#played 2025

[rokamakofo]

So I'm 6 hrs into VTMB 2...

Obligatory introduction: yes, I’ve played Bloodlines 1 many times; it’s one of my favourite games of all time.

The atmosphere in Bloodlines 2 is impeccable. Yes, you can't interact with the world, but I'm one of those players who doesn’t particularly fancy barging into everyone’s houses to have an Oblivion-style conversation. Or those who look under a horse’s tail and get disappointed that its balls don’t have jiggly physics. For me, the most important thing is the art direction and sound, both of which are superb in Bloodlines 2. The soundtrack in particular is very reminiscent of Bloodlines 1. And the city being "dead", with same-ish NPCs wandering around, is thematically fitting: I suppose this is how an Elder would view Seattle. I understand it's a cost-cutting measure, but it doesn't ruin the game for me, quite the opposite.

The story and characters are amazing so far. You have your Camarilla vs Anarch politicking, you have your little investigations with Fabien to get a breather from the Phyre sections, and of course, The Biggest Mystery: who’s the puppeteer. Yes, there are no meaningful dialogue trees, but I never expected any in a game with a fully voiced protagonist (with both male and female options). And I don't think the absence of them is necessarily a flaw. This game wants to tell a story, and so far I'm loving what I'm seeing.

The combat is okay (and an actual improvement over Bloodlines 1). Is it the best first-person action I've ever played? No, but it hasn’t grated on me so far. I liked the Benny boss battle. I like the Mega Dodge. The telekinesis + charged R1 combo is hilarious. And the abilities are quite fun too. Sitting on my little perch, watching a brute beat the absolute crap out of Anarch twinks is highly entertaining.

I'd even argue that the game isn't too bad as a successor to Bloodlines 1. Yes, the genre is different. But the vibes and the themes are similar: being a puppet in someone's hands; living in a rat's nest; wandering through the city to a moody soundtrack; having no clue what the hell is going on. Phyre has 300+ years on the Fledgling, but their situations are not dissimilar.

This paragraph is a shout-out to Fabien, who's very cool. Love you, Fabien.

All in all, I'm starting to feel genuinely bad for The Chinese Room: they've made what seems like a really good AA game with impeccable atmosphere and a good story, and were shat on by influencers and people who had unreasonably high expectations of a fully immersive old-school RPG with thousands of fully voiced branching paths. And now the game has this image of being "really bad."

And for me? Hell, if the game doesn't drop the ball, it might actually be my second GOTY after E33.

[rokamakofo]

The Seance of Blake Manor

Oh God, I need to gush about this one.

This is why I love indie games: when done right, they can be some of the most fun and unique experiences you'll ever have. And this one is done right. It's highly polished, respects your time without being condescending, and offers an engaging mystery to solve along with a roster of cool characters to save from gruesome deaths.

You play as Ward, a private detective who receives an anonymous note hiring him to investigate the mysterious disappearance of one Miss Deane. Time is running out, it says. You are a good detective it says. But most importantly for this case - you are a godly man.

When you arrive at the hotel, you discover two things: a) doing anything costs time, so you need to think carefully about what you interact with: do you really need to waste a minute looking at a random empty bottle on the counter? b) if you get thrown out of the hotel for doing something questionable, every guest and staff member in the building dies. So the stakes are pretty high.

You have two days (and the first evening) to figure out what’s going on and save everyone.

And this is where the game's high quality really elevates it. First, there's a "Mystery Tracker" that tells you all you need to know about your ongoing investigations into the guests, you have your "Records" with all the evidence, you have your "Timetable" that lets you track the guest's whereabouts once you find out their schedules. It’s neat, user-friendly, and stylish.

Once you've collected all the evidence, you can form a hypothesis - the process was evidently inspired by The Golden Idol gap fill - a very fun and unique mechanic. I'm glad to see it featured in another game.

Then you confront the character and solve their mystery, after which they either get some kind of supernatural protection or decide against going to the Seance, which saves their life.

There are 27 characters in total, each with their own timetable (which you need to uncover) and their own room (which you need to infiltrate when they aren't there).

There's also an overarching set of mysteries connected to the disappearance of Miss Deane.

The plot is great. I loved the main mystery: I think it was very well put together. You're dealing with 27 characters, yet the pacing makes it feel natural as you gradually eliminate suspects through newly uncovered evidence. By the time the game asks you to identify the main villain, it feels absolutely earned.

I also loved how heavily the game leans into Irish folklore and mythology. It wasn't a subject I was familiar with, and it turned out to be both enchanting and educational.

The game also explores a lot of themes like inequality, class, prejudice, loss without being childish or condescending.

The art style is fantastic: the cutscenes, character art, and overall art direction are superbly done.

The time limit is very generous, allowing you to carefully explore everything, participate in the social life, and still have plenty of time left. Everything runs smoothly, and if you're ever unsure what to do next, you can always consult your Mysteries window. If you run out of stuff to do, you can use the hourglass on the ground floor to wind the time forward when the character you need goes where you want them to go.

Overall, 9/10. Great game, highly recommend.

[rokamakofo]

My bi-monthly hot take is that between Invisigal and Blonde Blazer, I don't like either of them.

My other hot take - offered as a bonus - is that Dispatch is mid at its best and pure slop in the last two eps. Ppl latched onto it just because they've been missing telltale-style games more then they realised

Jeffrey Wright's voice work was superb, though. Pure comedic genius. (This is a bonus room-temperature take).

[rokamakofo]

Oh God.

Clair Obscur is so good, I'll have to start learning how to type French-looking words.

Today I learnt Esquie.

It took me a while. Ngl, it was an intimidating task, and I got lost after the "q" a couple of times. But in the end, I managed it.

Feeling proud and accomplished.

[rokamakofo]

My thoughts on Clair Obscur so far (Act 1)

Gameplay good.

I'm 12 hours in, and I still feel excited about every encounter.

One thing I've always wanted to improve about TBC is how, in some cases, it's impossible to avoid taking damage. At some point, you just have to sit through five minutes of the enemy's turn and helplessly soak it up. In Clair Obscur, though, you can parry everything into oblivion - and it actually gives you the feeling of Pride and Accomplishment ™.

In combat, you're always involved - either thinking up your strategy, learning parry/evade timing, or anticipating your reaction to enemies' attacks.

The optional bosses are truly diabolical. I almost ate my controller after beating Golgra. I haven't felt a rush like that since the second Owl fight in Sekiro.

Like I said, I'm only 12 hours in, but the game keeps throwing new enemies with fresh attack patterns at me. You also get new characters with wildly different mechanics - the cogs in my monkey brain are spinning non-stop.

2. Exploration good.

Ditching the mini-map was the right call - now my brain actually has to work instead of going on auto-pilot looting mode.

3. Soundtrack gorgeous

From chanson, to Nightwish, to melancholic instrumental pieces, to whatever genre the Mobsong belongs to - everything is just mwah.

4. Overall quality

The level of presentation and overall quality is insanely high. The visuals, voice acting, motion capture, and QoL features - everything down to the tiniest detail - is top-notch. I can't recall a single instance when I felt frustrated or cringed at something.

5. The best intro I've seen in a while.

I liked how you have to slowly piece the story together. A lesser game would've taken the traditional route of dumping pages of exposition on your head.

"Oh, hello, Sophie, you're 33, which means that you will be erased from existence by the mysterious entity called the Paintress?" "Yeah, the Gommage... I mean, when the Paintress erases people? Totally sucks, man. And the age is reduced by one each year. So you'll die next year, that's why you go an an expedition to learn more about the Paintress?" "Spot on, Sophie. Spot on."

5. They killed off my man Gustave at the end of act 1 and gave me Ben Starr instead. My whole strat was built on Gustave buffing Maelle (and parrying).

Final verdict: 0/10. Awful game. Don't buy.

6. Nvm, Andy Serkis is a dilf. 10/10. GOTY 2025.

7. I'll be back when I finish Act 2. I hope to achieve this before December.