Vampire: The Masquerade – Redemption is a 2000 role-playing video game developed by Nihilistic Software and published by Activision. The game is based on White Wolf Publishing's tabletop role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade, a part of the larger World of Darkness series. It follows Christof Romuald, a 12th-century French crusader who is killed and revived as a vampire. The game depicts Christof's centuries-long journey from the Dark Ages of 12th century Prague and Vienna to late-20th century London and New York City in search of his humanity and his kidnapped love, the nun Anezka.
Redemption is presented in the first- and third-person perspectives. The player controls Christof and up to three allies through a linear structure, providing the player with missions to progress through a set narrative. Certain actions committed by Christof throughout the game can raise or lower his humanity, affecting which of the game's three endings the player receives. As a vampire, Christof is imbued with a variety of abilities and powers that can be used to combat or avoid enemies and obstacles. Use of these abilities drains Christof's supply of blood which can be replenished by drinking from enemies or innocents. It includes multiplayer gameplay called "Storyteller", which allows one player to create a narrative for a group of players with the ability to modify the game dynamically in reaction to the players' actions.
Founded in March 1998, Nihilistic's twelve-man team began development of Redemption the following month as their first game. It took the team twenty-four months to complete on a budget of US$1.8 million. The team relied on eight outside contractors to provide elements that the team could not supply, such as music and artwork. The game's development was difficult: late changes to software forced the developers to abandon completed code and assets; a focus on high-quality graphics and sound meant that the game ran poorly on some computer systems; and the original scope of the game exceeded the game's schedule and budget, forcing the team to cancel planned features.
Redemption was released for Microsoft Windows on June 7, 2000, with a Mac OS version following in November 2001. The game received a mixed critical response; reviewers praised its graphics and its multiplayer functionality but were polarized by the quality of the story and combat. It received the 1999 Game Critics Awards for Best Role-Playing game. It was successful enough to merit the production of the indirect sequel Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines (2004), which takes place in the same fictional universe.
Plot[]
In 1141 in Prague, crusader Christof Romuald is wounded in battle. He recovers in a church, where he is cared for by a nun called Anezka. The pair instantly fall in love but are restrained by their commitments to God. Christof enters a nearby silver mine to kill a monstrous Tzimisce vampire who is tormenting the city. Christof's victory is noted by the local vampires, one of whom, Ecaterina the Wise, turns him into a vampire to prevent another clan from taking him.
Initially defiant, Christof agrees to accompany Ecaterina's servant Wilhem on a mission to master his new vampiric abilities. Afterward, he meets with Anezka and refuses to taint her with his cursed state. At Ecaterina's haven, the Brujah tell Christof about an impending war between the Tremere and Tzimisce clans that will devastate humans caught up in it. Wilhem and Christof gain the favor of the local Jews and Cappadocians, who devote their member Serena to the Brujah cause. The Ventrue Prince Brandl tells the group that in Vienna, the Tremere are abducting humans to turn them into ghouls—servitors addicted and empowered by vampire blood. The group infiltrate the Tremere chantry in Prague, and stop the Gangrel Erik from being turned into a Gargoyle, and he joins them. Christof learns that Anezka, seeking Christof's redemption, has visited the Tremere and Tzimisce clans, and the Vienna Tremere stronghold, Haus de Hexe. There, the Tremere leader Etrius turns Erik into a Gargoyle, forcing Christof to kill him. Etrius reveals that the Tzimisce abducted Anezka.
Returning to Prague, Christof finds the Tzimisce in nearby Vyšehrad Castle have been revealed to the humans, who have launched an assault on the structure. Christof, Wilhem, and Serena infiltrate the castle and find that the powerful, slumbering Vukodlak has enslaved Anezka as a ghoul. Anezka rejects Christof and prepares to revive Vukodlak, but the outside assault collapses the castle upon them.
In 1999, the Society of Leopold excavates the site of Vyšehrad Castle; they recover Christof's body and take it to London, where he is awoken by a female voice. He learns that the events at Vyšehrad and the resulting human uprising divided the vampires into two sects: the Camarilla who seek to hide from humanity and the Sabbat who seek to regain dominion over it. The Society's excavation also enables Vukodlak's followers to recover Vyšehrad. After escaping, Christof meets Pink, who agrees to help him. They learn that the Setite clan has been shipping Vyšehrad contraband to New York City and infiltrate a Setite brothel to gain information. They kill the Setite leader Lucretia and recruit Lily, an enslaved prostitute.
Christof, Pink, and Lily travel to New York City aboard a contraband ship, rescue the Nosferatu Samuel from the Sabbat, and infiltrate a warehouse storing the Vyšehrad contraband. There they encounter Wilhem, who is now a Sabbat under Ecaterina following the collapse of their group. Wilhem reveals that Pink is an assassin working for Vukodlak. Pink escapes and Wilhem rejoins Christof, hoping to reclaim the humanity he has sacrificed during the previous 800 years. Together, Christof, Wilhem, Lily, and Samuel discover that Vukodlak is hidden beneath a church within his Cathedral of Flesh and that Anezka is still in his servitude. In the cathedral they find that Vukodlak has awoken; he tries to influence Christof by offering him Anezka then revealing that she is completely dependent on Vukodlak's blood and will die without him. Christof refuses and Vukodlak drops the group into tunnels beneath the cathedral. Christof finds the Wall of Memories, which hold Anezka's memories of the last millennia, showing she continued to hope as Vukodlak found new ways to defile and torment her. She eventually sacrificed her innocence to gain Vukodlak's trust, using her position to delay his resurrection over hundreds of years until, with no options left, she prayed for Christof's return. The group returns to the Cathedral and battles Vukodlak.
The ending of Redemption varies depending upon the quantity of humanity Christof has retained during the game. If the quantity is great, Christof kills Vukodlak, reconciles with Anezka, and turns her into a vampire, sparing her from death. If his humanity is moderate, he surrenders to Vukodlak and becomes a ghoul; Vukodlak betrays Christof and forces him to murder Anezka. A lesser quantity of humanity results in Christof killing Vukodlak by drinking his blood. Greatly empowered, Christof forsakes his humanity, murders Anezka, and revels in his new power.