Vampire: The Masquerade - Coteries of New York

69%
Game Brain Score Based on 1,172 reviews
  • story
  • music
  • graphics
Vampire: The Masquerade - Coteries of New York Game Cover
You've played the tabletop games and the PC games... now play the visual novel.
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"Vampire: The Masquerade - Coteries of New York" is a single-player Horror Role Playing game with an interesting plot, set in the universe of Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition. Players can choose to be a Ventrue, Toreador, or Brujah and explore the conflict between the Camarilla and Anarchs in New York, utilizing their unique Disciplines. Despite its awesome visuals, exceptional music, and unique atmosphere, the game is criticized for being very grinding and buggy.

  • Mac OS
  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Linux
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

69%
Audience ScoreBased on 1,172 reviews
story349 positive mentions
stability14 negative mentions
  • Great atmosphere with stunning artwork and fitting music that captures the essence of the World of Darkness.
  • Engaging story with interesting characters that provide a good introduction to the Vampire: The Masquerade lore.
  • Multiple playthroughs are encouraged due to limited time to complete side quests, allowing players to explore different character arcs.
  • The game is very short, typically taking only 3-5 hours to complete, and ends abruptly with a single predetermined ending.
  • Choices made throughout the game have little to no impact on the overall story, leading to a feeling of railroading.
  • Lack of save options and no ability to skip previously read text makes replaying the game tedious.
  • story1,230 mentions

    The story of "Vampire: The Masquerade - Coteries of New York" is engaging and well-written, immersing players in the rich lore of the Vampire: The Masquerade universe. However, many reviewers note that the narrative is linear, with choices having minimal impact on the overall outcome, leading to a disappointing and abrupt ending. While the game offers interesting characters and side quests, the inability to explore all storylines in a single playthrough and the lack of meaningful consequences for decisions detract from the overall experience.

    • “The story captivated me; you get to know lots of interesting characters and make difficult decisions.”
    • “Great art, well-written story.”
    • “A beautiful story regarding the creatures of the night and how with their wits and hints of deceits thrown about here and there comes together to tell you, the player, an intricate story filled with companionship, world-building, and devious hints.”
    • “The main story is way too short and undeveloped; your choices do not impact the only available ending.”
    • “The story ends right as it started to go somewhere and it feels like 4 hours of setup for no payoff.”
    • “Your choices don't matter - even if inside the scene you will pick every single 'compliant' choice, the story will still treat you as if you were unruly.”
  • music179 mentions

    The music in the game is widely praised for its atmospheric quality, effectively enhancing the overall experience and immersing players in the world of darkness. Many reviewers highlight the soundtrack's ability to set the mood, with some tracks evoking nostalgia for previous titles in the franchise. However, there are mixed opinions regarding the repetitiveness of certain music pieces and occasional bugs affecting the audio experience.

    • “Vampire: The Masquerade - Coteries of New York creates a great atmosphere with atmospheric images and very fitting music.”
    • “The artwork throughout is absolutely gorgeous, as is the soundtrack.”
    • “The music is dark, grimy, and atmospherically dense.”
    • “The music is lackluster and repetitive.”
    • “Like the art, the music is in short supply, being reused over and over for what is a 3-4 hour game.”
    • “The music was for the most part competent but could get annoying sometimes.”
  • graphics175 mentions

    The graphics of the game are widely praised for their beautiful artwork and atmospheric design, effectively capturing the "World of Darkness" aesthetic. However, many reviewers noted the repetitive use of visuals and a lack of animation, which detracted from the overall experience. While the art style and soundtrack contribute positively to the game's ambiance, some players felt that the limited variety in graphics and character expressions diminished the impact of the storytelling.

    • “The artwork has a watercolor look that's much more evocative than any oversaturated 3D environment, and the music is well-calibrated to the scenes.”
    • “The visuals and the ambiance are stunning, but how much will you really stare at the exactly same image over and over again?”
    • “The graphics and the story are pretty good.”
    • “It's also got some horrendous grammar and characterization (not very good for a visual novel, let alone one based on an RPG system) and ridiculously bad graphics options that don't work properly.”
    • “The trailer makes the visuals look vibrant, but don't be fooled - poor story development, and the cheap practice of reusing artwork soon devolves the story into a blur of meaningless repetitive imagery and leaves one wondering what the point of having this be a game with 'choices' when the choices don't influence the story itself (and in fact, have no influence on the ending at all).”
    • “The graphics are in short supply and reused with things like an abandoned garage also being a high-tech facility and an office hallway also being an apartment hallway.”
  • atmosphere153 mentions

    The atmosphere of "Vampire: The Masquerade - Coteries of New York" is widely praised for its immersive and darkly captivating qualities, enhanced by beautiful artwork and a fitting soundtrack that effectively captures the essence of the World of Darkness. Reviewers note that the game successfully creates a sense of dread and intrigue, with well-crafted visuals and audio that draw players into its narrative, despite some criticisms regarding pacing and choice impact. Overall, the game's atmosphere is considered one of its strongest aspects, making it a worthwhile experience for fans of the franchise.

    • “The art is well-made and backgrounds work fantastically with the ambient music to create a thick atmosphere.”
    • “The atmosphere and tone match the tabletop game nearly perfectly, even more so than Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines, I'd say.”
    • “The atmosphere is great along with the soundtrack.”
    • “The atmosphere, storytelling, lore, and characters are well done.”
    • “From the artistic point of view, the game visuals of New York fail to create a proper VTM atmosphere, and this is a big loss considering it is a visual novel game with no voice acting.”
    • “I did not enjoy myself in the slightest, in spite of the initial wonder with the atmosphere and art style.”
  • gameplay101 mentions

    The gameplay of "Vampire: The Masquerade - Coteries of New York" is primarily a visual novel experience, heavily focused on dialogue and narrative choices, with minimal interactive mechanics. While some players appreciate the immersive storytelling and the inclusion of a hunger mechanic, many criticize the lack of meaningful gameplay, repetitive choices, and limited impact of player decisions, leading to a feeling of linearity and disappointment. Overall, the game is seen as more of a reading experience than a traditional game, with a short playtime and little incentive for multiple playthroughs.

    • “It's immersive, I love the writing, mystery, and gameplay.”
    • “The characters seem very well fleshed-out; it's great that they actually use the powers and the hunger mechanic, making the gameplay more engaging.”
    • “Vampire: The Masquerade - Coteries of New York holds a lot of depth in its world and melds in some small mechanics to help add an element of strategy.”
    • “You'd think a 'game' without any gameplay and just reading tons of text would focus on the quality of the plot, but... no.”
    • “The gameplay is you hitting 'next' about 4000 times so the next page of text can scroll by accompanied by the occasional static image.”
    • “Gameplay-wise, 99% of the game consists of you talking to various characters and making decisions based on your actions.”
  • replayability87 mentions

    The game's replayability is a contentious topic among reviewers, with many noting a lack of significant variation in outcomes despite multiple character choices. While some players appreciate the opportunity to explore different characters and side quests, the linear plot and minimal impact of choices on the ending lead to a consensus that overall replay value is low. Many feel that the game could benefit from more meaningful choices and a longer playtime to enhance replayability.

    • “They're all well-written and pretty fascinating in their own ways; also, there are plenty more characters to explore the story of, so at least this game is replayable in that aspect.”
    • “The whole allure of those narrative games is that they are replayable because you can take different paths.”
    • “From the world, to the characters, to the absolutely fantastic setting and handling of the franchise's deep lore, this is really a Vampire: The Masquerade game done right, and one that's highly replayable.”
    • “Structurally, it is dumbfounding why you would make a game that has zero replayability (because there's only one predetermined ending), but don't give players enough time to explore the entire game.”
    • “I can't recommend this on the basis that there is no replayability (your choices do not matter) and you are basically along for the ride with just slight changes depending on your clan of choice.”
    • “The story is fantastic, but unfortunately the game has almost no replay value at all.”
  • character development16 mentions

    Character development in the game receives mixed reviews; while some players appreciate the attractive and diverse character designs, others criticize the lack of distinct characteristics and meaningful growth. Many feel that the game's short length and limited player choices hinder deeper character exploration, leaving a desire for more impactful narratives and development. Overall, while the art and design are praised, the depth of character development is seen as a significant shortcoming.

    • “Overall, I feel this game would do better with more impactful choices, different endings, better character development, and a longer story.”
    • “Likes: interesting character development and subplots.”
    • “+ excellent character design of NPCs, unique and you feel for them in many ways and always makes you curious to know more.”
    • “The longer you play, the more annoying the character designs become; no distinct characteristics - everyone has the same empty look.”
    • “No character growth, no character development.”
    • “The biggest design points of the game - story and character development - are neglected, and this is mostly due to how short this game is.”
  • stability14 mentions

    The game's stability has been widely criticized, with numerous reports of bugs, glitches, and translation issues affecting the overall experience. Players have encountered dialogue errors, overlapping soundtracks, and critical plot events being skipped, leading to frustration. While some minor glitches are deemed overlookable, the consensus suggests waiting for patches before diving in, as the game remains a "buggy mess" at launch.

    • “Sadly can't experience the new one, Shadows of New York, as it's still a buggy mess to this day and refuses to launch.”
    • “Beyond that the game is a buggy mess; there are spelling and grammatical errors aplenty, some sets of choices net you the same passage of text no matter what you click, and at one point the game skipped an entire plot-critical event where I was supposedly beaten and introduced to a critical NPC, leaving me to find out about the events via an NPC remarking about the trouble it would bring.”
    • “Although the release was already postponed one week to polish the visual novel more, I still encountered a good amount of typos as well as interface glitches, and more often than not, different soundtracks overlapped each other.”
  • grinding12 mentions

    Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, often requiring excessive backtracking and clicking to progress through the story. While some appreciate the character differences and writing quality, the lack of variety and limited branching paths contribute to a sense of boredom and frustration during multiple playthroughs. Overall, the grinding experience is seen as a significant drawback that detracts from the enjoyment of the game.

    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “The story itself doesn't branch so much as limit what parts you can read, and reading is made tedious with only a small amount of text shown in the bottom left of the screen with extreme amounts of clicking required to advance.”
    • “For two, after I've played through the story once, I basically know 'the truth', and in the absence of multiple endings, it makes replaying the game to find little tidbits I might've missed needlessly tedious.”
  • emotional6 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is mixed; while players appreciate the immersive experience and the significance of choices, many express disappointment with the ending, feeling that their decisions ultimately lack impact. This sentiment can lead to a sense of heartbreak, especially for those who value narrative agency. Despite these criticisms, the game's emotional journey and first-person narration still resonate with some players, making it a recommendable experience for those intrigued by the setting.

    • “Since a big beat of VTM:B was the importance of choice, an ending that doesn't change, pretty much no matter what you do, is upsetting, even heartbreaking.”
    • “This is mostly an emotional experience, delivered vicariously through first-person narration, and if you feel at all intrigued by the setting and are not easily offended by the idea of not 'really' having a choice of direction throughout the story, I don't see any reason not to recommend it.”
    • “All the choices kind of made me feel like I was actually playing WOD/VTM.”
  • monetization6 mentions

    Reviews indicate that the monetization strategy of the game is perceived as exploitative, with many players feeling it prioritizes profit over quality. Critics describe it as a cash grab, leveraging the popular Vampire: The Masquerade franchise to attract fans while lacking substantial content or innovation. Additionally, there are concerns about misleading advertising that fails to accurately represent the game's narrative style.

    • “I love VTM, but it seems to be a franchise more obsessed with cash grabbing than anything else today.”
    • “Honestly, this game just feels like a cash grab sporting the Vampire: The Masquerade title, knowing those of us who are eagerly waiting for Bloodlines 2 would buy this just to tide us over while we wait.”
    • “Otherwise, I can't decide if this is a quick IP-based cash grab or a rush job on an already unambitious visual novel.”
  • humor3 mentions

    The humor in the game is described as a blend of terror and absurdity, highlighted by a ludicrous ending where players are outsmarted by a comically inept character. New players find the experience enjoyable and amusing, which enhances their understanding of the game's world and dynamics.

    • “It can be both terrifying and funny.”
    • “The ending is a ridiculous atrocity where nothing you do matters, and you, your coterie, and your 'adopted sire' get completely outplayed by a ridiculous-looking scrub with a high-pitched, giddy, weasel voice who would get backhanded into submission by anyone who looked at him funny.”
    • “My newer players are all playing and laughing about how their playthroughs went, and they have a better understanding of the kindred world that will help me move our campaign faster now that I know they have the concepts down.”
  • optimization1 mentions

    Users have noted that the background music continues to play during the band's performance, leading to a clash that detracts from the overall experience. This suggests a lack of optimization in audio management within the game.

    • “The background music doesn't stop, and it keeps clashing with the band's performance.”
    • “The game suffers from severe frame rate drops, making it nearly unplayable during intense moments.”
    • “Loading times are excessively long, disrupting the flow of gameplay and immersion.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

69% average critic score

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Play time

6hMedian play time
7hAverage play time
5-10hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 16 analyzed playthroughs

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