Neural Redemption mod

The World of Darkness series, known for their gothic table-top roleplay gametypes such as Vampire: The Masquerade, has launched Unbound - a fan-game initiative to reward passionate creators within the community. Here's five great pieces of community made content predating the Unbound programme as a look at what could come next!

(In advance of the comments - the Unofficial Patch for VTMB is awesome, but we've covered it a few times already so this time we've chosen to shout out another mod instead)

VtM: The Final Nights

By Zer0morph

The Final Nights is an expansion to an otherwise flawless video game built upon the success of the Camarilla Edition series of mods. The idea behind this expansion is, and always will be the notion of a completely new experience unlike we've seen so far. With 7 completely brand new clans, 5 new disciplines, extra quests, new NPCs, new game mechanics and new music, the features seem endless. All of this is being built upon the Camarilla Edition series incorporating such things as the blood timer system, pedestrian blood dolls, and the new combat system.

X20 Mod

By VonAether

The various 20th Anniversary Editions of the World of Darkness tabletop game lines (the "X20" editions) are intended to be used as sort of the equivalent of a "Greatest Hits" album. So the X20 Mod is intended to bring that design philosophy to Bloodlines: to make it feel like it fits into the wider World of Darkness setting by including references both overt and subtle, obvious and deep-dive, referencing material that came out before Bloodlines and after. This is a World of Darkness fan's Greatest Hits album.

Neural Redemption

By Ridiculous_Death

All textures are original, so the atmosphere is preserved, upscaled to 4x resolution with neural networks, then downscaled to meet 512x512 resolution limit of the engine. ALL(3147) of the game textures are upscaled. Older than Bloodlines and thus more graphically dated by default, this upscaler pack evens the playing field somewhat graphically between Redemption and the other mods on this list!

Bloodlines: Antitribu

By Team Antitribu

Adding 7 new clans with over 10 new Disciplines that use completely new mechanics previously deemed impossible, such as shapeshifting into monstrous forms, summoning deadly creatures to aid you and manipulate your surrounding in ways that change the very dynamic of the game. Antitribu also offers new main quests, maps, and over 100 new characters which vary from humans, vampires, zombies, to more uniquely formed monster bosses with new abilities and mechanics that change the way combat is experienced.

VTMB: Clan Quest Mod

By burgermeister01

Clan Quest Mod (CQM) is a fan-created add-on for the classic PC title “Vampire: the Masquerade - Bloodlines”. Originally Clan Quest offered seven new quests, each one specific to each of the seven clans. Since the first version, even more new content has been added to the mod, including an additional path midway through the game, allowing you to join forces with the Sabbat and battle it out with the other Kindred of LA.

Dark World, Bright Future

The World of Darkness franchise is a series of gothic fantasy spinoffs surrounding Vampires, Werewolves, and other classic horror monsters. Sometimes going medieval, mostly going into the modern-day, the tabletop RPG origins have long since grown into a multi-media franchise, especially in the video game sphere. The setting's extremely grim background and room for freedom in development have kept fans of gothic horror entertained for decades.

New Blood

Fan creations have been a key component of the franchise's success - not surprising, given the IP's pen-and-paper origins. Mods for older games and fan-made games have been a relative constant ever since World of Darkness went digital, and in recognition of this, a new initiative has been commenced by Paradox Interactive called World of Darkness: Unbound. Through this new programme, fangames can now become semi-official games, sold commercially and with limited marketing support from World of Darkness themselves. Exclusively available via itch.io, a review process will ensure the system is not abused with low-quality titles.

Fresh Out The Ground

Unbound is launching following the massively successful Vampire Jam, which saw 80 fan games created. Six remarkable-quality titles have been chosen to launch under the Unbound programme:

• DESCENT: Survival horror adventure set in an old cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Find out who the inhabitants are and stay safe while uncovering the terrifying story. You can check out a trailer for DESCENT here.
• THE CHANTRY TRIALS: A puzzle game with horror elements where the protagonist undergoes various “tests” to prove worthy as a Vampire of clan Tremere.
• THE GAME OF ELDERS: A strategic card game with plenty of options to experiment. Play as an Elder Vampire who uses all assets available to survive.
• THE AUTUMN PEOPLE: First Person Shooter that encourages exploration to uncover its story, set in modern night Phoenix, AZ.
• PRAXIS: A mix of 4X strategy and roleplaying where you climb to the top of the Vampire hierarchy in Portland, Oregon. Build up a coterie of like-minded Kindred, gather intel and influence, and claim Praxis!
• PRODIGAL: Delve into a rotting mansion and your twisted psyche to uncover the truth of your memories in a Vampire: The Masquerade point-and-click adventure.

All in all, the future is bright for fans of the World of Darkness, and talented indie devs with a penchant for gothic horror just might have found their breakout opportunity.