Paradox Interactive and The Chinese Room have together released a new developer diary for Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, showing off “The Hunters”.
The Hunters are a government agency, it seems, that aims to respond to major threats… like vampires, it seems. The official word is: “The Information and Awareness Office spearheads the U.S. government’s response to the Blankbody threat. While officially defunded, it operates on a large black budget that allows its hunters to face the undead under the guise of training missions and counter-terrorist strikes.”
Check out the new video, below:
Speaking on the official blog, Project Art Director Ben Matthews said: “First and foremost the I.A.O. needed to represent a different type of enemy to those that the player would have already encountered in the game. As opposed to the rough and ready Anarch, I.A.O. are a highly trained paramilitary force hunting a very specific type of prey.
From their hard leather padded extremities or the glaring haze of the thermal weapons, we really wanted the I.A.O. to both look and feel like an adversarial force an elder vampire would think twice about before attacking.
I.A.O. are human and thus use technology and tactics to fight their foe, so it was important that we convey the range of enemies and the threat they pose to Phyre as visually and distinctly as possible. Ranged enemies have large, hooded ponchos framing their piercing eyes from range. The more up-front melee enemies have wide dynamic stances as they swing their thermal batons at you. The weapons are military grade so overall feel harder, heavier and built for a specific purpose. The I.A.O. may not have the perks of ghouls or vampires but they’re a formidable force, using technology to their advantage.”
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is coming to PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S|X.
