Video Game Review of WEREWOLF: THE APOCALYPSE - EARTHBLOOD
Platform: PC , PS4 , PS5 , XBOXSX , XONE
Genre: action
Release date: February 4, 2021
Developer: Cyanide
Publisher: Nacon
After Styx: Shards of Darkness and a pretty decent Call of Cthulhu, it seemed that the eternal middle peasants, the French from Cyanide Studio , finally almost broke into the big leagues. And an action RPG based on one of the settings of the "World of Darkness" from this angle looked like an excellent chance to take the last step there.
The moment is perfect. With Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, no one knows what has been going on for almost a year, and World of Dark fans are in a heated state - they need a game in their favorite universe, not about ghouls, but about werewolves. That would be Cyanidein this situation, turn into such a beast, release claws, give free rein to the rage accumulated over the years of laughter and humiliation, and tear the competitors into rags ... I did not break it. Let me explain why.
For the daughter and Mother Earth!
Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood is a plot-driven game. The story here plays on the environmental theme, which is classic for this setting. The severe bearded Kahal and his clan (caern) are fighting against the evil Endron corporation, which with its technologies poisons nature and Mother Earth itself, Gaia. In the process, the protagonist himself, then his relatives, having lost their relatives, surrender to rage, lose control and kill each other, and then corporations kidnap Kahal's daughter - it is the desire to save her that becomes the main driving force.
Here it would be interesting to twist everything, emphasizing, for example, the dilemma between personal revenge and common, global goals. There are hints of this, but only hints. There is also a topic of confrontation with other werewolf clans, but it is played superficially. They promised not to interfere, betrayed, got fanged mugs, talked, dispersed. All.
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Kahal, like other werewolves, can communicate with spirits. |
And in general, one gets the impression that the authors had to give up a lot - well, or they initially decided to limit themselves to such weak strokes, going over the top. It seems that there are different locations - either forests, or a desert, or a prison, or huge platforms in the middle of the ocean. But, for example, the hero's potentially intriguing stay behind bars is three and a half quests, and the global confrontation between werewolves and corporations in the Washington woods unfolds a hundred meters between the sides - the caern's shelter and the corporation buildings are practically nearby.
Out of the woods - immediately to work!
Broken promises
This, by the way, is about the open world that the authors promised. Yes, back in 2018 they admitted that the plot will be linear, but at the same time they talked about the big world and non-linear quests. As a result, we got the opportunity to run a little around the plot points in order to complete three tasks: “Find five altars and pray with them”, “Find five spirits and talk to them”, “Find five corpses and rest their souls”. Very exciting and non-linear, you won’t say anything!
Such tasks are mainly issued by this huge comrade.
Yes, there are still additional requests to find and interrogate someone during the story mission, and there, during the conversation, we can either release rage and tear the interlocutor into rags, or restrain ourselves and force him to give the necessary information. But there are literally two such episodes on the entire passage, and they do not affect anything, although the game asks for a choice between preserving humanity and gradual transformation into a beast. This I again mean that the authors seemed to be going to implement this, but in the end there were only hints.
The negotiator from Kahal is so-so.
One in three persons
It must be admittedly useful to run around the locations and explore them (in any case, at first, there will be much less opportunities like this). There is an option to find different leaves and flowers that exude the spirit of nature - this, like completing key tasks, allows you to get levels and pump your character. It is this in Werewolf: The Apocalypse that justifies the presence of the abbreviation RPG in the "genre" column.
Well at least the pumping is useful - however, mainly only for the werewolf form (more on that later). Here it must be recalled that, in addition to his human form, which allows him to communicate with people, Kahal can take the form of a wolf for a stealthy passage and a werewolf for a furious (literally) action. Therefore, it is assumed that almost all missions you will overcome by stealth or in the style of a wild Rambo.
In special vision mode, we see enemies through walls.
In the first case, you can quickly run up to the enemy with a wolf and eliminate him, hide behind another shelter or duck into the ventilation in order to bypass the congestion of guards and get to the room, from where you can turn off the cameras / turrets, open the door or the elevator. They are also allowed to use a crossbow to cut off the same cameras / turrets from a distance or quietly destroy enemies.
And in the guise of a werewolf, we begin to literally tear opponents to shreds, destroying everything around and flooding the floor and walls with blood. At the same time, it is allowed to switch between fast and powerful stances, alternate normal and strong blows, accumulate rage and fall into madness, throw enemies, use different skills, such as a deafening roar or a quick dash, and so on.
Initially, in madness mode, no rage is generated, which is spent on skills. But the corresponding skill can be learned.
Boring, gentlemen!
The "trick" with switching forms looks interesting. And Cyanide Studio has always been good with ideas, but so-so with implementation - remember, for example, Of Orcs and Men and Game of Thrones . Here and here about the same.
At first, this kind of gameplay is even intriguing, and the furious fights in werewolf mode seem dashing and juicy. But quickly enough it all becomes boring. Situations, as a rule, are repeated as a blueprint, battles start to seem chaotic and not very comfortable, and stealth - too straightforward. If you see a crowd of enemies, then somewhere nearby there must be a passage through the ventilation - no surprises! Yes, and opponents are not distinguished by intelligence and ingenuity.
Guards can be called up and distracted with a roar.
Therefore, it was easier and faster for me (simply because the game was tired) to solve most situations in a power style and to pump exactly the werewolf branch. At the normal level of difficulty, anyway. At high, of course, there are more problems, especially since the enemies are actively calling for reinforcements. But even there, stealth is mainly useful in order to break the shields at the sources of reinforcements - this weakens them.
In any case, the game itself pushes to develop the power branch. There are obligatory (and rather harsh) boss fights, where we simply have no other options but to bare our fangs.
Sometimes you have to fight with your own.
***
The main problem with Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood is that this is not an RPG at all, but a linear and direct, like an evil werewolf, action movie. In principle, this was clear even before the release, but the authors promised other possibilities as well. As a result, we got an ugly, monotonous and quickly annoying action game. Plus, with a predictable plot and cardboard villains. The potential was great, but the clumsy implementation buried interesting ideas. The developers, of course, are hoping for something - the ending hints at a sequel. But something tells me that it will not be.
Pros: An interesting idea with switching between the handicaps of the character; juicy action and destructible; appropriate pumping system; cheerful music.
Cons: Predictable linear plot; lack of interesting quests; monotonous gameplay; imbalance towards battles; outdated graphics.
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