Vampire: The Masquerade – Redemption is a 2000 role-playing video game developed by Nihilistic Software and published by Activision. The game is based on White Wolf Publishing's tabletop role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade, a part of the larger World of Darkness series. It follows Christof Romuald, a 12th-century French crusader who is killed and revived as a vampire. The game depicts Christof's centuries-long journey from the Golden Ages of 12th century Prague and Vienna to late-20th century London and New York City in search of his humanity and his kidnapped love, the nun Anezka.
Redemption is presented in the first- and third-person perspectives. The player controls Christof and up to three allies through a linear structure, providing the player with missions to progress through a set narrative. Certain actions committed by Christof throughout the game can raise or lower his humanity, affecting which of the game's three endings the player receives. As a vampire, Christof is imbued with a variety of abilities and powers that can be used to combat or avoid enemies and obstacles. Use of these abilities drains Christof's supply of blood which can be replenished by drinking from enemies or innocents. It includes multiplayer gameplay called "Storyteller", which allows one player to create a narrative for a group of players with the ability to modify the game dynamically in reaction to the players' actions.
Founded in March 1998, Nihilistic's twelve-man team began development of Redemption the following month as their first game. It took the team two years to complete on a budget of . The team relied on eight outside contractors to provide elements that the team could not supply, such as music and artwork. The game's development was difficult: late changes to software forced the developers to abandon completed code and assets; a focus on high-quality graphics and sound meant that the game ran poorly on some computer systems; and the original scope of the game exceeded the game's schedule and budget, forcing the team to cancel planned features.
Redemption was released for Microsoft Windows in June 2000, with a Mac OS version following in November 2001. The game received a mixed critical response; reviewers praised its graphics and its multiplayer functionality but were polarized by the quality of the story and combat. It received the 1999 Game Critics Awards for Best Role-Playing game. It was successful enough to merit the production of the indirect sequel Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines (2004), which takes place in the same fictional universe.
Gameplay
Vampire: The Masquerade – Redemption is a role-playing video game (RPG) presented primarily from the third-person perspective; the playable character is shown on the screen while an optional first-person mode used to view the character's immediate environment is available. The camera can be freely rotated around the character and positioned above it to give a greater overview of the immediate area. The game follows a linear, mission-based structure. Interaction is achieved by using a mouse to click on an enemy or environmental object to attack it or to activate it. Interaction is context based; clicking on an enemy initiates combat, while clicking on a door causes it to open or close.
The playable character can lead a group of three additional allies into battle, controlling their actions to attack a single enemy or to use specific powers. Characters can be set to one of three modes: defensive, neutral, or offensive. In defensive mode, the character remains distant from battles, while offensive mode sends the character directly into battle. The main character and active allies are represented by portraits on screen that reflect their current physical or emotional state, showing sadness, anger, feeding, or the presence of injuries or staking—having been stabbed through the heart and rendered immobile.
The player can access various long-range and melee weapons including swords, shields, bows, and guns, stakes, and holy water. Some weapons have a secondary, more powerful attack; for example a sword can be spun to decapitate a foe. Because they are vampires, allies and enemies are susceptible to damage from sunlight. Disciplines (vampiric powers) are used to supplement physical attacks. Each discipline can be upgraded, becoming a more powerful version of itself; alternatively, other in-game benefits can be gained. The game features disciplines that allow the player to enhance the character's physical abilities such as speed, strength, or durability. Disciplines can also allow the player to mesmerize an enemy or a potential feeding victim, render the character invisible to escape detection, turn the character into mist, summon serpents to attack enemies, heal, revive their allies, and teleport to a haven. Each discipline can be upgraded up to five times, affecting the abilities' durations, the scale of the damage or their effect, and the cost of using it. The characters' health and disciplines are reliant on blood, which can only be replenished by feeding on the living—including other party members—or finding blood containers such as bottles and plasma bags. Drinking an innocent to death and other negative actions reduces the player's humanity, increasing the likelihood of entering a frenzy when injured or low on blood, during which they indiscriminately attack friend and foe.
Completing objectives and defeating enemies is rewarded with experience points, which are used to unlock or upgrade existing disciplines and improve each characters' statistics, such as strength or agility. Weapons, armor, and other accessories can be purchased or upgraded using money or valuable items, which are collected throughout the game. The character's inventory is grid-based; objects occupy an allotted amount of space, requiring the management of the storage space available. A belt allows some items to be selected for immediate use during gameplay, such as healing items, without the need to access them in the main inventory. The first version of the game allows progress to be saved only in the main character's haven or safehouse; it automatically saves other data at specific points. An update to the game enabled players to save their in-game data at any point in the in-game narrative.
Redemption features an online multiplayer component which allows players to engage in scenarios together. One player assumes the role of the Storyteller, guiding other players through a scenario using the Storyteller interface. The interface allows the Storyteller to create or modify scenarios by placing items, monsters, and characters across the map. Character statistics, such as experience points, abilities, and disciplines, can also be modified. Finally, the Storyteller can assume the role of any character at any given time. These functions allow the Storyteller to dynamically manipulate the play environment while the other players traverse it.
Synopsis
Setting
The events depicted in Vampire: The Masquerade – Redemption occur in two time periods: 12th century Prague and Vienna, and late-20th century London and New York City. The game is set in the World of Darkness; it depicts a world in which vampires, werewolves, demons, and other creatures influence human history. The vampires are divided into seven Clans of the Camarilla—the vampire government—each with distinctive traits and abilities. The Toreadors are the closest to humanity—they have a passion for culture; the Ventrue are noble, powerful leaders; the Brujah are idealists who excel at fighting; the Malkavians are either cursed with insanity or blessed with insight; the Gangrel are loners in synchronization with their animalistic nature; the Tremere are secretive, untrustworthy, and wield blood magic; and the monstrous Nosferatu are condemned to remain hidden in the shadows. Redemption also features the Cappadocian clan; the Society of Leopold—modern-day vampire hunters; the Assamite clan of assassin vampires; the Setite clan; the Tzimisce clan, the Giovanni clan, and the Sabbat—vampires who revel in their nature, embracing the beast within.
The main character of Redemption is French crusader Christof Romuald, a once-proud, religious church knight who is transformed into a Brujah vampire. With his religious faith destroyed, Christof is forced to reassess his understanding of good and evil as he acclimates to his new life. Christof's anchor to humanity is the nun Anezka, a human with a pure soul who loves Chrisof even after his transformation. As a member of the Brujah under Ecaterina the Wise, Christof allies with Wilhem Streicher, the Gangrel Erik, and the Cappadocian Serena during his journeys through 12th century Prague. Other characters in this era include the slaver Count Orsi, the Tremere Etrius, and the Ventrue Prince Brandl.
Christof continues his quest into the late-20th century, where he allies with the Brujah Pink, the enslaved Toreador Lily, and the Nosferatu Samuel. Other characters include the 300-year-old human leader of the Society of Leopold, Leo Allatius—who has unnaturally extended his lifespan by consuming vampire blood— and the Setite leader Lucretia. During his journey, Christof comes into conflict with Vukodlak, a powerful Tzimisce vampire intent on usurping the clans' ancestors and taking their power for himself. Trapped in a mystical sleep by those who oppose his plot, Vukodlak commands his followers to help resurrect him.
Plot In 1141, in Prague, crusader Christof Romuald is wounded in battle. He recovers in a church, where he is cared for by a nun called Anezka. The pair instantly fall in love but are restrained by their commitments to God. Christof enters a nearby silver mine to kill a monstrous Tzimisce vampire who is tormenting the city. Christof's victory is noted by the local vampires, one of whom, Ecaterina the Wise, turns him into a vampire to prevent another clan from taking him.
Initially defiant, Christof agrees to accompany Ecaterina's servant Wilhem on a mission to master his new vampiric abilities. Afterward, he meets with Anezka, but refuses to taint her with his cursed state. At Ecaterina's haven, the Brujah tell Christof about an impending war between the Tremere and Tzimisce clans that will devastate humans caught in the middle. Wilhem and Christof gain the favor of the local Jews and Cappadocians, who devote their member Serena to their cause. The Ventrue Prince Brandl tells the group that the Tremere in Vienna are turning humans into ghouls—servitors addicted to and empowered by vampire blood. The group infiltrate the Tremere chantry in Prague, and prevent the Gangrel Erik being turned into a Gargoyle, leading him to join their party. Christof learns that Anezka, seeking Christof's redemption, has visited the Tzimisce clan and the Vienna Tremere stronghold, Haus de Hexe. There, the Tremere leader Etrius completes Erik's transformation into a Gargoyle, forcing Christof to kill him. Etrius reveals that the Tzimisce abducted Anezka.
Returning to Prague, Christof learns that humans are attacking the Tzimisce in nearby Vyšehrad Castle. Christof, Wilhem, and Serena infiltrate the castle and find that the powerful, slumbering Vukodlak has enslaved Anezka as a ghoul. Anezka rejects Christof and prepares to revive Vukodlak, but the human assault collapses the castle upon them.