On the heels of Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood, Bigben’s catalogue is expanding its presence in The World of Darkness with the production of a new video game based on the famous franchise Vampire: The Masquerade.

Vampire: The Masquerade is the most iconic role-playing game of its generation and sets the standard for many tabletop gamers. The first setting in the World of Darkness universe created by White Wolf Publishing in 1991, Vampire: The Masquerade transposes the vampire myth into modern societies. The player takes control of one of these immortal creatures hiding in the shadows of our cities. They struggle to control their bloodthirsty instincts by leading a life of both predator and outcast, in a world where the boundaries between reality and the supernatural are always blurred. Vampires in The World of Darkness are nothing like the solitary monsters of the ancient legends. They are superior and sophisticated creatures who live among humans behind a shield of secrecy: The Masquerade. Organised into complex secret societies, they create their own laws and are members of distinct clans with contrasting visions of their role in the world.

Thrilled with the success of The Council, Big Bad Wolf studio intends to continue specialising in narrative RPGs, a new genre that they are helping to define with their creations. With this adaptation of Vampire: The Masquerade, the team is working on its most ambitious project. The game will feature a strong story, supported by solid RPG mechanics that respect the rules of the fifth edition of Vampire: The Masquerade and the universe of The World of Darkness.

The video introduces a tormented young woman named Leysha, one of the three playable characters.

Leysha is a Malkavian, one of the founding clans of the Camarilla, and appears as a young woman about 30 years old. Beneath her pale skin and different-sized pupils hides incurable pain, a mental instability that all Malkavians suffer from after the Embrace, the bite inflicted upon a human by a vampire, a creature doomed to remain hidden in plain sight.

In the video, Leysha is playing innocently with her child, Halsey. But this benign situation turns into a waking nightmare and raises the question: is any of this real?

To hide herself, Leysha uses Obfuscate, one of the many vampiric powers that can be used in the game. As a story-driven RPG, Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong features unique gameplay mechanics. Resolve conflicts and mysteries to gain experience points and levelling up your characters, thus boosting your special powers.

In this narrative RPG adapted from the 5th edition of Vampire: The Masquerade, the player takes control of 3 vampires belonging to different clans of the Camarilla, the secret society to which most vampires belong. Weaving between their intertwined tales, the player has to confront the different points of view of his characters to unravel fact from fiction. With whispers of conspiracy, murder and power struggles, the player must protect his clan, discover the truth and above all enforce the Masquerade, the vampire law designed to conceal the existence of creatures of the night from humans.

Already teased earlier this year, Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong is coming to Epic Games Store, PS5, Xbox Series X, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch in 2021.