Redemption strives to be the first video game adaptation of the Vampire the Masquerade series and while not the finest RPG or the best in the series, it provides a fun time of taking down grotesque vampires in moody settings with a unique blood management system.
A French Crusader, sworn enemy of the darkness, is turned into a vampire and …
Redemption strives to be the first video game adaptation of the Vampire the Masquerade series and while not the finest RPG or the best in the series, it provides a fun time of taking down grotesque vampires in moody settings with a unique blood management system.
A French Crusader, sworn enemy of the darkness, is turned into a vampire and learns about the myriad and complex forms of the vampire world. As he searches for his kidnapped lost love, you travel throughout the Dark Ages and into 1999 London and New York. The game does not hesitate to thrust the player in a world of benign vampires, tense factions that evolve over the centuries, and all sorts of grimy denizens. The choices are limited and revolve around retaining the main character's humanity, but as a linear story it's a very intriguing one.
The gameplay is very similar to a Diablo game, where the player can click to where the player needs to go as well as attacking enemies and casting spells at the cost of blood. Blood flows differently than health, and the player must feed on other humans or vampires in order to replenish that supply. Getting hurt or certain spells will boost a Frenzy meter as well and drive the player insane for a limited amount of time. Gameplay mostly revolves around wielding melee weapons or guns with the combination of helpful spells such as fire storms, stat increases, and immobilizing enemies.
The other big mechanic (which has a fair bit of flaws) is the player's team of vampires (their coterie) which have a variety of settings based on attacking, movement, and spell use. Unfortunately most of the settings tend to aggressively drain a lot of the coterie's blood so the player must be intimately familiar with more defensive stances and control over their AI players' spell use most of the time. Enemies can also be very nasty at points, requiring a few resurrections and careful luring of the enemy with the right spell.
The AI, however, isn't enough to stop a bloody good time, with a story of vampiric intrigue that's as engrossing as it is cool.
