Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong
Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong is an upcoming role-playing video game developed by Big Bad Wolf and published by Nacon. It is scheduled for release in May 2022 for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. It is based on White Wolf Publishing's tabletop role-playing game "", and is part of the larger "World of Darkness" series. Gameplay. "Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong" is a narrative-driven, single-player role-playing video game in which the player controls three vampires with different vampiric disciplines (abilities), switching between them  over the course of the game. The player can customize the characters by choosing to upgrade their disciplines and character statistics to suit their preferred playstyle; this influences character interaction and skills used while exploring the game world, such as picking locks and hacking computer terminals. Because the player characters often are surrounded by humans, the player needs to be careful about when and where they choose to use supernatural abilities, to avoid revealing their characters' vampiric nature. Throughout the game, the characters are put in difficult situations where the player has to make moral choices, with no obviously correct  choice. Synopsis. "Swansong" is set in Boston, in the World of Darkness, where vampires exist unbeknownst to humanity. This practice of hiding from humans is called the Masquerade, and is upheld by the vampire sect the Camarilla. The new Camarilla prince of Boston, Hazel Iversen, is trying to strengthen the Camarilla's presence by bringing Boston and Hartford together. Although vampires previously had been occupied with rivalry between factions, they have changed focus to trying to survive, following events like the fall of London as a home to vampires, and so the Boston Camarilla wants to ensure that all vampires  in the Northeastern United States are safe. The story follows three vampires, each about a hundred years old, from different vampire clans with differing views on the Camarilla's rule: Galeb, an intimidating man of clan Ventrue; Emem, a "seductive Amazon" of clan Toreador; and Leysha of clan Malkavian, who depends on a blood concoction. The three investigate conspiracies in Boston following a shootout, starting with who ordered the attack and why. Development. "Swansong" is developed by Big Bad Wolf, a branch of Cyanide, and is designed by Clément Plantier. It is based on the fifth edition of the tabletop  role-playing game "", and uses the portrayal of Boston from the 1990s tabletop game books "Dark Colony" and "Giovanni Chronicles", while updating it for the present-day setting. The developers incorporated some game mechanics from the tabletop game into "Swansong", but chose to focus on designing the game around player choices and consequences. Although referencing both past tabletop game material and another video game adaptation, "", the game is still designed to be approachable for players who are not familiar with the series. In adapting the tabletop game to a video game format, the developers considered a role-playing video game  the best option, for allowing them to tell a story and for giving players freedom to role-play. The game was originally announced to be in development in May 2019, and was presented in October 2019 at PDXCON. It is planned to be published by Nacon on May 19, 2022, for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, following delays from 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic slowing down the production.