Vampire: the Masquerade— Bloodlines

Troika’s last hurrah has aged like fine wine.

- By Ted Litchfield

The year of 2004 was an auspicious one for video games. In fact, it was perhaps, a bit too auspicious for Troika, a small CRPG development house headed by ex-Black Isle veterans.

Troika had to release an embattled, over budget, and unfinished game of a niche genre right smack dab in the middle of a legendary autumn, which also boasted Halo 2, Half-Life 2, and Metal Gear Solid 3. Vampire: The Masquerade—Bloodlines never stood a chance really, and ended up selling only 72,000 copies in its initial release. Afterward, Troika struggled to find backing for subsequent projects and were forced to close their doors in 2005.

The tapes never stopped circulating though, so to speak. Strong word of mouth helped its reputation flourish on RPG forums, and VtMB found a second life through digital distribution. This game was not on my radar at the time of its initial release, and even if it was, I was nine years old, and my dad would have immediately put the kibosh on any attempt on my part to play this M-rated game with a scantily-clad, blood-spattered, Harley Quinn-looking lady on the cover. No, like most of its fans, I came to Bloodlines years later, drawn by that strong hearsay. A lot of its design choices frustrated me my first time around, and I put off finishing that first playthrough for almost half a year. Despite that, it’s a game I simply could not get out of my head, and I found myself diving in for another go.