Vampire: The Masquerade "Narrative RPG" coming from The Council developers
From tabletop to desktop
Currently with no title of its own (beyond the series branding), publisher Bigben Interactive announced today that among their "2019 and beyond" lineup is a Vampire: The Masquerade "narrative RPG" developed by Big Bad Wolf, the folks behind the episodic historical murder-mystery The Council. Also coming is Blood Bowl 3, once again developed by Cyanide, with plans to launch a new digital iteration alongside the 2020 tabletop edition, which is updating the game's rules. Typical - you wait fifteen years for a Vampire game, and they go and announce two practically side by side.
Sadly, neither developer nor publisher have announced any specifics on this new "narrative RPG", beyond that it's based on the fifth edition of White Wolf's pen-and-paper RPG. There's also one piece of of art (seen up top) titled "In The Heart Of The City". All we really know is the pedigree of the studio. The Council is regarded as an okay game - visually impressive for a dialogue-centric adventure series, but bogged down by some clumsy scripting and RPG elements that didn't quite mesh. Still, not a bad debut, and I'm curious what they can do with an established property.
As for Blood Bowl 3, it seems safe to expect more of the same - yet one more refinement on a Games Workshop classic. While Cyanide's first digital iteration was a little rough around the edges, the second buffed out the worst of the issues. Third time's the charm? Although once again we'll likely be pared back down to the core races. For those unfamiliar with the series, it's American Football by way of Warhammer at its most high-fantasy. Teams of elves prance and dodge across the field, while Orcs just tackle their way forward - any failed dice roll ends your turn, so choosing what actions come first is vital.
Interestingly, Bigben Interactive are now publishing two World Of Darkness games. The second being Cyanide's upcoming Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood due to be shown off at E3 this year, and launch in 2020.
Details on the new Vampire: The Masquerade game are scarce, but Big Bad Wolf's official page has updated with a few factoids, and the game has its own Twitter feed here.