The world in Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood, is falling into utter turmoil and decay. This is due to the actions of one giant corporation that vows to never stop and wipe out anyone that gets in the way or opposes their evil efforts and experiments. Luckily, our protagonist is no mere human. He’s part of a powerful pack of werewolves that will fight to the bitter end to rid the planet of this poison and destroy Endron at any cost.
The developer, Cyanide Studio, has ambitiously crafted a fun experience here for werewolf fans. I’ll admit, I’m a huge one myself and absolutely love Underworld and An American Werewolf in London for example. The first trailer released for this title had my full attention.
Cahal is the game’s protagonist, a true soldier and member of the Caern pack. The action kicks off quickly within the first mission, showcasing what he is capable of after shapeshifting into a formidable beast. Once rage mode is tapped into, you can tear into enemies with brutalizing power and devastation.
Tragedy however, is just around the corner; leaving Cahal gutted and lost. He was unable to reign in his rage while in werewolf form and the consequences were fatal to one of his very own pack members. This leads to his temporary exile, leaving not only from the Caern, but even his own daughter in fear this could happen again to someone he loved dearly. After several years, he is reunited; to protect and reclaim his spot within the pack. Together they face off against Endron and look to wipe them off the map for good.
There is a nice mix of gameplay present here, including sections where Cahal can use stealth instead of brute force. Players can take out security cameras and turrets with a crossbow while human (be sure to inspect around each area to collect more ammo), plus sabotage the enemies way of calling in reinforcements. Morphing into wolf form is excellent for covering ground quickly and for sneaking through air vents to flank the opposition. You can also hit the rage button and go head on against armed guards, super soldiers and mechs. This will also automatically happen when you have been spotted and the alarm is sounded. A “Frenzy” meter will slowly build as you take out more enemies, allowing players to up the carnage factor even further.
Cahal uses a combination of light and heavy attacks in werewolf form, in conjunction with special abilities. New attacks and healing buffs can be acquired through Spirit Points that are scattered throughout the game. There are also two stances that can activated during the action, including Agile and Heavy. I primarily stuck with Agile based attacks to keep my movement quick and precise; only breaking out the Heavy stance against shielded enemies, super soldiers and the larger imposing mechs. If you stay still at any point during combat, you’ll get wiped out quickly.
Silver is also used in some of their guns and you’ll want to dodge these shots; as they drop your health temporarily with each hit direct hit. Once all enemies are cleared, you can heal up however. It’s a fun brawler at heart, with optional stealth mechanics. I really do hope to see a sequel, as I enjoyed my time with this new IP. I would however like to see more variety in combat and missions on the next venture.
The graphics and performance are solid. Aside from some questionable facial animations during cut scenes, it’s a good looking game on the Xbox Series X that runs smoothly, even during complete chaos. This is where the game shines, for those that enjoy this style of beat ’em up action. The heavy soundtrack is also worthy of mentioning, as it contains some great riffs to let your inner wolf out.
Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood, delivers a nice mix of action and stealth within its campaign, combined with a story that pulls from the popular World of Darkness tabletop role-playing games. The ability to shapeshift from human to wolf and then to a towering beast at any point is a blast. While there are some rough edges and repetitiveness along the journey, fans of Lycans and full moons will find plenty to sink their fangs into here.
