Bloodhunt blends Vampire: The Masquerade and battle royale in an unholy union

By Otto Kratky Updated June 10, 2021

The Vampire: The Masquerade title teased by developer Sharkmob last year was properly announced at Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest 2021. The game is officially titled Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodhunt, and will be the franchise’s first multiplayer title.

Typically, entries in the Vampire: The Masquerade series are text-heavy, super role-play-oriented RPGs. Bloodhunt is anything but, instead presenting itself as a battle royale title. Armed to the teeth with shotguns, swords, assault rifles, and, well, teeth, players will be able to take each other on to be the last vampire standing. Besides weaponry, players will also be able to use supernatural vampiric powers to take down their foes.

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The game takes place in the city of Prague, where players will fight to the last undead to restore the Masquerade, a code that vampires live by to keep themselves hidden from the outside world. A trailer for the game shows vampires running up walls and jumping across roofs, which means we can expect some liberal freedom of movement. It also seems that the citizens of Prague will come into play, perhaps to give players a boost with some fresh blood.

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Naturally, players will also be able to pick which clan their vampire belongs to. Today’s trailer for the game shows vampires from Brujah and Nosferatu fighting openly, so expect to see a wide array of bloodsuckers. Character customization will be available too, letting players dress up their vampires in the latest styles, whether they’re modern-chic or gothic horror.

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodhunt is set to launch on PC this year. A closed alpha for the game is also on the way, which players can sign up for now on the game’s website.

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Otto Kratky is a freelance writer with many homes. You can find his work at Digital Trends, GameSpot, and Gamepur. If he's…

Gaming

Here’s the full schedule of summer video game livestreams

Promotional art for Starfield.

E3 is not taking place this year, but a plethora of independently created video game announcement livestreams are popping up. From Sony to Geoff Keighley to THQ Nordic, a lot of people and companies are airing video game livestreams that gaming fans will want to tune into over the course of this summer.
These are the most important video game reveal-focused livestreams that you should keep an eye on between June and August 2022 via Digital Trends' Summer Gaming Marathon coverage.
June 2: State of Play
State of Play | June 2, 2022 [ENGLISH]
Sony is holding another State of Play at 3 p.m. PT on June 2. Similar to March's showcase, this one will feature multiple games, rather than being dedicated to one game like Sony's Gran Turismo 7 and Hogwarts Legacy State of Play streams. Specifically, Sony says in a PlayStation Blog post that its fans should expect "exciting reveals from our third-party partners, plus a sneak peek at several games in development for PlayStation VR2." It doesn't look like God of War: Ragnarok will show up here, but it will certainly be a welcome surprise if it does.
June 6: LRG3 Showcase
Physical game distributor Limited Run Games and Mega64 announced that they would hold the third annual LRG Showcase at 1 p.m. PT on June 6, 2022 on Twitch. The LRG3 Showcase will feature 30 games overall, mainly highlighting titles that Limited Run Games plans to give a physical release to over the next year.
June 7: Sonic Central
June is a big month for Sonic as Sega continues to share new info on Sonic Frontiers and prepares to release Sonic Origins on June 23. As part of its June festivities for the blue blur, Sega is holding yet another Sonic Central livestream to reveal "project, partnerships, and events happening in 2022." It begins at 9 a.m. PT on June 7.
June 9: Upload VR Showcase
Fans of VR games will want to tune into the Upload VR Showcase at 8 a.m. on June 9. This presentation is solely focused on highlighting upcoming VR games from developers big and small. While Upload VR isn't teasing any specific games for the show, the article confirming the event claims that it will have "the most new game reveals we’ve ever featured at a showcase, including some from companies yet to release VR games."
June 9: Summer Game Fest
https://twitter.com/geoffkeighley/status/1531666856989237253
At 11 a.m. PT on June 9, Geoff Keighley will host his second annual Summer Game Fest livestream dedicated to showing exciting games from publishers big and small. The re-reveal of Elden Ring happened during last year's stream, so this is definitely a stream that you'll want to keep an eye on. The tweet above confirms that major publishers like 2K, Activision, Capcom, EA, PlayStation, Sega, WB Games, and Xbox are participating. The showcase will last two hours.
June 9: Day of the Devs: SGF Edition
Summer Game Fest's showcase will be immediately followed by Day of the Devs: SGF Edition at 1 p.m. PT. This showcase will highlight a variety of upcoming video games. A press release for the event confirms that it will feature a new trailer for Bear and Breakfast and a new game from Monument Valley developer Ustwo Games, in addition to plenty of other independent developers.
June 9: Devolver Marketing Countdown to Marketing
Devolver Direct 2022 Teaser | Watch June 9 @ 3PM Pacific
Devolver Digital will hold another satirical showcase at 3 p.m. PT on June 9. Titled the "Devolver Marketing Countdown to Marketing," expect this showcase to poke fun at how companies countdown to their main showcases with pre-shows and highlight some new games from Devolver. Cult of the Lamb is confirmed to be there, and Devolver is also promising to reveal some new games during the show.
June 10: Epic Games Summer Showcase
https://twitter.com/EpicGames/status/1534969752862478354
At 11 a.m. PT on June 10, Epic Games is holding its own video game showcase. It says the event will primarily be focused on "diving into new announcements and updates for PC titles on the Epic Games Store" that are launching both in 2022 and next year.
June 10: The Outriders: Wordslayer Endgame Broadcast
At 11:45 a.m. PT on June 10, Square Enix and People Can Fly will hold yet another Outriders Broadcast. This livestream will be specifically focused on endgame content for Outriders: Worldslayer, a massive expansion for the sci-fi shooter that is launching on June 30.
June 10: Tribeca Games Spotlight
As part of Summer Game Fest, Tribeca will highlight its 2022 game selections during a livestream at 12 p.m. PT on June 10. We know that Tribeca's game selections this year are A Plague Tale: Requiem, American Arcadia, As Dusk Falls, Cuphead - The Delicious Last Course, Immortality, Oxenfree II: Lost Signals, The Cub, Thirsty Suitors, and Venba, so this livestream won't have much in the way of surprises. Still, it will provide updates on some of the industry's best-looking indie games.
June 11: Future of Play Direct
Future of Play Direct Livestream I Summer of Gaming 2022
IGN is getting in on the video game showcase fun with the Future of Play Direct at 10:30 a.m. PT on June 11. IGN promises that the event will have "new game announcements, trailers, musical performances, special guests, and more." While the event will likely be focused on indie titles, some cool new game may emerge during this showcase.
June 11: Wholesome Direct 2022
Wholesome Direct 2022 Teaser Trailer
Wholesome Direct is a yearly livestream that highlights cute indie games that are much more wholesome than violent. The event's organizers tease that this year's event will have "new game reveals, exclusive footage, and even games that will launch during the show," so it's worth tuning into if you want to see what cute indie games should be on your radar.
June 11: Future Games Show
Future Games Show 2022
GamesRadar is holding yet another gaming showcase at 12 p.m. PT on June 11. Future Games Show livestreams often focus on highlighting cool indie and AA games, so don't expect the next major AAA bombshell to be here. But we can expect reveals from companies like Amanita Design, Team17, and Thunderful. Overall, GamesRadar claims that 40 games will be shown during June's Future Games Show.
June 11 and 13: Guerrilla Collective 3
The Guerilla Collective is an indie showcase that takes place over the course of two separate days. The first presentation takes place at 8 a.m. PT on June 11 while the second one follows it up at 1 p.m. PT on June 13. You can see lists of many of the indie games participating in both the June 11 and June 13 events on the Guerrilla Collective's website.
June 12: Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase

The Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase (no Activision just yet) returns at 10 a.m. PT on June 12. Even though Redfall and Starfield were both recently delayed to 2023, this is still probably going to contain our best looks at these games yet! On top of that, there are plenty of other upcoming Xbox exclusives that Microsoft could show like Avowed, Fable, the new Forza Motorsport, Contraband, and Perfect Dark. Ultimately, Microsoft has a lot to prove with this year's showcase as it needs to demonstrate why 2022 will still be a compelling year for Xbox consoles and Game Pass without Redfall and Starfield. Check out everything that was announced.
June 12: PC Gaming Show
Just a couple of hours after Xbox and Bethesda's showcase, you can expect PC Gamer to hold an announcement-filled livestream of its own. The PC Gaming Show starts at 12:30 p.m. on June 12 and will contain over 45 upcoming PC games. Titles teased by PC Gamer so far include Arma 4, a Half-Life: Alyx mod called Levitation, Immortality, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, Victoria 3, and unannounced games from Klei Entertainment and 11 Bit Studios. If you're a fan of PC Gaming, this is definitely a show you'll want to tune into.
June 13: Capcom Showcase

Gaming

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R improves an already great fighting game

Jotaro Kujo stands before a battle in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R.

While Street Fighter 6 was the talk of the show floor at Summer Game Fest Play Days, another fighting game also managed to impress me at the event. That title was JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R, a fighting game based on the popular and heavily-memed anime and manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. The original JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle was first released in Japan in 2013, scoring a rare perfect score from the popular Japanese outlet Famitsu. Anime fighting games vary wildly in quality, but this was considered one of the better ones thanks to its thoughtful and rewarding gameplay.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R continues that game's legacy as an enhanced remaster that does more than visually update the game and turn servers back. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R adds in new characters, voice acting, and gameplay tweaks that almost make it feel like a different game. In the years since the 2013 game this is based on came out, both JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and the fighting game genre got a lot more popular. Thankfully, my demo showed that this fighting game has only gotten better with age.
To be continued
Although JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R didn't get a remake-level visual overhaul, fans should still appreciate many of the graphical tweaks and just how pretty this game is. Even though I was playing a PS4, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R was one of the best-looking games at Summer Game Fest Play Days. The anime already has an extremely distinct art style and features a cast of overly-muscular characters, so it transitions to a fighting game almost perfectly. Pulling off special moves that you've seen in the manga and anime or calling out a stand yourself is super satisfying, and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R will show them in all of their extremely detailed glory.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R - Early Access Demo
Even the voiceovers and character models got updates to match the voice acting and styles fans will remember from the anime. We don't get many video games based on JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, so it's nice to see this one put in extra care to respect the source material and improve upon the original release. That said, graphics will only get you so far in a fighting game. It's the gameplay mechanics that really ensure a fighting game lives or dies.
Thankfully, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R is a lot of fun to play.
The 2013 original was a 3D fighting game that plays more like Virtua Fighter than Jump Force. The standard attacks, combo, block, and dodge moves to be expected from fighting games are here, but characters can also summon their stands and basically get a second fighter to attack and zone with. Fights also have some other cute oddities, like having an assist character to strengthen some of your attacks or being able to taunt the other player when they are knocked down to take away some of their special meter gauges. That taunt feature specifically is not only hilarious but feels very JoJo and adds palpable benefits to what's usually just a visual gag in fighting games.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R does add a couple of new gameplay additions that players will definitely notice, including hit stops and jump dashes that give that game more competitive depth, as well as flash cancels that let players quickly cancel their current combo if they don't want to change their approach or the moves they are using

I didn't have enough time to kit out and learn combos and how to string them together, but I can clearly recognize just how these features will positively deepen JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R's meta. With auto combos for new players and revitalized online play too, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R hopefully won't have a problem attracting new JoJo's Bizzare Adventure fans to this fighting game. Whether you enjoyed the original release or want to see what a good JoJo's Bizarre Adventure game looks like, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R should be on your radar. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R launches for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch on September 2. If you want to try it before then, a demo is available on PS4 and PS5 until June 21.

Gaming

Frost Giant wants Stormgate to be Elden Ring for RTS games

A woman holds and artifact in Stormgate's cinematic trailer.

Blizzard Entertainment put itself on the map with fantastic real-time strategy (RTS) games like Warcraft III and Starcraft. Blizzard moved away from making RTS games, and many developers who worked on those classics left the company during its past few tumultuous years. Frost Giant Studios is one of the teams that subsequently banded together and is made up of alumni from titles like Warcraft III, Starcraft, and Starcraft II. Frost Giant finally revealed its first game, a free-to-play sci-fi RTS game called Stormgate, during Summer Game Fest's kickoff showcase.
Ahead of its official reveal, I attended an event for Stormgate, where I learned more about Frost Giant's vision for the title. While Frost Giant didn't show gameplay, it talked up its bold vision for a revolutionary RTS title that makes the core formula Blizzard helped establish more approachable. It's certainly very ambitious for a game that's several years out and doesn't have a large community just yet.
Opening the Stormgate
Stormgate is a postapocalyptic sci-fi RTS game set in a world where demons called the Infernal invaded the earth and humanity's Resistance fights to survive in high-tech mech suits that look suspiciously like D.Va's armor. While Frost Giant isn't ready to show gameplay in action just yet, it promises a traditional RTS experience that should please the old-school genre's fans. Players face off against each other with large armies and harvest resources, upgrade units, and build bases along the way. It will feature a campaign, 1v1 and 3v3 competitive modes, and a cooperative mode that will support up to three players. Tools for player-created content are also in development, as Frost Giant acknowledged that custom games are a big part of the genre's success.

Frost Giant also discussed how the developers want the game to be much more accessible than many games in the genre. The main way Frost Giant will make the RTS more approachable is by simplifying the UI. In Stormgate, players don't have to memorize complicated series of button presses if they want to do things like select a whole group of units, use multiple unit abilities at once, train units, or upgrade buildings. These moves or functions will usually be one button press away on the keyboard or in Stormgate's menus, which Frost Giant hopes will make more casual players try competitive games or esports. That mention of esports speaks to Frost Giant's bold ambitions for this title.
Emulating Elden Ring
Stormgate is still years away from a 1.0 release, but Frost Giant already has bold expectations for its community, reception, and esports scene. Namely, Frost Giant CEO and Production Director Tim Morten wants Stormgate to be the next Elden Ring.
"A big part of Elden Ring's success was that core players of the original Dark Souls helped spread the word that Elden Ring was more approachable than the Dark Souls games that came before it," he explained. "At the same time, it kept the core elements of gameplay that many Dark Souls players had come to love. What we're trying to do with Stormgate is build a game that is true to the legacy of RTS, but provides more approachable ways for players to get into the game, and it's our hope that the RTS community will embrace it and create an Elden Ring moment for RTS."