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Vampires never get old—both literally and, when it comes to their perennial place in popular culture, figuratively. Free-to-play battle royale Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt from developer and publisher Sharkmob, is the most recent video game set in the World of Darkness universe that has spawned numerous re-imaginings since its tabletop debut in 1991. Following several months in Steam Early Access, Bloodhunt is readying for full launch this April 27.
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In Bloodhunt, you play a thirsty vampire going up against rival clans across the vertical cityscape of Prague. At the game’s delicious, blood-filled heart are complete freedom of movement, abilities and powers specific to each vampire type, and a diverse lineup of weaponry able to inflict lasting death on enemy vampires in action-packed fights. Intel Gaming Access hunted down David Sirland, producer on Bloodhunt at Sharkmob, to find out what lurks under the ageless exterior of a merciless vamp.
“We want Bloodhunt to appeal to all types of players, but we’re focusing on the broader multiplayer audience,” said David. With this duality in mind, the game has a familiar easy-to-grasp, hard-to-master depth to its gameplay, with the potential for skilled players to pick up enormous speed through Prague’s urban environment and earn rewards for the time spent honing their skills.
Intrigue and Violence
In keeping with the rich heritage of the franchise, there’s a lot more to Bloodhunt than vicious combat. “The original Vampire: The Masquerade is a game about social manipulation and intrigue—but there is always the threat of, and potential for, supernatural violence,” said David. “As long-time fans of the franchise, this was part of the appeal and inspiration for Bloodhunt.”
“We also knew there was a strong opportunity to bring this universe to a wider audience, by having a product focused on the actual combat,” David continued. Together with the World of Darkness brand team, Sharkmob created a scenario that was anchored in the lore, then set about building an experience where players can explore what happens when vampires go to war against each other.
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“The game tries to allow for many different kinds of play styles,” explained David. “Through the different archetypes, we try to represent as many variants and approaches as we can to being the last vampire standing.” In that context, an accurate aim is by no means everything in Bloodhunt—in combat situations, good positioning and spatial awareness easily rival the ability to inflict accurate damage. “Being really good at juking, and utilizing the environment of Prague and the positional skillsets of our seven different archetypes is equally important—and for new players probably something easier to get better at than pixel-perfect aim.”
Badass Bloodsuckers
Modeling a big part of the city of Prague in meticulous detail, getting the game to run well on a variety of hardware platforms, and bringing all the elements together successfully were among the biggest tests for Sharkmob in delivering Bloodhunt’s intense battles. “It quickly becomes tricky to balance AAA-quality characters, VFX, audio, and other aspects into one cohesive gameplay experience,” said David. “It’s an ongoing effort to always improve the overall experience, but never at the cost of gameplay. Tricky, but very rewarding when you pull it off!”
The team got it done by having the artists and designers work closely with the tech and programming teams, with all of them playing the game as often as possible. “It really comes down to getting as many iterations as possible of the combined efforts of all the groups to make it happen, and essentially never stopping that process,” said David.
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When it comes to playing Bloodhunt on PC, performance can obviously make a big difference to the player experience. “In a game built around action-packed engagement and a winner-takes-all battle royale, good performance can be the difference between winning or losing a fight,” said David. “A smoother experience allows you to take in more of the immediate surroundings quicker, and so react faster to any threat. Consistency of performance is also very important in how a quick reaction is repeatable time after time, which really helps everyone's game.”
The Sharkmob team has worked hard to push the game’s visuals as far as possible while always maintaining the game’s responsiveness and performance. To benefit from that, it’s going to help if players bring their hardware A-game. “To best enjoy Bloodhunt we recommend a fast CPU, like an Intel? CoreTM i9, an SSD, and a fast discrete GPU,” said David. “On top of that, we think a wired internet connection and a good, high-frequency gaming monitor really makes the game come together. And that goes for any action-packed multiplayer game.”
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Vamps Forever
Detailed plans for the future of Bloodhunt are still shrouded in secrecy, but the team already has a solid roadmap for the game’s live-service journey. “A key component of our plans is the vibrant and already very active Bloodhunt community,” said David. “Shoutout to everyone that gives us feedback, provides ideas and keeps such a positive vibe in our channels!” 
With the live service and the involvement of the player community as the game’s lifeblood, the team plans to continue evolving the gameplay and the experience. “You should always feel like there is something new to do in Bloodhunt,” said David. When darkness falls on Prague, the vampires go to war. 
<a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/760160/Vampire_The_Masquerade__Bloodhunt/">Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt on Steam</a>

Be the Last Vamp Standing in Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt