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Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong

An engaging experience to sink one’s teeth into, Swansong may have its faults, but it offers a blood-curdling plot and amazing characters that simply can’t be found anywhere else.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong Game Cover
52%Game Brain Score
story, optimization
graphics, gameplay
45% User Score Based on 19 reviews
Critic Score 67%Based on 39 reviews

Platforms

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Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong Game Cover

About

Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong is a single player role playing game with horror, mystery and thriller themes. It was developed by Big Bad Wolf and was released on April 18, 2022. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and neutral reviews from players.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong is a single-player horror RPG where you control three vampires navigating Boston’s dark underworld. Balance their human and animal sides while making critical choices that shape the fate of the characters and the Camarilla. Immerse yourself in a gripping, supernatural thriller full of ancient conspiracies and moral dilemmas.

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Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong screenshot
Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong screenshot
Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong screenshot
Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong screenshot
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45%
Audience ScoreBased on 19 reviews
story18 positive mentions
atmosphere3 negative mentions
  • Engaging storyline with well-developed characters and rich lore that appeals to fans of the Vampire: The Masquerade universe.
  • The game features a mix of exploration, puzzle-solving, and decision-making, providing a unique gameplay experience with multiple character perspectives.
  • Impressive graphics and atmospheric art style, complemented by strong voice acting and a haunting soundtrack.
  • The game suffers from numerous bugs and glitches that can disrupt gameplay and lead to frustrating experiences.
  • Gameplay mechanics are often unintuitive, with poorly executed skill trees and tedious puzzles that detract from the overall experience.
  • Graphics and animations feel outdated, and the dialogue can be bland, making it difficult for players to stay engaged.
  • story
    34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story of "Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong" is set in the rich lore of the World of Darkness universe, featuring a compelling narrative centered around a power struggle within the vampire society of the Camarilla. While many players appreciate the engaging characters and the depth of the storyline, criticisms arise regarding its execution, with some finding the plot confusing, the writing inconsistent, and the gameplay mechanics detracting from the overall experience. Despite its ambitious narrative and intriguing world, the game struggles with technical issues and design flaws that prevent it from fully realizing its potential.

    • “Set in the World of Darkness universe, Swansong is a story-driven game where you take on the role of three different vampires, each with their own unique abilities and motivations.”
    • “An engaging experience to sink one’s teeth into, Swansong may have its faults, but it offers a blood-curdling plot and amazing characters that simply can’t be found anywhere else.”
    • “Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong features an intriguing and mysterious storyline that hooks players, but its bugs and restrictive nature prevent it from biting quite as deep as fans may like.”
    • “If it were not for the story, I would have already rage quit this game.”
    • “The story is confusingly presented and told, like a book with missing chapters; inconsistent writing is further undermined by a dialogue skill system that offers little, and an over-reliance on dull lock-and-key-type puzzles.”
    • “Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong falls short of its ambitions as a story-focused detective RPG due to a dense but uninteresting plot, bland characters, and unintuitive puzzles.”
  • graphics
    14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics in Swansong receive mixed reviews, with some praising the detailed environments and moody art style that enhance the game's atmosphere. However, many critics highlight the visuals as outdated and reminiscent of earlier gaming eras, with complaints about poor animations and technical issues detracting from the overall experience. While the graphics are polished in some areas, they ultimately fail to meet the standards expected from a 2022 release.

    • “The graphics in Swansong are impressive, with detailed environments and character models.”
    • “The art style is moody and atmospheric, which adds to the overall feel of the game.”
    • “With its engaging storyline, memorable characters, and impressive graphics, this game is sure to sink its teeth into you and leave you wanting more.”
    • “But the graphics are like PS2 era, and the voice dubbing reminds me of old 70s kung fu movies.”
    • “The graphics feel a bit outdated for a game in 2022.”
    • “From the horrible, and I mean horrible, graphics and boring dialogue, this game is not good.”
  • gameplay
    13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of "Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong" is characterized by a blend of exploration, puzzle-solving, and decision-making, set within a richly crafted narrative and intriguing characters. However, players have noted that the mechanics feel outdated and can be frustrating due to bugs and unintuitive puzzles, detracting from the overall experience. While the game offers replayability through its branching plot and multiple perspectives, the execution leaves much to be desired, leading to a mixed reception.

    • “In terms of gameplay, Swansong is a mix of exploration, puzzle-solving, and decision-making.”
    • “With its gameplay mechanics that are woven into the narrative, Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong brings a fresh take on the narrative-driven games genre with its vampire detective title, even if the overall execution could have used some more polishing.”
    • “[massive amount of choices and replayability, three likable and unique main characters, fun dialogue system that makes for an interesting gameplay loop, enthralling narrative for veterans and newcomers of the series alike.]”
    • “Awesome story, awful game mechanics.”
    • “The graphics and gameplay are antiquated.”
    • “Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong is certainly a super-stylish narrative RPG, and it's one that gets off to a strong start, offering up a truly intriguing premise, before falling victim to tedious investigative gameplay, undercooked conversational aspects, and a host of bugs that make progress frustrating at points.”
  • atmosphere
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's art style is praised for its moody and atmospheric qualities, enhancing the overall experience. However, some users find the atmosphere lacking due to uninspired dialogue, making gameplay feel like a chore.

    • “The art style is moody and atmospheric, which adds to the overall feel of the game.”
    • “With bland conversation and a flat atmosphere, every task is an uphill struggle.”
    • “The game lacks any sense of immersion, making it difficult to feel connected to the world.”
    • “The environments feel lifeless and uninspired, failing to evoke any real emotion.”
  • music
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game features haunting melodies and eerie sound effects that effectively enhance immersion. However, some users find the soundtrack to be forgettable, suggesting a mixed reception overall.

    • “The soundtrack is also noteworthy, with haunting melodies and eerie sound effects that immerse you in the world of the game.”
    • “The soundtrack is forgettable and fails to leave a lasting impression.”
    • “The music is awkward and does not fit the game's atmosphere.”
    • “The sound effects are often jarring and detract from the overall experience.”
  • stability
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's stability is marred by glitches that can disrupt gameplay, particularly if players fail to trigger events in the correct order. Additionally, issues such as awkward animations and a lack of clarity in character leveling contribute to a frustrating experience, compounded by the inability to skip dialogue outside of level select.

    • “Glitches can break a chapter if you don’t trigger events in the correct order, leading to wasted effort on tasks that are practically worthless and don’t contribute much to the story or experience points.”
    • “The game suffers from awkward animations and forgettable soundtracks, and players often have to guess when leveling up characters. Additionally, you can't skip dialogue outside of level select, which can be frustrating.”
    • “There are numerous glitches that detract from the overall experience, making it difficult to enjoy the game fully.”
  • optimization
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    While "Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong" features some rough character animations and inconsistent voice performances, it ultimately delivers a satisfying detective adventure experience. However, the game's optimization could be improved, particularly in terms of puzzle engagement.

    • “Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong offers a deeply engaging detective experience, with a unique vampiric twist that enhances the overall gameplay.”
    • “The optimization of character interactions and story progression keeps players invested in the world of darkness.”
    • “Despite some rough edges, the game successfully balances its narrative and gameplay mechanics, providing a fulfilling experience for fans of the genre.”
  • replayability
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game offers strong replayability due to its engaging story, interesting characters, and diverse gameplay mechanics that enhance player agency. The intricate setting and fun vampire disciplines further contribute to the experience, making each playthrough feel unique and rewarding.

    • “Intricate setting, engaging story powered by great writing, compelling characters, role-playing game mechanics that grant players more agency, and provide excellent replay value.”
    • “Good story, interesting characters, decent replay value, and vampire disciplines are a lot of fun.”
  • grinding
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    In "Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong," players find the grinding aspect to be frustrating due to tedious investigative gameplay and unskippable elements, which detract from the otherwise engaging narrative. Additionally, bugs and graphical issues further hinder the experience, making progress feel cumbersome at times.

    • “Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong is certainly a super-stylish narrative RPG, and it's one that gets off to a strong start, offering up a truly intriguing premise, before falling victim to tedious investigative gameplay, undercooked conversational aspects, and a host of bugs that make progress frustrating at points.”
    • “Shoddy graphics and animations, some tedious, unskippable elements, numerous errors in text.”
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67%Critics’ scoreBased on 39 critic reviews
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Frequently Asked Questions

Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong is a role playing game with horror, mystery and thriller themes.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong is available on Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5 and others.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong was released on April 18, 2022.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong was developed by Big Bad Wolf.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong has received mostly positive reviews from players and mostly positive reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its graphics.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong is a single player game.

Similar games include Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong, Unavowed, The Descendant, Why Am I Dead At Sea, Vampyr and others.