Until recently, most of what I have been playing this year has been single-player narrative-focused experiences. Games like Shadow of Mordor and The Ascent are two notable ones that I particularly enjoyed a lot. But in my search for playing a multiplayer, I decided to play Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodhunt, a game I had played a bit while it was in closed beta on PC, to not only see how it changed as a whole but also how it made the jump to the PlayStation 5.
The immediate answer to that second question is: pretty smoothly. Playing on the PS5, the game runs smoothly with few frame drops. There are two modes: performance and quality. I always played in performance because the game still looked great for the most part even with the preference being toward framerate. I do also want to mention that the DualSense integration is also well done. Weapons feel different in play thanks to adaptive triggers and the haptic feedback brings nighttime Prague that much closer to you.
If the name doesn’t give it away, Bloodhunt is a free-to-play battle royale that is set in the Vampire: The Masquerade universe. It gives you a choice of seven different archetypes (Brute, Vandal, Saboteur, Prowler, Siren, Muse, Enforcer) across four clans (Brujah, Nosferatu, Toreador, Ventrue). Each archetype suits a different playstyle with its own abilities and powers. If you want a casual breakdown of the game’s basics from controls to traversal, watch the stream archive below.
Much like any new battle royale with a zero-dollar price tag, Bloodhunt has a battle pass. Luckily, it is all cosmetics that let you customize your sexy or scary vampire of choice. I do like the customization of the game, but it’s not something that I really returned to after finding a look that I liked. New unlocks from battle pass help encourage it but I don’t usually change my main outfit or character.
This is a point that I touch on in the video above and that is life expectancy. I mention Ubisoft’s Hyperscape, a game that Alexa and I both played extensively at launch. We stopped playing the game for a bit due to some new releases but when we returned soon after, the game was more or less empty. In the following months, Ubisoft pulled the plug on its take on the free-to-play battle royale genre. This is a fate I don’t want for Bloodhunt. I spoke to a few people while playing trios and the sentiment seems to be the same.
The game is fun and with frequent updates, something the developer seems committed to at the moment, it can be even better. A great vampire-themed niche title that lives off the small but sizeable community. At the same time, however, as we speak, new battle royales are coming out and getting ported for different systems every month. Just a few days ago, NARAKA: BLADEPOINT is coming to Xbox later this month. In this sort of busy market, Bloodhunt needs to fight to keep its stake. And as frustration grows among players about dropping player counts, the pressure is higher than ever.
If the idea of parkouring around Prague, sucking people’s blood, and fighting to the death sound like a good time, then help keep it alive by playing. You can download Bloodhunt now for free on PlayStation 5 and PC via Steam. I do want to thank the publisher for giving me the battle pass to check out.
