Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong

 PlayStation 5
User Score
3.9

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 42 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 42
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 42
  3. Negative: 22 out of 42
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. M-49
    May 22, 2022
    6
    An interactive story of intrigue and horror locked securely behind a boring, impenetrable game system.

    From the moment you begin, everything about Swansong screams that you WILL play the way the developers want you to play. You play at their pace (no skipping repeated interactions), their stakes (no manual saves, no precise level selects), and their rules (obtuse skill systems that    An interactive story of intrigue and horror locked securely behind a boring, impenetrable game system.

    From the moment you begin, everything about Swansong screams that you WILL play the way the developers want you to play. You play at their pace (no skipping repeated interactions), their stakes (no manual saves, no precise level selects), and their rules (obtuse skill systems that leave you unprepared for every interaction).

    Moving beyond the user-hostile interface, in a market filled with open-world games, Swansong puts you in a box and firmly on the rails. Yes, there are some switches on the tracks ahead, but mostly it feels as though you're trapped in a room with nine paintings of elaborate doors on the wall, and one actual real door that you have to go find a key to open. Wait, did I say it feels like that? I meant it literally is that.

    In all, the combination of the game system and the story feel as though there was too much thought put into how the game would feel on a second play through - where I can only presume the player can go through armed with hindsight and a much more robust skill tree. Unfortunately, in what feels like an attempt to guarantee multiple plays to explore different story options, they took away the players' freedom.

    What's left are some good vocal performances within a game the very much feels like its playing itself.
    Please don't interrupt.    … Expand
  2. Cha0ticneutral
    Jun 3, 2022
    5
    What could have been a good game gets so terribly boring by the mid point, I can't even bring myself to finish it. Lots of potential, unfortunately you're pelted with insufferable puzzles that only gets more so as the game progresses.
  3. SGRevan
    Jun 3, 2022
    5
    While you have three characters to play as throughout the story, only the Malkavian, Leysha, has a somewhat engaging story and made me curious where it was going. The other two characters are way too bland, and they lost my interest fairly early. Though, each has unique ways to approach their objective and it alters your gamestyle slightly. Sadly, you a forced to play with the vampire theyWhile you have three characters to play as throughout the story, only the Malkavian, Leysha, has a somewhat engaging story and made me curious where it was going. The other two characters are way too bland, and they lost my interest fairly early. Though, each has unique ways to approach their objective and it alters your gamestyle slightly. Sadly, you a forced to play with the vampire they choose, and you can't pick another character for that single mission.

    The puzzles can be very obvious to almost impossible to understand at first. Some are clever, while most are unimaginative.

    Sadly, with an interesting lore to expand on and with an OK RPG system/idea, it fails to deliver on multiple accounts. While it is interesting to discover new stories in the V:TM-series, its poor gameplay and sometimes tedious objectives stop this from being an engaging experience.

    And the ending is lackluster and plain disappointing.

    I will just go back to V:TM Bloodlines for now, as that game is still much more compelling and true to its RPG roots.    … Expand
  4. DukeJon
    Nov 18, 2022
    5
    First one was a diamond in the rough. Not so sure about this one. Starts off very slow, lots of dialogue choices and stats but I had no idea what I was doing. All the characters talked as though they knew each other and assumed that I, as a player, knew all the lore. So little interaction I felt I was playing Detroit: Become human - just walking from one conversation to another. GraphicsFirst one was a diamond in the rough. Not so sure about this one. Starts off very slow, lots of dialogue choices and stats but I had no idea what I was doing. All the characters talked as though they knew each other and assumed that I, as a player, knew all the lore. So little interaction I felt I was playing Detroit: Become human - just walking from one conversation to another. Graphics were shockingly bad, like playing an early xbox 360 game with shiny-faced characters. Animation wasn't much better.… Expand
  5. Chickenph
    Apr 22, 2023
    7
    Imagine if someone designed a really good car but had it manufactured by whoever would do it cheapest. This game is very interesting, it has a cool approach, but it looks like a PC game running on the lowest settings. A lot of the voice acting is painfully bland, it seems like they didn’t even try to make dialogue match the characters' lip movement…idk, it just seems like a game that wouldImagine if someone designed a really good car but had it manufactured by whoever would do it cheapest. This game is very interesting, it has a cool approach, but it looks like a PC game running on the lowest settings. A lot of the voice acting is painfully bland, it seems like they didn’t even try to make dialogue match the characters' lip movement…idk, it just seems like a game that would have to have released in 2013 for people to accept the overall presentation.

    I still think there’s a lot to like about the thought put into the game, and interesting little touches like a character with vitiligo. But they weaken their own IP by allowing it to be presented like a indie dev's first try at a genre.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

64
#64 Most Discussed PlayStation 5 Game of 2022

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
64

Mixed or average reviews - based on 29 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 29
  3. Negative: 5 out of 29
  1. Malditos Nerds
    Aug 3, 2022
    80
    As a narrative adventure, Swansong delivers a good balance of exploration, character development, narrative decisions, puzzles and investigation. And as a board game adaptation, it is perhaps the most faithful game to Vampire: The Masquerade and a proof that video games can also adapt much more than the combat system of a pen and paper role-playing games.
    Read full review
  2. PLAY
    Jun 29, 2022
    70
    While its limited presentation is a let-down, its narrative ambitions largely make up for it. Worth taking out for a drink and seeing where things lead. [Issue#16, p.120]
  3. Meristation
    Jun 21, 2022
    72
    Ambitious on paper, Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong is one of those games that runs up against a budget that limits its good ideas. Technically, this Masquerade needs an overhaul, improved animations and textures. And in the gameplay there is a certain imbalance in sections such as puzzles and basic tasks that only extend the duration without contributing anything. But as a Vampire game it's worth it, especially in its deployability, because the world of The Masquerade is really well implemented. If you're a fan, give it the Embrace and become its Sire while you wait for the arrival of the messiah Bloodlines 2.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »