Just like most Vampire the Masquerade media, the characters truly make up the majority heavy lifting. And in no exception, Julia stands out as the highlight of this game. Her brash, socially conscious nature and idealistic views, especially post-university, feel authentic. Having encountered people like Julia in the creative industry, her character resonated with me. She's not just a caricature of an angry, intelligent, and cynical individual; she’s a well-crafted protagonist with a unique voice that makes her feel real. If you can empathize with her, Julia becomes a significant positive, despite some disagreeing with her actions or finding her incomprehensible at times.
The narrative excellently showcases Julia’s personality, juxtaposed with her vampire compulsions and lingering humanity. Interacting with the intriguing side cast adds depth, making the experience rewarding. The atmospheric portrayal of her vampire clan, with all its peculiarities, complements her character perfectly. Her reactions to various events, framed by the game’s dark and brooding ambiance, are some of my favorite aspects.
The primary issue is its brevity. Just as I was fully engrossed in Julia’s world, the story ended, feeling more like a short story than a substantial visual novel similar to the first game. The potential for even more deeper exploration of modern New York and its vampiric politics is evident but underutilized with primarily its conclusion giving me a fulfilling dose of that seedy politics. Additionally, the side characters, many of whom are brought over from the first game, feel underdeveloped. The game assumes familiarity with these characters, leading to a sense of missed opportunity for new players or those needing a refresher. More fleshed-out side stories would have enriched the narrative significantly.
Julia’s character and the game’s atmospheric storytelling are commendable, but the experience is marred by its short length and underdeveloped side plots. It’s a good, short game to be a stepping stone into the World of Darkness that leaves you wishing for more—a longer main story and more comprehensive side stories with characters not so heavily tied to the first game.
The narrative excellently showcases Julia’s personality, juxtaposed with her vampire compulsions and lingering humanity. Interacting with the intriguing side cast adds depth, making the experience rewarding. The atmospheric portrayal of her vampire clan, with all its peculiarities, complements her character perfectly. Her reactions to various events, framed by the game’s dark and brooding ambiance, are some of my favorite aspects.
The primary issue is its brevity. Just as I was fully engrossed in Julia’s world, the story ended, feeling more like a short story than a substantial visual novel similar to the first game. The potential for even more deeper exploration of modern New York and its vampiric politics is evident but underutilized with primarily its conclusion giving me a fulfilling dose of that seedy politics. Additionally, the side characters, many of whom are brought over from the first game, feel underdeveloped. The game assumes familiarity with these characters, leading to a sense of missed opportunity for new players or those needing a refresher. More fleshed-out side stories would have enriched the narrative significantly.
Julia’s character and the game’s atmospheric storytelling are commendable, but the experience is marred by its short length and underdeveloped side plots. It’s a good, short game to be a stepping stone into the World of Darkness that leaves you wishing for more—a longer main story and more comprehensive side stories with characters not so heavily tied to the first game.
Um Spinoff de Coteries. História menos envolvente apesar de melhor escrita. Finais que refletem as escolhas do jogador e uma exploração melhor dos elementos mais lúcidos do cenário.
just found out I love urban fantasy (shocker)
I won this game through SteamGifts.
I was quite intrigued to start on this game after I had tackled Coteries of New York and was pleasantly surprised by the story and seeing familiar faces from the first game. However I was quite disappointed by the lack of .. side story and extra things to do that were in the previous game.
This one was short, to the point, no deviating paths to take, 2 routes to do, good and bad. I would say that was a good thing, but compared to the first game, it left me with a sour taste in my mouth.
alas it was a fun journey, and I do recommend this game, if you get it on sale.
I was quite intrigued to start on this game after I had tackled Coteries of New York and was pleasantly surprised by the story and seeing familiar faces from the first game. However I was quite disappointed by the lack of .. side story and extra things to do that were in the previous game.
This one was short, to the point, no deviating paths to take, 2 routes to do, good and bad. I would say that was a good thing, but compared to the first game, it left me with a sour taste in my mouth.
alas it was a fun journey, and I do recommend this game, if you get it on sale.
If winning has such a high cost, does it count as a winning at all? There are not winners here, one way or another.
Zur Story: Da wollte wohl jemand einen auf Agatha Christie machen, ist aber kläglich gescheitert.
Obwohl es zwischenzeitlich ganz interessant geschrieben ist, haftet diesem Visual Novel leider der bittere Nachgeschmack eines billigen Cashgrab an. Denn so ziemlich die Hälfte der Grafiken wird einfach aus dem Vorgänger wiederverwertet, so trifft man auch "ganz zufällig" viele der bekannten Personen wieder.
Auch ist das Spiel viel zu linear aufgebaut und geht bestenfalls als ein Choose-Your-Own-Adventure-Buch durch.
Obwohl es zwischenzeitlich ganz interessant geschrieben ist, haftet diesem Visual Novel leider der bittere Nachgeschmack eines billigen Cashgrab an. Denn so ziemlich die Hälfte der Grafiken wird einfach aus dem Vorgänger wiederverwertet, so trifft man auch "ganz zufällig" viele der bekannten Personen wieder.
Auch ist das Spiel viel zu linear aufgebaut und geht bestenfalls als ein Choose-Your-Own-Adventure-Buch durch.
Shadows of New York though a sequel to Coteries of New York feels more like a correction. A second attempt learning from the mistakes of the first game. Don't get me wrong, I liked the first game but it fumbled the ending leaving a bittersweet feeling after finishing it as it could have been so much more.
Vampire: the Masquerade - Shadows of New York starts a fresh with a new character Julia. She's a freshly turned vampire and former journalist. Intelligent, angry and as a predefined character far more interesting than the multiple character choices in it's predecessor. The story is based around a murder and Julia has been placed in a bit of a no win situation to solve it from a position of weakness. While the main plot of the story feels a little bit like a patch to course correct from Coterie it's getting to know Julia and interact with some of the extremely interesting cast introduced in Coteries of New York that made this such a rewarding experience.
The game's biggest flaw is simply that I want more. The gorgeous artwork, the dark brooding atmosphere, the interesting characters, the writing of the world, the menacing soundtrack all come together so well that I was disappointed when it was all over. More choices, more interaction with some characters and a deeper look into ideas and themes that are thrown in would have really made it shine. As it is the game is extremely linear and fairly short with a couple of endings (Though they are both at least better than the first games disappointment.) but despite that I really enjoyed my time with it just soaking in the vibe the game created I haven't felt in a vampire related game for a long time.
Recommended.
+ Julia is a great character.
+ The cast is generally great actually.
+ Gorgeous Art design.
+ Fantastic music.
- Too short, I needed more.
Vampire: the Masquerade - Shadows of New York starts a fresh with a new character Julia. She's a freshly turned vampire and former journalist. Intelligent, angry and as a predefined character far more interesting than the multiple character choices in it's predecessor. The story is based around a murder and Julia has been placed in a bit of a no win situation to solve it from a position of weakness. While the main plot of the story feels a little bit like a patch to course correct from Coterie it's getting to know Julia and interact with some of the extremely interesting cast introduced in Coteries of New York that made this such a rewarding experience.
The game's biggest flaw is simply that I want more. The gorgeous artwork, the dark brooding atmosphere, the interesting characters, the writing of the world, the menacing soundtrack all come together so well that I was disappointed when it was all over. More choices, more interaction with some characters and a deeper look into ideas and themes that are thrown in would have really made it shine. As it is the game is extremely linear and fairly short with a couple of endings (Though they are both at least better than the first games disappointment.) but despite that I really enjoyed my time with it just soaking in the vibe the game created I haven't felt in a vampire related game for a long time.
Recommended.
+ Julia is a great character.
+ The cast is generally great actually.
+ Gorgeous Art design.
+ Fantastic music.
- Too short, I needed more.
Narrative Vampire The Masquerade CYOA game #2, and this time it's all coming together! Similar to Coteries of New York you play as a young vampire making their way through their Early Nights and trying not to get tooooo caught up in the Camarilla bullshit that's going on. This time however there's only one character rather than a choice of clans, Julia the LaSombra vamp. The intro is a whole prologue of who she is before being turned - a damn good investigative journalist who is slowly having her whole life go completely to shit. Then she's attacked by a vampire and well... turns out everything tearing her apart was a hazing ritual to see if she was worth joining the clan. Then, the real game starts! A total shithead from the first game is murdered and we do get a proper sequel~ish to Coteries which is great since that story was particularly unsatisfying! Julia is also very much her own character and she is all the witty and snarky you would expect, and you have to manuever her successfully through this investigation while she's trying to decide just how much of her actual humanity to hold onto...
A vastly improved main story however means that the very intriguing side characters and plots from the first game are mostly dropped - the focus is on Julia and the cast already around her, no forging allies here. People like you or hate you already. One of the main people in her life is her former human girlfriend, whom she is still with. There's a pretty interesting look here at a vampire/human relationship and how that is kind of inherently fucked and I appreciate that its not all sunshine and roses for them, even if the 'bad ending' is about them trying to make it work. And speaking of the ending - I really love the fact that the "bad" end is the one where Julia tries to be decent to others and look out for her own mental wellbeing, whereas the "good" ending is the proper Vampire ending of "everything is fucked but at least I'm having a great time right now!"
While Shadows of New York isn't an amazing, ground breaking experience, it is a damn good whodunnit along with a compelling main character and side plots. And I'm here for more of it!
A vastly improved main story however means that the very intriguing side characters and plots from the first game are mostly dropped - the focus is on Julia and the cast already around her, no forging allies here. People like you or hate you already. One of the main people in her life is her former human girlfriend, whom she is still with. There's a pretty interesting look here at a vampire/human relationship and how that is kind of inherently fucked and I appreciate that its not all sunshine and roses for them, even if the 'bad ending' is about them trying to make it work. And speaking of the ending - I really love the fact that the "bad" end is the one where Julia tries to be decent to others and look out for her own mental wellbeing, whereas the "good" ending is the proper Vampire ending of "everything is fucked but at least I'm having a great time right now!"
While Shadows of New York isn't an amazing, ground breaking experience, it is a damn good whodunnit along with a compelling main character and side plots. And I'm here for more of it!
Much like Coteries of New York, this visual novel offers excellent writing that pulls you in, supported by great dark ambient tracks and a fantastic visual style. I really wish there was real gameplay elements, kinda like a Fighting Fantasy book. This should really be the next step for the developers - increase the player agency in how the story plays out. They've already nailed the atmosphere and presentation, now make it an actual video game !
Uma sequência direta que cobre muito bem alguns dos principais defeitos de seu antecessor, mas que infelizmente insiste em repetir alguns deles.
Shadows of New York se passa logo após os acontecimentos de Coteries of New York, e se tratando de uma continuação direta da história que foi construída anteriormente, apresenta um seguimento narrativo muito satisfatório.
Estar no controle de uma protagonista muito mais interessante ajuda bastante nesse quesito.
"𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘤𝘩, 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦'𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐'𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦".
Julia Sowinski, uma vampira recém-transformada cuja vida como jornalista investigativa freelancer repleta de dificuldades acabara de ficar para trás.
Inicialmente, vivendo o oposto do que uma glamourosa vida de vampiro parecia ser, nos vemos trabalhando como uma oficial de migração, controlando e supervisionando o fluxo de vampiros dentro e fora de Nova Iorque.
Monótono, assim como parece. Até que a experiência de Julia como jornalista acaba lhe dando a oportunidade de liderar uma investigação de assassinato, cuja resolução definiria seu futuro na sociedade vampírica.
De início, parece ser uma premissa interessante. O problema é: Tudo é imensamente menos emocionante do que a premissa indica.
Há de fato uma investigação, mas em nenhum momento me senti parte dela.
Apesar dos visuais extremamente lindos, Shadows of New York falha em fazer com que o jogador se sinta parte da obra, como se suas escolhas fossem completamente insignificantes pra investigação e não causassem nenhum impacto.
Fico com a sensação de que houve um certo potencial desperdiçado, mas devo dizer que houve uma evolução.
Tanto os diálogos quanto os pensamentos próprios de Julia são muito bem escritos e repletos de uma personalidade forte e complexa que a personagem carrega consigo.
Apesar de não ser a experiência definitiva de Vampire: The Masquerade, suas 5 horas de leituras e mais leituras valeram a pena.
Shadows of New York se passa logo após os acontecimentos de Coteries of New York, e se tratando de uma continuação direta da história que foi construída anteriormente, apresenta um seguimento narrativo muito satisfatório.
Estar no controle de uma protagonista muito mais interessante ajuda bastante nesse quesito.
"𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘤𝘩, 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦'𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐'𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦".
Julia Sowinski, uma vampira recém-transformada cuja vida como jornalista investigativa freelancer repleta de dificuldades acabara de ficar para trás.
Inicialmente, vivendo o oposto do que uma glamourosa vida de vampiro parecia ser, nos vemos trabalhando como uma oficial de migração, controlando e supervisionando o fluxo de vampiros dentro e fora de Nova Iorque.
Monótono, assim como parece. Até que a experiência de Julia como jornalista acaba lhe dando a oportunidade de liderar uma investigação de assassinato, cuja resolução definiria seu futuro na sociedade vampírica.
De início, parece ser uma premissa interessante. O problema é: Tudo é imensamente menos emocionante do que a premissa indica.
Há de fato uma investigação, mas em nenhum momento me senti parte dela.
Apesar dos visuais extremamente lindos, Shadows of New York falha em fazer com que o jogador se sinta parte da obra, como se suas escolhas fossem completamente insignificantes pra investigação e não causassem nenhum impacto.
Fico com a sensação de que houve um certo potencial desperdiçado, mas devo dizer que houve uma evolução.
Tanto os diálogos quanto os pensamentos próprios de Julia são muito bem escritos e repletos de uma personalidade forte e complexa que a personagem carrega consigo.
Apesar de não ser a experiência definitiva de Vampire: The Masquerade, suas 5 horas de leituras e mais leituras valeram a pena.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Shadows of New York é a sequencia direta do prologo que foi o coteries of new york
no jogo você é Julia uma jornalista freelancer que é ferrada por todos os lados após ter seu furo de noticia abafado e sendo prejudicada por pessoas maiores que ela
ferrada sem grana,amigo,emprego e com metade dos informantes querendo mata-la uma la sombra começa a ver potencial nela nao sei de onde dá o seu beijo a ela
não jogo os by night e nem o rpg de mesa mas o clã todo dela sai pro oriente medio e ela fica como a representante do clã em nova iorque a partir dai ela é selecionada pra investigar o assassinato do barão dos anarquistas(anarchs) e descobre toda rede de conspirações da corte de nova iorque
o jogo é bem mais ou menos
boa parte do jogo tu nem sente que ta jogando e sim vendo a historia acontecer com a julia jogada meio e é bem isso que rola no contexto geral
julia em si é bem chata e o arco pessoal dela é bem ruinzinho comparado ao primeiro
ja que o dilema moral dela é continuar sendo passiva ou ser mais proativa na vida
a arte é boa,musica são legais e os personagens continuam bons ja que muitos do primeiro aparecem no segundo fechando alguns ciclos
os pecados do primeiro foram corrigidos aqui onde tem escolhas que constroem o novo carater da julia
mas nao espere muito disso
recomendo
mas se for jogar não faça como eu
jogue primeiro o shadow e depois jogue o coterie
assim voce pode aproveitar mais o enredo do shadows e depois descobrir no prologo o que levou a isso
no jogo você é Julia uma jornalista freelancer que é ferrada por todos os lados após ter seu furo de noticia abafado e sendo prejudicada por pessoas maiores que ela
ferrada sem grana,amigo,emprego e com metade dos informantes querendo mata-la uma la sombra começa a ver potencial nela nao sei de onde dá o seu beijo a ela
não jogo os by night e nem o rpg de mesa mas o clã todo dela sai pro oriente medio e ela fica como a representante do clã em nova iorque a partir dai ela é selecionada pra investigar o assassinato do barão dos anarquistas(anarchs) e descobre toda rede de conspirações da corte de nova iorque
o jogo é bem mais ou menos
boa parte do jogo tu nem sente que ta jogando e sim vendo a historia acontecer com a julia jogada meio e é bem isso que rola no contexto geral
julia em si é bem chata e o arco pessoal dela é bem ruinzinho comparado ao primeiro
ja que o dilema moral dela é continuar sendo passiva ou ser mais proativa na vida
a arte é boa,musica são legais e os personagens continuam bons ja que muitos do primeiro aparecem no segundo fechando alguns ciclos
os pecados do primeiro foram corrigidos aqui onde tem escolhas que constroem o novo carater da julia
mas nao espere muito disso
recomendo
mas se for jogar não faça como eu
jogue primeiro o shadow e depois jogue o coterie
assim voce pode aproveitar mais o enredo do shadows e depois descobrir no prologo o que levou a isso
Uma excelente história no mundo de vampiro, vemos personagens que vemos em Coteries e vejo a história desse segundo jogo sendo bem mais desenvolvida e bem mais interessante, a história conseguiu me deixar mais impactado com o final do que o anterior.
I vant to suck your bloooood.
Great improvement on the Cotories. It ties side characters archs, solves lot of problems that first game created in terms of story. It also abandons some mechanics of first game such as hunger, clans and continuing side stories. Story itself written in a very good way. Pop culture and covid references gives it a sense of sincere mood. I like new characters and what they did with old characters. Endings were also satisfying and dependent of your choices. It also has a thematic consistency.
I still have problems with it. It still feels too railroady, lack of choices in some places really annoyed me. Main character has a personality that you can't change which is an issue to me. I like first games approach to main character but this one feels like you're just witnessing the story much more.
I still prefer it to original game since it is at least written in a good way and is consistent. Your choices at least matter at the end.
I still have problems with it. It still feels too railroady, lack of choices in some places really annoyed me. Main character has a personality that you can't change which is an issue to me. I like first games approach to main character but this one feels like you're just witnessing the story much more.
I still prefer it to original game since it is at least written in a good way and is consistent. Your choices at least matter at the end.
Me da rabia que una historia interesante, narrada con pulso, se dé de bruces con un juego que hace caso omiso total de ideas como las decisiones y los traits. O unas secundarias que son más secundarias aún que en el primer juego, incluso aunque sólo sirvan para aportar algo de fondo a la historia de Julia.
I liked it, took a while to get through though
Overall much better than Coteries of New York, the writing is much more consistent, the ambience and art are still great and having a set protagonist really helps with the story.
I have some problems with how the reveals are handled at the end but nothing as bad as Coteries's ending.
I have some problems with how the reveals are handled at the end but nothing as bad as Coteries's ending.