Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood, the preview
Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood puts us in the shoes of the werewolf Cahal, an eco-terrorist whose tribe is expropriated. own land from the oil company Endron: the game therefore relies on the environmental issue and some secondary stories related to it, such as land appropriation and marginalization of minorities. On paper these are narrative bases of a certain depth, as long as they are treated with a care that, unfortunately, does not seem to exist here: in fact, everything only gives the idea of being a pretext to show muscles and ferocity.
The new gameplay video
As in every other occasion in which it was shown, also in this case Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood focuses everything on combat and on Cahal's different approaches to missions . There are three forms that he can take: human, the one most often used for any action regarding social interactions, hacking and stealth killings (which can also be performed with the crossbow). The latter contribute to fill the newly introduced indicator of anger, which will come in handy when we face enemies head on. Both this shape and the wolf shape are used to proceed in the most discreet way possible, exploiting in this specific case the speed and agility in order to pass unnoticed between the roofs or along the ventilation systems. Finally, there is the form that everyone thinks of as soon as they hear the word werewolf: "Crinos" fully expresses Cahal's destructive potential, making him a perfect war machine devoted to massacre, the ideal - as well as the only - solution when the stealth approach fails. From simple guards to armored soldiers to actual robots, as a werewolf there is no obstacle.These premises and the variety of approaches that they ideally bring with them suggest a multifaceted gameplay where, in spite of a narrative subtext probably inserted just for show, the role of Cahal as protector and werewolf can still express itself at its best. However, the reality of the facts reveals a potential destined to remain in the shadows, slowed down by anachronistic solutions and a general superficiality in both the playful and technical sectors: schematic levels, very basic artificial intelligence, covers positioned more to push the player in a specific direction. that not to motivate him to experiment, explosive barrels in the middle of the arena, doors whose only purpose is to bring up new reinforcements, basic and quite woody animations, non-response of the enemies to the hits suffered ...
In short, as we mentioned at the beginning Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood seems to be a game born old, above all in conceptual terms: all the solutions adopted could perhaps have been fine ten years ago, right now they make you feel their own weight without necessarily comparing them to the best triple A productions. Even in the indie panorama we find, without particular effort, some flashes more in trigants. If on the one hand he has shown a certain appeal by becoming one of the many spokespersons of the paper RPG, on the other hand there is no distinctive sign or artistic direction that allow him to emerge. Were he not called Werewolf: The Apocalypse it would be difficult to associate him with the narrative universe of the World of Darkness.
Despite the three forms that Cahal can take, as well as a couple of solutions such as hacking and the crossbow that do not limit our resources to the werewolf nature, we are unable to hide the doubts and perplexities in the face of an anonymous project, far from being in step with the times: there is much to clean up on the technical front but above all we need direction an imprint if we want to say so, capable of offering the game something to say. The fight in "Crinos" form shows itself to be the potentially funniest part to play, thanks to two different stances that focus on agility and power, on the state of frenzy that makes us even more beastly than we already are (but like everything has a price) and anger management for unique combos. Yet the way it is managed, including animations and solutions now of a generation ago, still fails to give hope. A few weeks away, it looks like yet another title inspired by something bigger and ready to live, perhaps, in reflected glory.
Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood failed to convince us with this latest gameplay video, nor to take away the feeling that it is an old game due to some outdated level and game design solutions. Where Cahal's transformations and alternative approaches in human form anticipate the possibility of alternative solutions to simple combat, in a game that gives this latter aspect a fundamental point, we cannot find something worth dwelling on. The main charm derives from being inspired by a paper RPG that has now several years on its shoulders but the game lacks a soul of its own, even if only in the artistic direction, which allows it to stand out and become something more than a simple derivative project.
