73% | Mostly Positive
73% of the 2773 user reviews on Steam are positive.
The game does justice to the mature themes of the World of Darkness, and takes advantage of the excellent atmosphere of the source material. It also creates new stories, which, thanks to the full creative license, will be incorporated as official lore of Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Coteries of New York aims to translate the complex and fascinating world of vampires, their nightly struggles for power and attempts to hold on to their humanity, to a format previously unexplored by the brand - an atmospheric narrative experience. Think interactive story meets choices-that-matter; dark, atmospheric, emotional narration meets Telltale-like way of creating morally challenging dilemmas, answers to which are entirely up to the players, allowing them to reach one of a variety of possible endings.
You act as a newly-fledged vampire in New York. You have to learn what it means to be one of the Kindred in a huge, vibrant, contemporary metropolis. On your way you’ll meet different NPCs – other vampires, thin-bloods, ghouls, humans... and more. You will perform tasks that will put test your humanity and take part in a complex and often brutal struggle for power between the Camarilla and the Anarchs. You’ll build your Coterie and learn your undead companions’ deepest secrets… or see them abandon you. You’ll feast on the living and will ask yourself about the very nature of humanity and will feel the constant lure of the Beast inside you. You will make choices for the character, including which storylines to pursue and how to approach the different situations presented. You will take part in a narrative experience with branching dialogue choices, memorable characters - all among iconic locales of the Big Apple. You’ll be able to use Disciplines to charm, sneak, intimidate or kill and your choices will determine your path.
Yes, exactly! Coteries of New York is set in a fully licensed universe of Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition! However, even if you know nothing about the setting, don't fret! The game is designed to meet the expectations of both Vampire: The Masquerade veterans, and new players, who never had an opportunity to delve into the World of Darkness.
You’ll be able to choose your character from three different vampires, representing three iconic Camarilla Clans (we’ll unveil them at a later date). Every character has access to a different set of Disciplines (unique supernatural skills that are characteristic to that Clan) and different narration. Your initial choice also influences your Coterie members’ approach to you, dialogue lines, possible side quests etc. Hence, it takes hours to experience every piece of content we prepared. You’ll go through the main quest, side quests and loyalty quests (aimed to build closer relations between the protagonist and members of your Coterie). BUT one playthrough is definitely not enough to see every piece of content we’ve prepared.
As for post-launch support, you can definitely expect new, standalone stories, enriching the lore, telling different bloody stories from the history of vampiric New York and adding new twists to interpersonal plots.
Coteries of New York will be available on PC (Windows, Mac OS, Linux). The game will launch on PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch in Q1 2020.
Coteries of New York will be released on December 4th, 2019!