From dice and pencil to mouse, keyboard and controller: Bloodhunt brings the Battle Royale genre into the world of darkness. Can this be united?
When the sun goes down, the world of darkness comes to life. Vampires, werewolves, magicians, ghosts and many other beings from myths and fairy tales of us mortals live in this world. Prague is firmly in the hands of the vampires
Their clans are caught up in a complicated web of rules and intrigue. Sometimes, however, personal interests have to be put aside and the struggle for power in elite clubs and dark shadowy alleys turns into open warfare. That’s where ( Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodhunt comes in ). As a vampire, you dive into the street canyons of the time-honoured city and face the tough battle against your own kind.
The background of Bloodhunt is Vampire: The Masquerade, a dark and popular pen-and-paper role-playing game known for its sophisticated background and its focus on character story. So how does this fit in with a Battle Royale?
Surprisingly quite well, as Steam players also find: Since release, player numbers have been growing, most recently there were ( up to 30,000 (virtual) vampires on the servers at the same time ). What makes Bloodhunt so attractive? Well, apart from the fact that you can play it as a Free2Play title ( completely free )…
Table of Contents
In the dark of the night the hunters meet …
The battlefield in Bloodhunt is the old town of Prague. Surrounding the battlefield is “red gas”. The gas penetrates at regular intervals, dynamically reducing the size of the kill zone. This increases the pressure to act and prevents you from simply hunkering down and waiting for the round to be over.
Three game modes are available to you right from the start. In “Blood Hunt” you are on your own and duel with around 40 other players as well as the AI-controlled forces of the “Instance” – human opponents who have declared war on the world of darkness.
A random system generates up to two modifications before the game begins, which influence the battlefield. For example, the spread of red gas can be influenced or higher-grade weapons can be found in hiding places.
In “Battle Royale” you go hunting for other vampires in pairs or threes. You can revive your team members in the process. From player account level 10, you can compete internationally in the solo ranking.
You start the battle as one of seven Cain children, vampires. Each vampire has an active clan ability, an active class ability and a passive ability that helps yourself and, in group mode, your party. You can also activate your heightened senses at the touch of a button. This allows you to spot weapon hiding places, identify enemies and very importantly, see the mortals you can drink from to gain perks and healing.
There are plenty of weapons at your disposal for combat. From barbed wire wrapped baseball bats to katana, from pistols to two hand crossbows at the same time with akimbo style explosive bolts, you will find what your heart desires to put a quick end to your enemies. A few additional items such as bulletproof vests and blood infusions for emergencies complete the picture.
This is where the game scores with its uncomplicated controls. All commands are quickly internalised. The gameplay as a vampire, who climbs facades at lightning speed and has unique powers, clearly distinguishes it from other battle royale games. Weapons feel very different, but the gunplay isn’t too complex either.
Agile and dangerous
Two classes each are based on a vampire clan and its way of fighting. Thus, the Thug and the Vandal come from the Clan Brujah, the Saboteur and the Animalist from the Clan Nosferatu, and the Siren and the Muse from the Clan Toreador. Only the Enforcer stands alone and comes from the Clan Ventrue.
Classes from the same clan have a similar ability. For example, both the Brawlers and the Vandals of Clan Brujah can make a powerful and long jump. In Clan Nosferatu, both classes can become invisible for a short time to reposition themselves unseen. The Toreador have the ability to send a projection of themselves to a point in sight and then teleport there very quickly.
Differences in the classes among themselves come from the class abilities:
- Sluggers perform an earth-shattering Iron Man leap on opponents.
- Vandals punch the air so hard that a kinetic wave pushes aside projectiles and enemies in their path.
- Saboteurs place or throw invisible traps.
- Animalists send a swarm of bats to a location, which they then scout.
- Sirens literally blind enemies with their beauty.
- Muse have the ability to heal themselves and others.
- Enforcers have the ability to harden their skin, making it momentarily impenetrable, as well as the power to pounce forward on an opponent in a massive leap and deliver a power-sapping, heavy blow.
Each of these vampires gains individual experience points by participating in battles and can thus advance up to level 20. Advantages are automatically unlocked, such as faster regeneration after being knocked down.
Never break the masquerade, Cain child!
When vampires fight each other in Prague at night, there are some rules that should not be broken if possible. After all, the masquerade must be maintained. Mortals must not know that vampires exist. However, it is also said: where there is no judge, there is no executioner. In the game, it means that you should not use your vampire abilities around mortals, but you must not threaten them either.
Drinking the blood of mortals, however, can give a vampire great bonuses such as higher regeneration or more combat skill. However, no mortal may witness this. If this does happen, or even worse, if a mortal dies, a blood hunt is immediately called. Then the vampire becomes visible to all other vampires on the minimap and becomes the hunted.
When your health drops to zero, you slowly crawl on all fours for ten seconds, exhausted. When these ten seconds have elapsed, you rise again with few regenerated life points. A vampire on the ground is easy prey because it can only move slowly away from the combat zone.
If you cause enough damage to a vampire on the ground with your weapons, it will die. However, it is more effective to commit diablerie. This means that you drink the blood of the vampire that has been knocked down. On the one hand, this restores your life points. For another, it gives you an extra level for the benefits you can beat from mortal blood.
Diving into the world of darkness
At first glance, it seems a bit strange to develop a battle royale game in the World of Darkness. The pen-&-paper role-playing game is gritty, very detailed and the focus is on the narrative around living, dying and the transformation from human to vampire. Much more straightforward is the approach of hunting down other vampires with vampiric super powers and beating the last snack out of them.
In return, however, Bloodhuhnt takes great pains to discreetly bring in the influences of the World of Darkness. The scenario and setting were chosen by the developers to fit as well as possible into the background. The midnight Prague in Bloodhunt has been created according to the information from the World of Darkness.
The city paints a picture of contrasts: old buildings such as churches or the monument cemetery alternate with shopping centres and modern clubs. Language and technical terms help you quickly find your way into the world and capture the atmosphere.
After each battle you return to a lobby, the so-called Elysium. Fighting among vampires is not allowed there. NPCs in the Elysium will send you on some smaller quests where you can learn more about the game world. Here you also have the opportunity to examine items or browse through your diary at your leisure, which allows you to get a better overview of the conflict.
No Pay to Win
The advancement and reward system in Bloodhunt is quickly explained. Through participating in battles, both your selected vampire and your overall player account gain experience. For the latter, you unlock new icons or banners, but also progress in the Season Pass. By completing daily challenges, you advance even faster in the season.
As usual in this genre, Sharkmob relies on the paid Season Pass. Only a few level rewards are free of charge. Instead, you get new clothes, hair colours, accessories, symbols and banners for your collection. Only the XP boost interferes with the game mechanics itself. In addition to the pass, there is also an ingameshop. Here, however, you can only buy cosmetic items such as clothes, emotes or tatoos for real money.
Editor’s verdict
Does Bloodhunt as a game fit into the World of Darkness? Absolutely. The setting is well chosen and doesn’t break with the immersive elements. Prague, the Elysium, the whole style clearly fits into the elegant but also eerie world that is Vampire: The Masquerade. But at its core, Bloodhunt is of course a battle royale. One that does a lot of things right. It gets into the action quickly and even the frustrating moment of final death is quickly overcome. You quickly return to Elysium, only to throw yourself into the street canyons of Prague all over again. The various weapons and classes invite you to try out and master new things.
Honestly, Battle Royale is a genre I had never turned to before this test. The top dogs in this field did not appeal to me. So it’s all the nicer that I can take my first steps in a game with a background I know. Bloodhunt is not a game that I will play every day. But it will certainly get regular visits from me.
