*This article is compiled from IGN US and is not reproduced without authorization.
In recent years, fans of the "Vampire: Escaped Blood" series have ushered in "bad news" one after another. In 2021, Vampire: Escapee 2 announced a ticket hopping with an unknown release date, suggesting that this Gothic Horror RPG seems to have been put on hold early. However, fans have recently seen a glimmer of light, that is, "Vampires: Escape Blood Clan", which seems to have enough content and fun to satisfy the tastes of vampire-themed RPG enthusiasts.
This time, though, instead of running around in the open world, you'll play as three different vampires. Depending on the character the player chooses, each vampire has different superpowers to uncover secrets and scout through events that span multiple storylines (probably similar to the gameplay you're used to in Telltale's Walking Dead series).
However, if you're tired of Telltale's superficial gameplay design, don't worry, after spending about 2 hours completing the second mission, I found that Vampire: Escape Blood Clan is actually as deep as other CRPGs, and each attribute, trait, and special vampire ability will affect each other to some extent, and your choices will have the weight to influence the plot.
In addition, the game borrows heavily from the setting of the board game Dark World, so you'll find that many of the dialogues in Vampire: The Secluded Blood Clan are interwoven with long-standing political intrigues between vampire families. For example, Galeb has the ability to detect other vampires, so I can interrogate witnesses while investigating murders, which is the key to the second task. Without Galeb's special abilities and the high social status of the Vandra in the vampire world, I would not have been able to discern that they were vampire-controlled people. I got an important clue that would be difficult to spot if I did it the traditional way.
Unlike Vampire: Bloods, which has a slow pace, CRPG and detective game enthusiasts should be more comfortable. As a fan of games like Bliss Disco, Thirteen Fighter Defense Circle, and Forsy City, I think the pace of this game is just right. However, there is no combat link until the second mission. Some dialogue options will test your focus on an NPC, and the game will decide whether you are "successful" by throwing dice through the option of persuasion or intimidation.
However, the dark corners of Boston are also scattered with clues, mostly notes and inconspicuous items, you can reconstruct the crime scene by feeling, your vampire ability can also help, make the whole experience full of fun, it is recommended that players pay more attention to details, because the guidance of this game is far less than other RPGs.
I stumbled upon a trace on a safe password, but the task log didn't tell me where to find the clues, it became part of the environmental narrative, forcing me to go back and look for clues, and finally got the correct password order. Is this clue useful or important? It all seemed to depend on my intuition and ability to piece together information.
In this game, the choice is crucial, because the player has limited energy and can only use the "Willpower" point to use skills, such as unlocking doors, hacking into the phone, or trying other things that require superpowers. The game also offers a way to regain your energy, such as some ancient coins that periodically restore your "Willpower" points, allowing you to continue your investigation.
Of course, if players can't use all kinds of superpowers, this is not a Vampire: Blood Escape series. However, casting abilities can also increase your hunger and thirst. If the hunger and thirst are too high, you will need to suck the blood of human NPCs to maintain human form, so as not to expose your identity and lose the opportunity to investigate.
I didn't suck anyone's blood during the test, but developer Big Bad Wolf Studio told me that sucking blood requires a certain level of skill, first you have to figure out how to lead NPCs to hidden areas, and then you can enjoy each other's blood and regain control of those wonderful powers.
Although I was in a certain area of Podol, France, and could only experience the beta version of Vampire: Escape Blood Through the Streaming Platform, the whole experience was quite good. Character animations and facial expressions in beta are particularly stiff, lack immersion, and RPG players who prefer to experience dialogue or option-centric may not buy it. However, officials said they will fix these issues before the game goes live on May 19.
At least the script and voice acting of this game are very powerful enough to highlight the characteristics of the character. Some players may disagree with Galeb's monologues because they are too brief for a detective game with such a rich setting that I have little idea of what he's thinking. If his characterization had gone a little deeper, I might have been able to better relate him to the world he's been exploring for two hours.