Revered as it might be, the original Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines game was originally one of the jankiest titles ever released. It's quite a great game, all things considered, but the amount of patching it had to receive before it was finally playable from start to end was... unnerving. This isn't likely to happen with Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, due to simple statistics, but since the sequel, too, will be an immersive sim, we're in for something with a lot of moving parts.

Emphasizing player choice, an immersive sim video game is one that uses multiple simulated systems interacting with each other to drive its gameplay systems forward. The thing to keep in mind is that, arguably, the first Bloodlines was a very different type of game. In fact, we could even say that it skirted its immersive sim heritage: just compare it to other contemporary titles in the same genre, such as Deus Ex, System Shock 2, and Thief, and it becomes obvious that Bloodlines leaned more heavily on its RPG roots.

Of course, this does not exclude the original Bloodlines from being an immersive sim, but from what we've seen of Bloodlines 2 so far, we can safely conclude that it will have more elements of one such game, compared to its predecessor. Specifically, here we talk about the smoothness and openness of the game world, as well as how neatly the various systems interact with one another. The gameplay of Bloodlines 2 seems closer to what you'd expect out of a Dishonored or Prey game, really, and that's great.

We are hopeful that the developers' main goal (Hardsuit Labs, of Blacklight: Retribution fame) here will be to translate the idea behind Bloodlines, as the execution left much to be desired. With the game currently in development, it would be most unfair to comment on its perceived jankiness, but as long as Bloodlines 2 isn't outright broken on release, we'll be off to a better start than was the case last time around.

The problem with developing sprawling immersive sims is that they're extremely complex and difficult to nail down. While Arkane is the undisputed master of this genre, what with their experience in making Dishonored and Prey, Bloodlines 2 does seem like it may well be comparable to these titles in gameplay terms once it's out. As far as polish goes, it's just too early to tell, however.

Bloodlines 2 has definitely got some very big shoes to fill, when all is said and done. Even more so due to the fact that its predecessor has reached a sort of a mythical status ever since its release 15 years ago. Since its main draw was its story, and not its arguably sub-par gameplay mechanics, Hardsuit has an opportunity to set a new record far as this particular franchise goes.

The catch - and there must be one - is that they have to contend with one of the best stories ever written for a game, because criticism is bound to come aplenty once the game is out. Good news is that developers have already enlisted some of the writers who worked on the first game, so this might not be such a tall task after all.

Hopefully, the gameplay will follow suit!