Vampire: The Masquerade - Shadows of New York Reviews

I like the change of setting and protagonist. Julia is definitely the cool, stylist main character and knowing she’s from the Lasombra clan! I like that she is accepting and welcomed (sorta) into the Camarilla. Whereas I’m used to a lot of the games where the embraced is not authorized. So I like the new vampire that doesn’t have to worry about being destroyed just because of the sire. I like her relationship with the other kindred and her trying to figure out the mystery.

This game is great. I found Julia really relatable, and it gets the personal horror of VTM right

A very disappointing ‘sequel’ to Coteries. The writing is weak and boring. The protagonist is daft and unlikable. The embodiment of whiny, insecure angst. The tasteless attempt at repartee between characters falls horribly flat. It manages to render previously interesting characters cringeworthy. I was looking forward to an intelligent and interesting exploration of the Lasombra. Instead I got inane and tedious. All that said, the artist is talented.

A delightful little story about our favorite politically charged underworld featuring a new protagonist with an even more intensely acerbic attitude than our protagonist from Coteries of New York. As the long-form description details, this is technically a standalone, but you will probably enjoy it more if you play Coteries of New York first. This is a much smaller, more contained game than Coteries of New York. Some of the mechanics of the game have been 86'd, but that's probably for narrative reasons as much as anything (note that this game came out while the pandemic was still in full swing and we were all doing our part to try and avoid infecting each other). Unlike the first game, you do not get to choose your character (admittedly, Coteries of New Yorkk offered you a choice of three). You are Julia, a Polish immigrant to New York whose investigative journalism serves as the backdrop for her unlife. I found Julia a well-realized and despicable character. The writing in this one is even stronger than Coteries of New York, but I will also add that it does feel like the writers were exorcising some personal demons through the characters. I can respect that. Who doesn't use art for that purpose? If you're curious about these games, which are decidedly visual novels and fun ones at that, but you don't want to commit too much time to playing one; Shadows of New York is probably the shortest and simplest of the three to sink your teeth into. Might as well Embrace it. ;)

Very cool little game, basically a visual novel but a ton of fun

Of all the V:tM vampire clans, the Lasombra are my favorite. I also don't really get into visual novel games. That being said, Shadows of New York is an absolute banger of a story. You can tell the Draw Distance writers for these games know their stuff when it comes to the World of Darkness and put a lot of effort and detail into their work.

Definitely a treat for fans of the setting. A bit too "safe" (like most of modern WoD), but the gothic punk vibe is there, and you can actually feel pretty Lasombra-y at the end. To people saying that Julia is unlikable - I'm pretty sure she would dislike you too. [i]In Mortem, Surge[/i]

As always, the story is dark and witty and compelling - and it's a nice way to return to a story we sort of know, and examine it through a different lens. I've written a character a LOT like the protag here, so I'm biased in how much I loved my play-through as a badass goth loner chick with an insightful eye, and an on-and-off relationship with religion. This is yet another standout in the VTM series - something that captures the spirit of this setting in a way Bloodlines 2 could only ever hope to achieve.

It's an awful game that had barely anything to do with the first game besides butchering the the characters and being in the same location. This game has way less choices, and most of the reading is of a bratty depressed girl's internal monologue.

I've tried playing this game three times, and each time I am turned off by its *profoundly* unlikable protagonist. Julia is bitter, rude, ungrateful, self-pitying, and none of it in an interesting way. I'm interested in the politics and other characters in the story, but I have to experience it through the lens of Julia, and that is just not a pleasant experience. When you're a VN, there's not really anything else for it to stand on.