Werewolf The Apocalypse Earthblood review

Werewolf The Apocalypse Earthblood is a brutal beat’em up action role-playing game that is developed by Cyanide and published by Nacon. The game is based on the tabletop role-playing game Werewolf The Apocalypse and takes place in the World of Darkness.

You take on the role of Cahal who can transform into three different forms and is on a quest of bloody redemption. Werewolf The Apocalypse Earthblood is available for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, Xbox One and PC.

Werewolf The Apocalypse Earthblood Details

Platform(s): PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, Xbox One and PC
Reviewed on: Xbox Series X
Developer(s): Cyanide
Publisher(s): Nacon
Genre: Action role-playing
Modes: Single-player
ESRB Rating: M (Mature 17+)

An interesting story with underlying messages and characters that doesn’t quite connect

The game takes place in the World of Darkness where vampires, werewolves and other supernatural beings struggle for power. In this game, you play as Cahal, an eco-terrorist, who is a member of the Fianna tribe. You are a shapeshifter with the ability to turn into a werewolf, also known as Garou, a human and a wolf.

After accidentally killing another member of the tribe, Cahal is forced into exile. After many years away from the tribe and loved ones, Cahal returns to save the tribe from a brand-new threat. You fight to find your family and save Gaia, mother Earth, from Endron—a multinational oil corporation that has no care or thought for the planet’s resources.

What really interested me about the game’s story were the underlying social justice and environmentalist messages tucked away. For example, the Garou Nation is composed of 13 tribes that each have differing views on how to protect nature and deal with humanity. One tribe believes that technology is the key. Another fights for women’s rights and gender equality. And, another wants to destroy humanity as we know it. Naturally, they don’t all agree and this creates a riff between them.

Shapeshifting with the ability to customize character traits

The gameplay in Werewolf The Apocalypse Earthblood is varied in that each of the three forms you can transform into offer different gameplay styles. For example, the wolf form allows for exploration and sneaking into places without being noticed. On the other hand, human form allows you to hack enemy defenses and take out the guards without being noticed. And, werewolf form allows you take unleash your rage and destroy your enemies by tearing them limb from limb.

The game contains a skill tree which allows you to customize your werewolf traits based on strengths and weaknesses. There is also a werewolf rage meter that you must manage. As you progress throughout the story and learn of environmental and social problems humans have caused, your rage meter rises. If your rage meter overflows, you enter a frenzy state as a werewolf and essentially go berserk. While in this state it’s difficult to determine who is your enemy and who is an innocent by standard. The only way to “calm down” is to kill everyone in sight.

Disappointing visuals and character animations

Unfortunately, the game’s presentation is not exactly what you would expect on Xbox Series X|S, PS5 or even PS4 and Xbox One. Character models at times can look a bit awkward and not scaled appropriately. Furthermore, character and facial animations are severely lacking. Overall the world just feels bland and even though the game is budget priced ($59.99 at time of this review), I still expected more from it.

The voice acting isn’t that good either. At times it seems as if the voices for characters don’t belong with the character we see on the screen. On the bright side, the game’s music is fairly decent and hearing slashing metal while ripping apart enemies as the werewolf was an unexpected highlight.

Werewolf The Apocalypse Earthblood is not exactly what I thought it would be

From the trailer and on paper, Werewolf The Apocalypse Earthblood final sounds like a fun and interesting game. In reality, it’s not so good. While the story has interesting underlying messages tucked away, it doesn’t do enough to establish a connection with any of the game’s characters.

Gameplay wise, it’s a neat concept being able to shapeshift into three different forms. However, the way in which it’s implemented into the game is uninspiring and repetitive. Essentially, each scenario plays out by using the wolf to sneak into a location. Next, you change to human form to do a little investigating and potentially stealthy takedowns. Finally, you burst into a rage as the werewolf and take out waves upon waves of enemies.

The most disappointing aspect of this game is without a doubt its presentation. It certainly doesn’t live up to “next gen” standards and in most cases not even previous gen standards. As much as I wanted this game to be a great experience, it isn’t. And, at its current price of $59.99, it’s hard to recommend. If the game was $20 cheaper, I could then honestly say it might be worth a look at. Even if you are a diehard fan of the tabletop role-playing game there really isn’t much to get excited about.

+ The ability to shapeshift into three different forms is cool
+ “Raging out” as the wolf is a good stress reliever
+ Environmental and social justice issues brought to light in the story

– Graphics and animation are not up to today’s standards
– Gameplay loops gets repetitive 
– No connection between player and characters in the game

OVERALL ASSESSMENT OF WEREWOLF THE APOCALYPSE EARTHBLOOD

Gameplay: 3/5
Graphics: 3/5
Sound: 3/5
Lasting Appeal/Replayability: 2.5/5

Overall Rating 2.9/5 (58%)

Get Werewolf: The Apocalypse Earthblood for PS5 or PS4

Buy Werewolf: The Apocalypse Earthblood for Xbox Series X|S or Xbox One

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