Vampire: The Masquerade – Shadows of New York

The player reads dialogue and narration, and makes decisions that cause the narrative to branch.

Vampire: The Masquerade – Shadows of New York is a visual novel, in which the player reads dialogue and narration, set to background images and character portraits, and makes decisions by selecting different choices;[1] these cause branches in the narrative, with multiple playthroughs required to see everything,[2] and shape the player character's personality and outlook.[3] Taking the role of a vampire of clan Lasombra, the player investigates a death and explores New York, making connections with other characters while needing to satiate their character's blood thirst. As a Lasombra, they can use shadow-related abilities, and can communicate with inhabitants of the Other Side.[2]

The game is set in New York, in the World of Darkness,[4] several months after the previous game, Coteries of New York.[5] It takes place following the events of the Vampire: The Masquerade tabletop game's sourcebook Chicago by Night, in which the vampire clan Lasombra, former rulers of the Sabbat sect, left the Sabbat and joined forces with its enemy the Camarilla,[2][3] who are working on keeping the existence of vampires a secret from humans.[3]

The player takes the role of a Lasombra vampire, a dissociative immigrant woman who is an outcast within the Camarilla, and who has been tasked with investigating the death of the Anarch movement's New York leader.[2][6]

Shadows of New York is developed by Polish studio Draw Distance,[7] and is based on the fifth edition of the tabletop role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade.[2] While Coteries of New York served as an introduction to the setting, with a focus on introducing basic concepts and different vampire clans, Shadows of New York is written as a more personal story with themes of personal and political horror, while still being developed for both long-time fans and newcomers to Vampire: The Masquerade.[4] It is developed as a stand-alone expansion to Draw Distance's earlier game Coteries of New York, and as such features some returning characters,[4] but has a story independent from Coteries of New York,[7] and new locations and music.[2] New characters include ones brought over from Vampire: The Masquerade sourcebooks, such as New York by Night.[5]

The game was announced by Draw Distance in April 2020 with a trailer,[8] and is planned to be released simultaneously for Linux, MacOS, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in Q3 2020.[2][5]