Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood Critic Reviews

One of the best AA games to release in quite some time, Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood combines brutal combat, smart stealth and a well-developed lore into a 20 hour long action adventure campaign. It can get a little repetitive before the midpoint but there’s some excellent moments waiting for those that can push through to the end.

See past the low-budget looks, and you’ll find this is no shaggy dog tale. It’s a well-paced adventure that’s worth sinking your teeth (and claws) into.

Absolutely dated in so many ways with crusty stealth gameplay, poor visuals and uninspiring environments, yet showing glimmers of innovation that are in turn bolstered by bouts of super satisfying werewolf combat, Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood is the first proper guilty pleasure of the year.

Remarkably fluent gameplay and an enjoyable B-film atmosphere make Werewolf: The Apocalypse absolutely worth playing. There are some drawbacks though, chief among which the boring stealth levels and an annoying camera.

Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood won’t be remembered for long and that’s fine – by the time I got to writing this summary, I couldn’t really remember it, either. It’s not terrible and I can see some great ideas just begging for a bigger budget. The stealth is poor but has potential, and the combat is simple, samey Prototype-esque fun that could have been more. The story and the presentation are the real let-downs here and you’d be better served throwing on some thrash-metal and muting the game while you play.

It proposes a universe and some attractive ideas, but they are not interesting enough to overlook a crude graphical performance and some really repetitive gameplay mechanics.

The power you feel upon becoming a half-man, half-wolf monstrosity in Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood is its saving grace. There’s nothing else out there that offers a similar experience. Sure, it gets a bit repetitive, but you’re a freaking werewolf, capable of picking up a grown man and ripping his head clean off. Boss fights are a highlight, too, actually putting your combat skills to the test, unlike the majority of battles where soldiers are thrown into the arena like lambs to the slaughter. Like its protagonist, Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood has many sides to it that are all rough around the edges, but it’s not totally devoid of charm.

Earthblood is one of those games that will keep you entertained, although pretty much everything about it is average at best.

Too many mechanics and a lot of them are far from being perfect, even if it has good ideas, like the variety added by the three shapes of Cahal. Needs to be more focused (and probably a bigger budget).

Much like the warring tribes in the board game that this title is based on, the various ideals that make up this game don't quite work together as you would hope they would. Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood tries valiantly to tell a story while getting you to think and move smart. Ultimately however, the game boils down to a technically proficient, yet repetitive button masher with minimal next gen trimmings and a sense that this game could have been a whole lot more than it is.

Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood starts off on the right note, engaging players with the type of action I imagine werewolf fans will find exciting. It quickly runs out of puff, though, and what excitement there is to be had is spoiled by too much tedium in between. Ultimately, enthusiasts of the Apocalypse TRPG are unlikely to feel satiated by what is a rather shallow video game experience overall, which makes it difficult to recommend to those outside the hardcore fanbase.

Earthblood does just what it’s supposed to — the developers have done a great job of making a ‘play it your way’ action-RPG that lives up to the player’s werewolf-associated expectations. It lacks any extra spark to make it feel essential, though — sneaking and brutalizing my way through the levels was enjoyable enough, but I wasn’t at all interested in why I was doing it.

The werewolves deserve better... Cyanide cannot keep the quality level you got used to after games like the Styx franchise.

Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood is certainly not the videogame that board game fans have always dreamed of.

With its too shy Immersive Sim aspect, its too limited RPG elements, its too systematic gameplay mechanics and its extremely dated technical achievement, Werewolf The Apocalypse Earthblood undoubtedly misses the mark.

Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood isn't a terrible game, but it's most likely not one that's going to stick with you long after the credits roll. It's mindless and repetitive, but if you're a fan of World of Darkness and feel like channeling your inner wolfman for the weekend, it just might scratch that primal itch. However, if you're on the hunt for an action-RPG with some meat on its bones, you're much better off sinking your claws into something else.

You can see Cyanide Studios had good ideas for Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood, so it is a shame to see that potential wasted. Tearing through enemies is undeniably satisfying and Earthblood’s stealth mechanics feel rewarding but with poor visuals, a short campaign, and disappointing story, you can’t ignore these pressing flaws. Cyanide has faithfully integrated Werewolf’s lore here – even if that is a little bare – so tabletop series fans will likely enjoy it, but anyone else would best approach with caution.

Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood has potential, but is little more than a C-tier experience that's unlikely to stick in anyone's memory for long.

Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood feels like it had the potential to be really good, but even though the combat is very satisfying, the drab interludes and disappointing stealth meant I spent a lot of the time asking when the game was going to be over. To me, that speaks volumes.

Despite its B-game charms, it is difficult to recommend Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood outright. Many of its elements feel somewhat incomplete or lacking. Even the competency of the combat only works on a surface level and is unlikely to keep people coming back for more. Still, there is some joy to be had here, even if some of it is unintentional. There may not be a gripping story or numerous engaging gameplay systems, but with the right state of mind there’s a decent, mindless weekend brawl to be had.