The Chinese Room studio has released a new development diary for Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, showcasing exciting gameplay footage. This diary focuses on the mechanics of vampire hunting and maintaining the Masquerade.

In the Vampire: The Masquerade universe, vampires adhere to the Masquerade – a strict code of secrecy designed to conceal their existence from humanity. Bloodlines 2 incorporates this with a Masquerade meter, visually representing the player's actions and their impact on the secrecy of the vampire world.

The Masquerade meter is represented by an eye icon at the top of the screen, displaying three distinct levels of violation:

• Green: Minor infractions; simply hiding will suffice.
• Yellow: Multiple violations, feeding, or aggressive power use. Players must manage witnesses or avoid attracting police attention.
• Red: The Masquerade is broken, and the police are actively pursuing the player. Escape and concealment are crucial, as the Camarilla will intervene once the meter is full, as demonstrated in the provided gameplay clip.

To reduce "infamy" and mitigate the consequences of Masquerade breaches, players have several options: they can either compel witnesses to forget what they've seen, eliminate them, or, if the police are involved, simply hide until the situation cools down.

The developers emphasize that the risk of exposure will escalate throughout the game, requiring players to act swiftly and strategically to uphold the Masquerade and maintain their secret identity.