As Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 finally gets a release date it looks like it will hit – 21st October 2025 – so comes news you’ll have to pay to access two of the six clans in the game. Clans here act like your character class, determining what kind of gameplay role your character will adopt, as well as giving you a sense of storied belonging in the world, so they’re no trivial thing. And they’re not cheap.
In order to access the Lasombra and Toreador clans, you’ll need to buy the Shadows and Silk add-on pack, which costs £18.69/€21.99/$21.99. And as far as I can tell, you won’t be able to access these locked clans otherwise. If you don’t pay, you’ll only be able to access the default four: Brujah, Tremere, Banu Haqim and Ventrue.
There’s a further gameplay consideration here. Clans modify the difficulty of the game by making you better or worse at certain things. In the preview build of Bloodlines 2 I’ve just been playing, I picked to be Brujah, which are a brawler-focused group. They are a normal difficulty clan to play as, whereas Ventrue – a clan that dominates minds – are easier, and the Banu Haqim, which revolve around stealthy ambush gameplay, are hard. There’s more detail on the various clans on the Bloodlines 2 website, but there’s not, frustratingly, any more information on Toreador or Lasombra.
However, Vampire: The Masquerade being a long-standing tabletop role-playing game means there’s plenty of available information out there about these locked clans. The Lasombra clan is a shadowy organisation that manipulates through religion, apparently, whereas the Toreador are known for being seductive and enthralling, which is exactly the kind of vampire I’d like to be. It’s a shame to have to pay for the privilege.
The Shadows and Silk add-on pack comes as part of the Premium Edition of the game, if you’re willing to fork out £74.99/€89.99/$89.99 for it. It also contains the cosmetic Santa Monica Memories pack. But at the moment I suggest you wait. And I say that because I remain unconvinced after a few hours of play.
This game has had a troubled development and it seems to me that in an effort to get it out, the developer has narrowed the scope and focused more on action gameplay rather than an intricate role-playing experience. That’s not necessarily a bad thing – there’s a terrific sense of speed and punch in what I played – but it does lack substance. I would wait for 21st October and see.