I feel like the criticism is focusing on the wrong things.

I'm constantly seeing people criticise what we've seen on base design choices: a pre-exisiting, voiced protag that is not a neonate; not having all the clans.

There's been tons of games with the former that have more compelling protagonists than VTMB1. The Witcher, Mass Effect, Cyberpunk are all great RPGs with varying amounts of freedom in how you play the character. KOTOR 1/2 didn't have voiced protags, but they were still pre-established and powerful yet extremely customizable. Where VTMB1's dialogue choices shines is how the game reacts to what your character is; low humanity or Malkavian dialogue, higher skills giving you more options. All of that can be done with a premade character.

I can understand being upset that all clans aren't available, but at the same time, maybe that means each clan has a better defined playing experience. In VTMB1 Brujah play pretty much like worse Gangrel, and Ventrue somewhat like worse Toreador. Meanwhile Malkavians, Nosferatu, and to a lesser extent Tremere have a tailored experience. Maybe choosing to focus on specific clans means they've given each more attention and defining gameplay, making each playthrough its own experience.

No, the real issue is: what we've seen looks jank as fuck. The characters don't look at each other or at the camera, animations are barebones and robotic. Dialogue is uninspired and soulless, it lines up in a very unnatural way. Voice acting is unmemorable. *In specifically handpicked sections of dialogue, meant to showcase it.* Yes it's still in development, but with a year left, it's unlikely they're gonna rework the entire dialogue feel.

I think what people remember about VTMB1 the most is the NPCs. Jack's reactions when you do the tutorial. Jeanette telling you who she is. Lacroix failing to dominate you. Damsel being her over-the-top rebellious self. Most of the NPCs in this game are super memorable and full of character. And... I'm just not seeing that from what we've seen, while the HSL trailer seemed more promising in that aspect. That's what I'm worried about.