Vampire: The Masquerade – Reckoning of New York is a solid narrative-driven visual novel set in the streets of 2024 New York City. While following along with the story, beautiful backgrounds and an ambient soundtrack aid in keeping the immersion ignited.
Play through the vampire Kali’s story while she searches for her sire during a time when tension is highest between two vampire factions – traditionalist Camarilla and rebellious Anarchs. Set in a world akin to ours but just beyond in an alternate reality called the “World of Darkness.” Here, vampires live among mortals.
Kali is one of the Ravnos, or Ravens, who pride themselves in being masters of misdirection, choosing not to fight nor bleed for trivial things after being accused of breaking traditions and endangering the Masquerade – an organized conspiracy created to keep vampires masked from the general public. Kali’s role within the Ravens soon comes to the Camarilla’s attention, adding even more tension to her situation.
“Thou shall not reveal thy true nature to those not of the Blood”
Upon start-up, Players will have three points to disperse to three Discipline powers: animalism, obfuscate, and presence. Animalism allows Kali to communicate, control, and feed more efficiently on animals. Obfuscate is for stealth; hide easily and move through the shadows undetected. Presence allows Kali to influence the emotions, attraction, and fear of others. These powers aid Kali in her survival from persistent hunters.
Similarly to other visual novels, Reckoning of New York has minimal control. These include a dialogue scroll, glossary, journal, and auto/toggle options. The dialogue and story text formulates on the right side of the screen in “messenger” format. This differs from previous Vampire: The Masquerade games and was a weak feature, drawing attention away from the beautiful illustrations and world the game wants us immersed in.
In terms of design and art, the characters are all very stoic in appearance. The void of facial expressions and outfit changes, the characters introduced throughout the two storylines minimally change. Due to the game being a visual novel, this aspect felt fair, and the ambient noises and character design held most of my attention while I was reading.
Difficulty setting is based on toggling your hunger and hunter threat on and off. During interactions where your skills come into play, options will have icons, highlighting that this is a passage you can take thanks to the skill bank. If you don’t have enough, the passage is locked.
By the end of Kali’s journey, another narrative route will unlock, offering a new and distinct perspective on the tale.
Verdict
For fans and newbies to the tabletop roleplay game “Vampire: Masquerade” 5th edition, this game is a treat. The story of Reckoning of New York does not give much wiggle room for a good or bad ending, and there are no critical ‘choices matter’ situations as the story is very linear. The atmosphere, story, and UI are immersive and became the highlight throughout the experience.
However, the story remained interesting and engaging. The mystery behind it continued, felt well-paced, and was enough to press on. At times, the writing felt like it needed to be more active. Vampire: The Masquerade – Reckoning of New York, though maybe a weaker link to the otherwise impressive franchise and its siblings (Clan Novels or Bloodlines) Reckoning of New York is a stunning and entertaining experience that promises to keep you within its fold for 6-8 hours.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Reckoning of New York is available now on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam.
Reviewed on Steam. Review code provided by the publisher.
