Neither the choice of name nor the full voice acting of the main character go down well with many fans. The tenor: The freedom of role-playing suffers as a result
The developers of Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 played with Phyre and apparently got burned, judging by the reaction of many fans. What we mean by the bloodless pun: Developer The Chinese Room has revealed the main character of the vampiric role-playing game, and it’s going down about as well with many fans as a stake as a birthday present for Count Dracula.
The name is a problem …
Your main character’s name in Bloodlines 2 will be Phyre
whether you like it or not. And this creation is not really being received positively in the comments section of the reveal video on YouTube or on Reddit.
You missed the video? Never mind, you can watch the reveal here:
A small selection of reactions? In this (Reddit-Thread) you will find many more:
Phyre in the hole!
Better kill him with… Phyre!
Let’s set him on fire…Phyre!
Phyre will burn the house down!
This is almost as creative and funny as our initial pun – but only almost. The user tomtheconqerur can’t believe it either. He writes elsewhere (Reddit):
I have to remind people that someone got paid to write this, and someone got paid to approve this name. This is going to suck.
.. and the soundtrack too
As if the name didn’t already add enough garlic flavor to the game’s fun soup, many fans are also upset about Phyre’s full voice acting. Because what is still considered a big atmospheric plus in role-playing games such as The Witcher 3 or the Mass Effect trilogy is perceived here as a restriction of your own vampire fantasy
As a reminder: In Bloodlines 2, you can currently set the following characteristics for Phyre:
- the clan
- the gender
- the outfit
For some time now, fans have wanted to be able to customize their own characters even more. Now there are fears that the spoken dialogs will further restrict the freedom of choice than if Phyre can silently choose from a variety of answer options.
The top comment dripping with mockery with over one hundred likes under the announcement video is clear:
I was worried that my vampire RPG would give me actual choices and let me deeply customize my character to feel like a vampire in this vampire world. Thankfully, Phyre here talks the same shit in three different shades during dialog and is basically a fixed character. Choices scare me, so this is great.
It remains to be seen whether or not the development team will respond to the growing criticism. If you’ve now tasted blood and want to find out more about Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, then sink your teeth into these articles and be sure to listen to our talk!
What do you think of the two news items relating to Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2? Do you like the name Phyre or do you find it rather inappropriate? What do you think of the full voice acting of your character? Is it a plus for the atmosphere or rather an annoying aspect that makes your own role-playing game more difficult? Let us know your opinion in the comments!
