One of the most surprising announcements to come out of GDC 2019 was Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, which is poised for a Q1 2020 release. Today, Paradox Interactive and Hardsuit Labs discussed the game for the first time since then, highlighting the Thinbloods faction that players are initially a part of in a new Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 video.

The Thinbloods' introductory video is an animated one that shows a newly bitten vampire trying to fight the temptation to feast on blood while also hiding from the outside world. At the end, we even see a small chunk of pre-alpha gameplay for Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, though it is limited to a small square in the endcard.

Paradox explained alongside this trailer, as a I mentioned previously, that players start the game as a Thinblood; eventually, they will have to join one of five other factions. Thinbloods are typically treated as "second-class citizens" within the vampire society, though Seattle is a bit more friendly to them than other locations. In terms of gameplay, the developers revealed that there will be three Thinblood disciplines that players will be able to choose from.

They each come with two "active powers" as well as some passive abilities. The first thinbloods discipline is called Chiropteran and is the most stereotypically bat-focused. Its two active abilities are Glide, which allows players to float for a tactical movement advantage, and Bat Swarm, which not only swarms the enemy but creates a bat-shield around the player to deal damage to those who come close.

The next discipline is Mentalism, shifting the focus to telekinetic abilities. Mentalism's two active abilities are Pull, which lets players draw in inanimate objects like weapons, and Levitate, which suspends an enemy in the air. The final discipline for the Thinbloods is Nebulation. This discipline's active abilities are Mist Shroud, which surround the player with mist that muffles their footsteps and lets them navigate through tight areas, and Envelop, which sends the mist to an enemy to blind and choke them.

All of these disciplines seem super varied even though they are all with the same Thinbloods faction, really showing the type of RPG Hardsuit Labs and Paradox are trying to create. If you want to learn more about the game, you can check out our Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 preview and interview from GDC 2019.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 is set to release for PC, PS4, and Xbox One during Q1 2020.