Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood
Welcome back to, and thank you for welcoming me back, to my video game reviews . As you might be aware, I took some time away from my weekly reviews. I hadn’t planned to be gone for six weeks, but during my break I managed to contract COVID-19 which delayed me further. But now I’m healthy(ish) and equipped with a new computer, ready to get back into the game reviewer saddle. For my first review back I wanted to review a game based on a tabletop RPG system close to my heart, so I took at look at Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood.
Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood is set in the world of the TTRPG Werewolf: The Apocalypse. In this setting, there exist a triad of primal deities responsible for reality as we know it. The Wyld is the force of creation, The Weaver is the force of order, and The Wyrm is the force destruction. Werewolves, or “Garou” as they refer to themselves, are warriors in service of Gaia and The Wyld, fighting against The Weaver, The Wyrm, and their various minions. In Earthblood, The Wyrm is the chief antagonist acting through its puppet Endron an oil company so corrupt it’s considered bad even by oil company standards. The player takes the role of Cahal, a Garou in the American Pacific Northwest, who fights against Endron both to fulfill his duty to Gaia and to avenge his wife.
While I haven’t played Werewolf: The Apocalypse as much as I’ve played other TTRPGs, I have very strong positive feelings about it so I came into Earthblood with relatively high hopes. One of the most interesting mechanics in Werewolf: The Apocalypse is the different forms Garou can assume, each with their own capabilities, and this is expressed well in Earthblood. Cahal has three different forms: Homid, the human; Lupus, the wolf; and Crinos, the werewolf. I found the human form to be lackluster save for Earthblood’s conversation system. At certain points, Cahal will talk with important figures to gain information. During these conversations, players will periodically choose how Cahal will respond, which shapes the conversation. But at all times, players have an additional choice: the choice of shifting to the Crinos form mid-conversation. I love this because it exemplifies how little patience the Garou, or at least the kind of Garou I like to play, have for humans. Lupus, the wolf form, is a surprisingly niche form, mostly only useful for stealth sections of the game. When in the Lupus form, Cahal has a smaller profile and is lower to the ground. This allows Cahal to sneak behind and between the waist-high walls that are present in surprising numbers in all Endron facilities. On top of that, when Cahal is in the Lupus form, the camera pulls back and the player’s field of view is noticeably increased, helping players keep an eye out for enemies. Outside that, the only other advantage the wolf form has is a faster movement speed. I liked the feeling of being a silent hunter that the wolf form gave, but I wished there was more to do with it.
The Crinos form, the classic terrifying werewolf form, is definitely the star of Earthblood. Crinos is the only form players can’t take on at will, instead being reserved until enemies are present. Once players do decide to shift into this battle form, the game dramatically lurches from stealth game to a God of War-style action brawler. Almost everything about the Crinos form delighted me, but the highlight was the mood. When Cahal shifts to this towering monster of claws and fury, a power metal guitar track starts playing which solidifies the feeling Cahal has just become a whirlwind of carnage. The visual design is slightly altered as well, with huge jagged lines appearing in the air when Cahal attacks, following the lines of his claws, and the screen shakes when he performs a heavy attack. In terms of gameplay, players gain access to powerful moves in Crinos form that are fueled by Rage, which is gained by killing enemies in stealth sections or by attacking in Crinos form. If I’m honest, none of these skills were that creative, but they were fun and felt good to use. Lastly, as Cahal fights in his werewolf form, he builds his Frenzy meter. When full, players can activate Frenzy, causing Cahal to enter a state which gives him access to new, better attacks but blocks him from using any special abilities. I liked the mechanics of choosing when to raise the stakes by making Cahal more powerful at the cost of capability and it was also a good showcase of the feral power of the Garou.
Though there isn’t a lot of innovation in Cahal’s three forms, they are mechanically solid and thematically excellent, making for an unimaginative but undeniably strong central pillar. This is good because many other aspects of Earthblood are a letdown. The first thing I noticed was the character animation during conversations. There is so little fluidity in the motions of the characters that it almost feels like a conversation between animatronics. On top of that, the characters will make nonsensical motions with their hands and arms as though they’ve been told more movement makes for a more believable performance. And these performances definitely need help being more believable, because the voice actors just don’t nail the more emotive scenes. The events of Earthblood’s story kills a number of people Cahal and others care deeply for, if not love, yet none can give a convincing performance. I know neither animation nor voice acting are easy jobs, and the COVID-19 quarantine didn’t help, but what’s present in Earthblood just doesn’t measure up to modern standards. Beyond that, the more mystical aspects of the Werewolf: The Apocalypse setting are largely absent from Earthblood. I get that what a tabletop game player’s imagination can do in an instant would take a programmer dozens of hours to accomplish, but even a small bit of magic would have done leagues better to help connect this game with its setting. Lastly, I was so disappointed that the majority of Cahal’s motivation was his dead wife and his estranged daughter. He is literally a being created by mother nature to protect life itself, if he fails all life will end and Earth will become a barren rock. Cahal does not need more motivation than that.
There’s a lot wrong with Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood but I do think it’s a cool and enjoyable game. The flaws are undeniable but at the end of the day it’s extremely fun to turn into a massive monster and slaughter scores of people who are all so bad you can’t feel sorry for them. I don’t think it’s worth the full $40, but if you can find it on sale for $15-$20 and love tearing oil executives in half, I bet you’ll have a fun time with this game.
Buy this game on sale
It’s worth playing, just not at the price they’re asking
