Werewolf The Apocalypse: Earthblood Review

Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood is not the first attempt at creating a video game from the popular World of Darkness tabletop roleplaying system, but at first glance it would not be clear. With a rich setting, pre-existing lore, and one of the most iconic monsters in history, it didn’t seem like it should be difficult to make a great game out of it, but unfortunately that’s exactly what happened. While Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood has the makings of a great game, it falls short in some key ways. As one of the few modern games that allows players to control a werewolf, that’s very disappointing. Unlike its predecessor, Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Heart of the Forest, this game is meant to be a true action RPG. For that reason, the action and role playing elements are arguably the most important. If Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood nailed these things but had a relatively lackluster story, it would probably still be received positively by most, but these are some of its most glaring flaws. One would think that transforming into a giant werewolf and tearing apart enemies would be amazing, but somehow it’s not. In terms of story, players will likely have two experiences. From the perspective of someone who has played the World of Darkness tabletop game, and especially one who loves the in-depth lore contained within its werewolf-themed expansion material, things should make sense in mostly. On the other hand, newcomers to the franchise will quickly get lost in a torrent of vocabulary that makes almost no sense. Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood doesn’t take the time to explain what these words mean or why they’re important to the story, so players will be left confused right from the start. As an example, during the game’s tutorial, the protagonist Cahal encounters a Black Spiral Dancer. Aside from looking like Werewolves and doing bad things, players never get any real context of what the Black Spiral Dancers are or why they’re so evil. This concept continues throughout the game, and only gets worse as the story gets deeper into Werewolf lore. Ideally, this pre-existing legend would be used to show the riches of the World of Darkness to the player, but instead it only serves to further confuse them. Couple this with some poor visuals and subpar acting and the experience is mostly forgettable. The characters seem incapable of showing much emotion and often act strangely. Choosing what Cahal says in response to other NPCs is also tricky, as the dialogue options are written in a unique, third-person perspective. After playing for long enough this issue goes away, but it’s an odd adjustment to say the least. Character models during cutscenes move unnaturally, and their facial expressions are distracting. In terms of gameplay, Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood does a few things well. Being able to seamlessly transition between human form (homid), wolf form (lupus), and werewolf form (crinos) feels amazing, and there’s nothing like stealth gameplay like a sneaky wolf. It could be argued that the stealth is the best aspect of the game, and while it’s certainly strong at times, it’s probably not what most people sign up for when taking on a game about werewolves. . Outside of this, most of Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood suffers from is only good enough, but with some caveat. in how players approach certain challenges. Combat feels good for the most part, but there’s a distinct lack of power with each hit. The roleplaying aspects of the cutscenes almost make players really think hard about how they will react to certain situations, but every problem is solved with brute force without changing the outcome. RELATED: Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood Reveals New Gameplay The bit about combat is perhaps the most important complaint levied against Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood. In any combat-oriented game, it’s important to make sure actions have an impact, both literally and figuratively. In the literal sense, players want their attacks to be powerful, especially when they’re playing as a massive werewolf. In Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood, however, common human enemies barely respond to being hit. They will stand there until their arbitrary HP bars are empty, at which point they are ragdolled and flying despite their previously established durability. Along the same lines, players can use a pretty cool finishing attack on enemies, tearing someone in half, but their fellow combatants don’t blink. On the figurative side of things, the choices players make in combat must have an impact. Is now the right time to do a heavy attack and try to rack up damage or fall back and heal? These types of decisions are completely absent in normal fights with regular enemies, because they are so easy that strategy falls by the wayside. In the boss fights there is a bit of this, but it still doesn’t take advantage of that concept. One of the main selling points of the game is the idea of ​​containing Cahal’s rage, but it rarely comes into play and really benefits the player when it does. Obviously, Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood isn’t for everyone, but by default, that means some players will enjoy it. As mentioned before, there are a few things it does well, and most of its flaws don’t make the game unplayable in any way. It’s possible to enjoy traversing levels and taking down enemies even with these other limiting factors, and those with a thorough understanding of Werewolf: The Apocalpyse lore will likely have a better time. Perhaps the biggest issue is that this is a game presented and marketed to triple-A standards that don’t quite live up to those quality levels. Overall, Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood is a game with a good premise but it fails to hit the mark. Players will find themselves torn between the more enjoyable stealth gameplay and the more efficient open combat approach, while clunky dialogue and distracting animations plague cutscenes and interactions with other characters. Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. Today Technology was provided with a PS4 code for this review. MORE: Werewolf The Apocalypse PC System Requirements Announced