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Vampire The Masquerade Reckoning of New York Review (Steam)

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Vampire The Masquerade Reckoning of New York Review, is a narrative game set in the World of Darkness Universe. Play as one of the members of the Vampire Clans in a shifting political landscape between the Camarilla and the Anarchs while trying your best to survive.

Vampire The Masquerade Reckoning of New York Review Pros:

  • Beautiful graphics.
  • 716.4MB download size.
  • Steam achievements.
  • Full controller support.
  • Video settings – resolution, fullscreen, and v-sync.
  • Accessibility options – vibration, animations, and hold interactions.
  • Text settings – language, font size slider, and auto advance speed slider.
  • Two playable characters – Kali and Paddy.
  • Game difficulty is where you can turn hunger (risk management to disciplines) and hunter threat (can get ambushed) on and off beforehand.
  • You have two initial points to put into any of the three disciplines – obfuscate, animalism, and presence.
  • Visual novel-style gameplay with a choose-your-own-adventure mechanic built in.
  • Multiple-choice questions and answers are a huge part of the gameplay.
  • Awesome art of characters, gothic-looking locations, and set pieces. It all comes together in a visually stunning way.
  • Very simple control scheme.
  • Best played with headphones.
  • Keyword mode is a button press and will give descriptions or meanings of certain words in dialogue.
  • The auto-advance button helps keep the story rolling.
  • The game is split up into chapters.
  • Chapter select to replay them.
  • Keeps the same appearance and gameplay style as the previous games.
  • Such a brilliant well well-paced story.
  • You can instantly bring up the glossary or journal.
  • Save and load when you want.
  • Location art can have subtle animations and excellent music scores.
  • It’s a game that is very hard to put down as the story grips you
  • You have main story quests along with optional detour (side) missions.
  • Location select map lets you choose where to go and will say if it’s the location of a detour or the main story objective.
  • It’s a really stylish game.
  • All new characters are memorable and add so much.
  • I like how the characters have a lot more depth to them and they have at least one part of animation that helps keep you engaged.
  • Has a lot of replayability due to the many options and choices you get.

Vampire The Masquerade Reckoning of New York Review Cons:

  • You cannot remap the controls.
  • The second character has to be unlocked by finishing the first character’s story.
  • Minimal graphics settings.
  • Has swearing and as an FYI there is no option to turn it off.
  • At times it feels like your choices don’t matter or change the outcome.
  • I did find I didn’t always like my characters.
  • The implementation of disciplines is fine but it can be annoying as it sometimes has to be used despite it messing up endings.
  • The characters are good but some of them are very cut and paste of previous characters and are borderline annoying at times.
  • I don’t like it when I can’t always do what I want with my character it feels like everything is predetermined, it’s just my choices that change what text I read.
  • Sometimes I would like to be able to learn or ask more of a character.
  • There is a few instances of text going over each other making it hard to read.
  • Annoyingly had the game locked up at random times, usually in between nights.

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Vampire The Masquerade Reckoning of New York:

Official website.

Developer: Draw Distance

Publisher: Dear Villagers

Store Links –

Steam

  • 8/10
    Graphics - 8/10
  • 7/10
    Sound - 7/10
  • 8/10
    Accessibility - 8/10
  • 7/10
    Length - 7/10
  • 7/10
    Fun Factor - 7/10
7.4/10

Summary

Vampire: The Masquerade – Reckoning of New York impresses with its beautiful graphics and a manageable download size of 716.4MB. The game supports Steam achievements and full controller functionality, enhancing the overall gaming experience. Video settings include resolution, fullscreen, and v-sync options, while accessibility features such as vibration, animations, and hold interactions cater to a wide range of players. Text settings are customizable with language options, a font size slider, and an auto-advance speed slider, ensuring readability and convenience.

Players can choose between two characters, Kali and Paddy, with game difficulty settings allowing for the adjustment of hunger and hunter threat levels. The game offers two initial points to allocate among three disciplines: obfuscate, animalism, and presence. The visual novel-style gameplay, combined with a choose-your-own-adventure mechanic, makes for an engaging experience. Multiple-choice questions and answers are integral to the gameplay, and the art of characters, gothic locations, and set pieces create a visually stunning environment. The simple control scheme and the recommendation to play with headphones enhance immersion.

The game features a keyword mode that provides descriptions or meanings of certain words in dialogue, and an auto-advance button to keep the story flowing. It is divided into chapters, with a chapter select option for replayability. The game maintains the appearance and gameplay style of its predecessors, delivering a well-paced and brilliant story. Players can access a glossary or journal instantly and save or load the game at any time. However, controls cannot be remapped, and the second character must be unlocked by completing the first character’s story. The graphics settings are minimal, and there is no option to turn off swearing.

Despite its strengths, the game has some drawbacks. At times, choices feel inconsequential, and the characters can be unlikeable or feel like cut-and-paste versions of previous ones. The implementation of disciplines can be frustrating, as their mandatory use can affect endings. The predetermined nature of the story limits player agency, and there are instances where text overlaps, making it hard to read. The game occasionally locks up between nights, which can be annoying.

The location art features subtle animations and excellent music scores, contributing to the game’s stylish presentation. The gripping story makes it hard to put down, with main story quests and optional side missions adding depth. The location select map indicates whether a location is for a detour or the main story objective. New characters are memorable and add depth, with animations that keep players engaged. The game offers significant replayability due to the numerous options and choices available.

In summary, Vampire: The Masquerade – Reckoning of New York is a visually stunning and immersive game with a well-paced story and engaging gameplay mechanics. While it has some flaws, such as occasional technical issues and limited player agency, its strengths in graphics, and story, mean you will finally end the trilogy story While good is definitely not the best in the series, it tries new things, and some of the hits and some of it misses but overall if you are already two games in you have to finish it.

Jim Smale

Gaming since the Atari 2600, I enjoy the weirdness in games counting Densha De Go and RC De Go as my favourite titles of all time. I prefer gaming of old where buying games from a shop was a thing, Being social in person was a thing. Join me as I attempt to adapt to this new digital age!