Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong Review – This Blood is Bitter

Thanks to Nacon and Big Bad Wolf, we had the opportunity to visit Boston and see what the vampiric elite do in the shadows. Before we could make the trip there though, we got a Code: Red alert and were put in lockdown. So, they sent up a copy of Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong to play instead. Is the game worth checking out? Read on to find out.

Developer: Big Bad Wolf
Publisher: Nacon
Platforms: Xbox Series X (reviewed), PS4, PS5, Xbox One, PC
Release Date: May 19th, 2022

As a fan of Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines, I was very interested in what Swansong had to offer, especially with the delay of Bloodlines 2. Focusing on delivering a more narrative-driven experience, players assume the roles of three separate vampires that reside in Boston. Thanks to the new reigning monarch, Prince Hazel Iverson, a treaty has been made between the Camarilla and Hartford Chantry, a rival group of blood sorcerers. Thanks to the treaty, the Prince intended to throw a “Re-unification Party” in order to celebrate the peaceful alliance of the two groups. However, on the night of the party, a Code: Red is issued to every vampire in Boston before the celebrations can begin. Being a priority one alert, every vampire is advised to go into hiding or flee Boston and it’s up to three separate vampires to figure out exactly what caused the Code: Red.

The three characters you play are Emem Louis, an influential Toreador nightclub owner who was once banned from the Camarilla. Then there is Galeb Bazory, the Venture that offers his assistance and expertise to the Prince when he is needed. Lastly, there’s Leysha, a Malkavian who is often plagued by visions of the future. Though her visions require some translating, they’ve proven useful in the past which has encouraged the Prince to keep her on a short leash, despite Leysha’s instability.

When the game first opens, players are introduced to these three vampires at the Prince’s quarters. Due to the chaos of the code red, everything is in lockdown and the three move about trying to learn as much as possible. Eventually, the Prince orders them to tread out into Boston and find out what’s going on, while also making sure those at the Hartford Chantry are okay. It’s during this time that you’re introduced to each character, one at a time. 

Once the introduction is completed, you’re given free rein to choose which scenario you start with next. At the end of each character’s scenario, you’re given a certain amount of experience points based on what you were able to do within the scene. When you begin that character’s next scene, you can divvy out those experience points to raise their skills and disciplines to make them more effective. 

There are a variety of ways to get about a scenario and find what you’re seeking. Some information can be gained by simply locating the correct items. Other information can be provided via dialogue. Skills help sway the way conversations go, should they be high enough and disciplines help with detecting items hidden throughout the world. Using skills, however, costs willpower and the use of an discipline will make you hungrier. So you’ll have to pay attention to what you do while playing or risk some downsides.

If the required skills aren’t leveled high enough, you may have the opportunity to “focus” on those skills which require the use of more willpower. Consumables can restore willpower and feeding will sate your hunger. In keeping with the theme though, you need to make sure you’re feeding in a safe zone and it’s safer to not kill your prey. Dead bodies and vampiric acts committed in public will raise suspicion, and run the risk of exposing yourself. Playing sloppily will definitely get you screwed over.

It’s worth noting there are multiple ways to complete a scenario that affect how the story unfolds in the future. For example, and this is a spoiler for Galeb’s first scenario, he’s tasked with investigating the penthouse of the Camarilla’s accountant. His goal is to locate and remove anything that would expose Boston’s vampiric chapter to the world. To do this, you’re supposed to locate five files containing detailed information on the Prince’s council. If you pay attention to the various clues hidden throughout the penthouse, you can discover what exactly happened to the accountant. In doing that, it can also change how this scenario plays out. 

In my playthrough, I did not pick up on these clues but in talking to others afterward, I learned about what I had missed. There was a clue that I had found and my brain just didn’t pick up on it. I completely skipped over it. For me, Galeb completed his objective and waltzed right out of the building proudly whistling a tune without harming a single human hair. I replayed this scene and I won’t spoil it, but things turned out far differently. Both of these endings were also a fun showcase of how effective Galeb can be. In one, I did what I had to do and left without raising any suspicion. As for the other, let’s just say that Galeb got the job done.

Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong’s downfall, in my opinion, is in the technical side of things. For a game about these wealthy, eccentric groups of Vampire’s that control the world, the game feels bland. The Prince’s Quarters for example is a large, confusing series of apartments, a bar, and offices that just feel kind of mashed together. I played the game on the Xbox Series X and the textures were slow to load up and sometimes blurry. At one point, Emem was covered in broken textures as the golden flakes she decorated her skin with broke for a brief amount of time.

When put up against Emem, Galeb and Leysha also feel bland and boring in comparison (although a DLC pack exists to improve their clothing). Facial animations are weak as well, which is a bummer considering Swansong is a game that’s entirely built around dialogue. Speaking of dialogue, a lot of the voice acting is weak too. The three main characters do a good job, but all the other characters suffer from mediocre performances. The Prince, Hazel Iverson, really was dealt the worst hand because her character model is boring and the voice actor really phoned in their performance.

As far as narrative-driven adventure games go, Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong is a game for the fans of the Masquerade. I really wanted an expanded look into the vampiric elite that controls the world and that’s what I got. It tells an intriguing tale of vampires on the verge of being exposed and eliminated despite being a tad generic. If you can get past the technical issues, then it’s worth taking a trip to Boston and spending some time with the Camarilla.