes of Apex Legends’ stealth launch.
As the sun rises on Prague’s World of Darkness, it’s a shame to see the game finally reach the beginning of the end. While the servers will stay up and you’ll be able to keep playing and preying for now, I’ll never see what a Malkavian would look like in Bloodhunt. With the Bloodlines 2 release date back on the cards and a new save already started in the original Bloodlines, I’m holding out hope that VTM sees the renaissance it deserves. Today, Bloodhunt dies, but who knows what our eternal unlife will bring tomorrow.
