REVIEW — The 2004 original was a genuine surprise; let’s say it upfront: this sequel didn’t need to exist. We’d honestly love to see where Hardsuit Labs’ version would’ve taken it — The Chinese Room’s take simply isn’t worthy of the name. Harsh? Maybe, but the game earns it.

We’ve moved from Los Angeles to Seattle, and with that swap the series’ core vibe seems to have slipped away. As a different IP, this might have flown under the radar; with the Bloodlines label, the bar is higher.

Big Map, Empty Rooms

Seattle is larger and looks the part, but when most buildings are sealed off, scale turns into dead space. There are bright spots — the Wake the Dead café has personality — yet for every win there’s a miss. Hole in the Wall, for instance, feels as lifeless as a bargain-bin Unity asset flip. Recycled paintings placed side-by-side and reused wall art across buildings torpedo the mood; that’s sloppy even for a 2007 budget title. Animations loop visibly, lending the whole thing a time-warped feel.

To its credit, the cast is mostly well written and performed. Leads get screen time; supporting roles feel undercooked. Niko shows up in several sidequests but still barely registers. Those quests repeat beats anyway (fetch an item, eliminate a former owner, collect another widget). There’s romance, but compared to Mass Effect it’s painfully dull — persistence steamrolls nuance. Like Cyberpunk 2077, a voice lives in your head: Fabien, equal parts sardonic and dramatic… with a chunk of content paywalled behind the Santa Monica Memories DLC. Priorities feel skewed; Fabien often outshines Phyre, which is a strange look for your protagonist. The plot runs multiple threads in parallel and only coheres later, demanding a lot of headspace — early intrigue sags over time. Tangential ties to the first game are thin where they should be strong.

World of Darkness, Emphasis on Dark

Combat is improved over the original, but still not fun. No target lock, which is maddening when an ally you’ve swayed aims at the same enemy and everything turns into friendly chaos. There’s no guard or block — only dodges — and even those feel inconsistent. Meanwhile enemies can block, forcing you to commit to heavy attacks that leave you exposed. Encounters scale to your level and ramp up, while Unreal Engine 5 performance can’t always keep pace. Boss fights are serviceable with the occasional odd restriction (mandatory fisticuffs?), and firearms dominate more than a vampire fantasy can comfortably justify.

Fair’s fair: clans do meaningfully change playstyle, and progression nails the tabletop flavor. You earn Resonance by drinking different blood types and spend it on upgrades. The visuals are fine if unexceptional. Overall, Bloodlines 2 sits far from Troika’s classic (still worth playing today — ideally with a few QoL mods).

One of the Year’s Disappointments

Score: 6/10. Not a disaster, just not worthy of the brand. Rather than building on what the 2004 game did well, The Chinese Room doubles down on what never really worked: uneven performance and middling combat. As a new IP, this would still be a middling RPG. If you loved the first game, play that — not this.

-V-

Developer: The Chinese Room
Publisher: Paradox Interactive
Release: October 21, 2025
Genre: Action RPG