Endron, the worlds top name in bio fuel, is being attacked by a radical group of eco terrorists. These terrorists have destroyed Endron Dams, training facilities and have killed 100s of employees. In Werewolf: The Apocalypse- Earthblood, it is your duty to defend Endron and save the world.
Title: Werewolf: The Apocalypse- Earthblood
Developer: Cyanide
Publishers: Nacon
Platforms: PC, PS5, XSX (reviewed), PS4, XBO
Release Date: February 4th, 2021
In all actuality, Endron is trying to destroy/take over the world, starting with the environment. You play as Cahal, a member of the Fianna tribe, a group of Irish werewolves. You learn that the world is run by three forces the Wyld, a chaotic, creative force that creates life and oversees nature; the Weaver, which is tasked to give form to the Wyld’s creativity, organizing Earth; and the Wyrm, which originally existed as a balancing force between the Wyld and the Weaver, but has since become a force of evil. When you take control of Cahal, you are infiltrating an Endron building that your wife has been trapped in while she tries to get more info and sabotage.
The first stage of sorts is a fairly expansive tutorial, teaching you the three different forms of Cahal. First is regular human, which allows you to infiltrate areas without raising suspicion. The second, and my person favorite, is the wolf which allows you to sneak around, crawl through vents and generally be awesome. The third and final is Crinos, which is the werewolf form. This is the battle form, where you will clear rooms of enemies, all of which change and have different abilities as you proceed through the game. You also can gain different abilities as you go from level to level by absorbing spirit you’ll find, some allow your Crinos to have more/different attacks, and some give your wolf form more stealth skills and others allow you more rage in Cahal form. One of the most interesting levels involved me just being Cahal, where I could walk around and listen to enemies conversations, and that this would actually help me pass a speech check later in the level.
Rage builds up as your play as Cahal and get stealth kills, you can also gain it through drinking flasks you find around the stages. At it’s core, Werewolf is a stealth game mixed with arenas of battle. You sneak around Endron buildings, going area through area avoiding enemies, to get to a room that will obviously be an arena type fight, wash rinse repeat. I always knew what to expect, excluding the occasional boss type battle tossed in. Sneak past guards or don’t and unleash Crinos and have a battle. The story redeems this, as the writing is superb. Some of the graphics and character models are a little off, including one of the main villains.
The gameplay, while repetitive, isn’t horrible. If you were expecting a sprawling open world, skip Werewolf. If you are looking for incredibly scenic environments, with a wild story (you talk to a giant tree being that looks over your tribe, and the earth), Werewolf is for you. The controls are capable, and the sound design is great. Another odd choice was the lack of dismemberment. Attacking large groups of humans as a werewolf with giant claws, and every single body is left intact with no visible damage. Let’s get into the score.
Gameplay: 9/10 – While repetitive, it does it quite well. I never felt like I was missing anything.
Graphics: 7.5/10– The environments are breathtaking, walking around the hub area, seeing the moon in the background and the foliage is awesome. Meanwhile some of the character designs are horrors within themselves.
Control: 8.5/10– I never felt like I didn’t have control of the character. Cahal always did what I needed him to do or go where I needed him to go, which is important in a stealth game.
Sound Design: 8/10– Soundtrack and background music fit the world perfectly.
Final Verdict: 8.25/10– A totally able game. Story driven will leave you wanting to explore more of the world set before you, including the lavish hub world.
FrankenCulture 