Today, The Chinese Room revealed their new protagonist for Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2. The playable character will be called Phyre, a vampire who was Embraced in the 17th century.
As The Chinese Room explained when they were first unveiled as the new developer, Phyre is an Elder Vampire forced to sleep for about a century before waking up in 2024 Seattle.
In a new video, Bloodlines 2 Narrative Director Ian Thomas revealed a major twist: Phyre, who can be customized in clan, gender, and outfit, also has a Thin-Blood (newly Embraced) vampire in her head for some reason.
Phyre isn’t at her full power. She hasn’t recovered it yet, and there are constraints that we don’t want to spoil. That means she is effectively bound, she’s in a bad situation. You may have seen that mark on her hand – that is a puzzle for her, it’s a problem for her, it’s something she’s trying to solve. The mark has done something very strange to her – she doesn’t understand it at the start
of the game, but she is hearing another voice. It is the voice of a character called Fabien, a modern Thin-Blood vampire from Seattle. He has ended up inside Phyre in a way that will be explained in the gameplay, and he is trapped inside her – she is trapped with him. The two together have to navigate their way through this world. They may hate each other, they may grow to like each other, they may carry on hating each other all the way through – but they are bound together.
The relationship between Phyre and Fabien is said to be at the very core of Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2’s narrative. Because of his background, Fabien provides a very different perspective: he’s much more human and has more experience in modern day life. Of course, players will be free to disregard his advice if they want to.
The game’s Narrative Director also stressed that players could choose to play with Phyre’s reputation when talking to non-player characters. Being an Elder vampire who’s been around for centuries, she has all kinds of legends associated with her name. TCR’s Ian Thomas likened this approach to the gunslinger who arrives in a new town in a Wild West setting, although here, the separator is time rather than distance.
Last but not least, it was confirmed that the choices made will affect the story, the characters, and the long-term future of Seattle in the endings. The Chinese Room plans to continue with clan reveals before the end of the year, while the first gameplay will be revealed in January.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is slated for a Fall 2024 launch on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S|X.
