Vampire: The Masquerade - Shadows of New York

 PC
User Score
6.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 20 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 20
  3. Negative: 6 out of 20

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  1. vampiric
    Sep 14, 2020
    10
    I really enjoyed the game, as VTM: Coteries of Ney York before that. Shadows are much better written have amazing story and deep main character also very deep in VtM canon. Great game to get while waiting for Bloodlines 2.
  2. Stonkey
    Sep 16, 2020
    9
    I don't normally go for visual novels but this is set in the vtm universe. I have to say though that I did thoroughly enjoy the writing, arts were gorgeous and I can recommendthis with full honesty.
  3. PublicNuisance
    Oct 10, 2020
    8
    Shadows of New York will be enjoyable for anyone who liked Coteries of New York. It has a lot of the same strengths such as using the lore and universe of Masquerade; having great characters; giving you a lot of choices to make the character feel as your own; and having a great initial story. Like with Coteries though the story takes strange turns near the end that don’t quite feel likeShadows of New York will be enjoyable for anyone who liked Coteries of New York. It has a lot of the same strengths such as using the lore and universe of Masquerade; having great characters; giving you a lot of choices to make the character feel as your own; and having a great initial story. Like with Coteries though the story takes strange turns near the end that don’t quite feel like where it should have gone for me and left me a little unsatisfied. At first I felt like that I should have been given the option of which pivotal choice near the end to pick. I respect that the game is trying to say that you already made this choice based on your previous choices but I simply disagree with where that road should have led. The art and music are both top notch and serve to set the mood well. As with Coteries the dynamic backgrounds are really well used and set the visual novel apart from many others. I will also say that I really enjoyed the subtle references to Coteries thrown into the story for Shadows. They were done in such a way that newcomers will just see it as a natural mention to someone else while those who played Coteries will remember the character and what happened in their play through and can see how they ended up. I also thought that the traits system was a nice tough although it seemed a bit underused due to the game’s length.

    I played Shadows of New York on Linux. It never crashed on me and I didn’t notice any spelling errors. The game uses an auto save system that saves the game whenever you exit and picks up where you left off. This means that if you want to see how different choices pan out you have to do a whole new play through. I would have preferred a manual save option. You have 3 save slots for separate play throughs. The game uses the Unity engine. I played version 1_0_0_41075 from GOG.

    Game Engine: Unity
    Save System: Auto (1 slot per play through)

    Disk Space Used: 3.4 GB
    VRAM Usage: 2080-2161 MB
    CPU Usage: 2-6 %
    RAM Usage: 1.7-2.3 GB

    Overall Shadows of New York was a solid visual novel whose strengths easily outweigh it’s weaknesses. I paid $14.49 CAD for it and felt that was a fair value. I finished the game in 4 hours 16 minutes. The game felt a tad rushed near the end but other than that the length was fine.

    My Score: 8/10

    My System:

    AMD Ryzen 5 2600X | 16GB DDR4-3000 CL15 | MSI RX 5700 XT Gaming X 8GB | Mesa 20.0.8 | Samsung 970 Evo Plus 500GB | Linux Mint 20 | Mate 1.24 | Kernel 5.4.0-48-generic    … Expand
  4. ComandanteCobra
    Nov 28, 2021
    8
    i LOVE it...but it has some big downsides
    It's a positve review if for an old school player like myself that has familiarity with VTM,..otherwise lower the score at mixed.
    This game is an "interactive" comics book set in Vampire The Masquerade 5 edition. I'm and old player of Vampire the Masquerade 2nd edition pen and paper rpg , and i've played (and liked) his notoriuos vigeogames    i LOVE it...but it has some big downsides
    It's a positve review if for an old school player like myself that has familiarity with VTM,..otherwise lower the score at mixed.
    This game is an "interactive" comics book set in Vampire The Masquerade 5 edition.
    I'm and old player of Vampire the Masquerade 2nd edition pen and paper rpg , and i've played (and liked) his notoriuos vigeogames (VTM redempions and Bloodlines) .
    i was missing that world in a videogame for a long time.
    This game made me play a Lasombra again (a clan seldom represented in videogames) after so many years and it's like i'm back in high school again.
    Also...I'm unaware of VTM 5 editions setting changes , and this game help me discover some of them in an entertaining and smooth way.
    But:
    Gameplay is limited,..it plays like a game book for Android or a text adventure on commodore 64: just reads walls of text and somethimes select something between 4 (or less) choices.
    Graphics is cool ...but it's just still images that often just repeat itself; and that feels cheap.
    There are lots of npc with differents role..you'll need to remember who is who all the time without the aid of a note or something similar...not ideal in a political infused plot.
    World of Darkness lore is explained in some areas...but not so much in other.... so if're unfamiliar with the Masquerades and Kindreads ...and other videogames versions of vampire the masquerade... you'll have some trouble in following plot progressions, understand the easter eggs or enjoy the game...some more lore explanation coud has awoided it.
    To sum up i appreciated this game autors works and dedication to WoD, but beware of this game limitation before buy.
    I hope in a new iteraction with more contents, varied graphics, better fx and more replayability....like some unlockable, different paths or more endings.    … Expand
  5. garygreen
    Oct 25, 2020
    10
    the best game in the dark universer world,with the best art and the great gameplay and ost

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
64

Mixed or average reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 9
  3. Negative: 1 out of 9
  1. CD-Action
    Nov 16, 2020
    90
    Vampire: The Masquerade – Coteries of New York was an introduction to the World of Darkness, whereas Shadows of New York is a specific story with a predefined protagonist, that would allow the writers to really show their craft. And show their craft they did! I was falling asleep playing Coteries, but Shadows held me in its grip for 10 hours straight and finally convinced me that being a vampire is awesome. [11/2020, p.40]
  2. PLAY! Zine
    Oct 8, 2020
    70
    The New York vampire story continues. Less choice in characters but a more solid experience with a single vampire clan. It would be interesting to see if this continues further.
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  3. GameOver.gr
    Sep 25, 2020
    70
    Shadows of New York continues on the same atmospheric and well written path paved by its predecessor, but its simplification in choices and mechanisms, as well as the lack of classic QoL gameplay features expected in any visual novel, prevent it from soaring higher than a simply interesting Saturday gaming night.
    Read full review
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