Bloodlines 2's Valentine's patch adds further customisation options and lootable blood bags, because nothing says 'I love you' like the vampire equivalent of a ready meal

Femme Phyre with an unlockable gold and black rose outfit in Bloodlines 2. — (Image credit: The Chinese Room, Paradox Interactive)

Vampire: The Masquerade—Bloodlines 2 may not have been the success Paradox Interactive hoped, but the publisher has committed to standing by the troubled sequel, and developer The Chinese Room has been doling out updates for the game since launch. December brought a vaguely holiday-themed update that added custom difficulty settings and a Santa-ish skin to let you get your Jolly Saint (Artery) Nick on, festively delivering teeth into the necks of snowbound Seattle's citizenry.

Now, The Chinese Room has released another update that is notionally related to Valentine's Day. The primary feature of the patch is enemy loot, letting rooftop-dwelling vampires and ghouls carry useful items such as restorative elixirs and newly introduced blood bags. These can either be pickpocketed from unwitting foes or scavenged from their corpse after you've beaten them to a pulp and lapped up all the juice.

In a Steam post, Paradox/The Chinese Room say the change has been added to "make rooftop encounters more rewarding" which is sensible enough. It doesn't *scream* Valentine's Day though, does it? Even if we acknowledge the gifting limitations of being an undead creature of the night, turning up to your lover's coffin with a filched blood bag is a bit 'wilting bouquet of flowers from the petrol station'.

On the plus side, at least you can look your best while disappointing your un-life partner with the vampire equivalent of a ready meal (seriously dude, make some effort and kidnap a virgin or two—she's worth it). The update also adds several extra character customisation options.

An image of male Phyre wearing a top hat with a moustache and soul patch. — (Image credit: Paradox Interactive)

This includes the all-new addition of facial hair for Phyre, alongside seven new accessories such as a beret and an eyepatch, eight more make-up choices, seven additional hairstyles, and four extra eye colours. Apparently, Bloodlines 2's customisation options now amount to 151 items and 24 outfits, which means you can really hone your look for wandering around Seattle wishing there were some interesting side-quests to pursue.

Fortunately, some meatier optional adventures will be coming to Bloodlines 2 soon, though you will have to pay for them. Paradox plans two DLCs for later in 2026. The first of these will let you play as Benny, the deeply unpleasant vampire Sherriff you encounter early in the game. The second centres around Ysabella, the glamorous Toreador who owns the Atrium nightclub.

Is any of this likely to tempt me back into Bloodlines 2? Honestly, I doubt it. The game certainly has its merits, as Fraser Brown explained in his Vampire: The Masquerade—Bloodlines 2 Review. But most of those merits revolve around protagonist Phyre and their relationship with Fabien, the Malkavian detective who lives in their brain. What I really want is more stuff to do in the world with them, not a bunch of side-adventures with the B-team. Still, kudos to Paradox for standing by the game.

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Rick has been fascinated by PC gaming since he was seven years old, when he used to sneak into his dad's home office for covert sessions of Doom. He grew up on a diet of similarly unsuitable games, with favourites including Quake, Thief, Half-Life and Deus Ex. Between 2013 and 2022, Rick was games editor of Custom PC magazine and associated website bit-tech.net. But he's always kept one foot in freelance games journalism, writing for publications like Edge, Eurogamer, the Guardian and, naturally, PC Gamer. While he'll play anything that can be controlled with a keyboard and mouse, he has a particular passion for first-person shooters and immersive sims.

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