If the Twilight series has taught us anything, it is that, when it comes to nocturnal predators of myth and legend, people fall into two distinct camps – those who immediately think of vampires, and those who consider this description better applies to werewolves.
These classic monsters represent the twin archetypes of our complicated relationship with the night – its mysteries, and the fears and longings that go with it.
On the one hand, we have the vampire: aloof, cold, calculating, suave, urbane, but ultimately a parasite that is forever separated from both humanity and life itself.
On the other side of the lunar coin, there is the werewolf: atavistic, hot-blooded, raw instinct, a savage apex predator enthralled by the Moon.
Unlike their vampiric counterparts, there haven’t been all that many video games starring lycanthropes. Those that are available are, with a few notable exceptions (such as the Elder Scrolls), mostly arcade and similar action-oriented titles in which they are relegated to mindless monstrosities and these do little to explore all the gaming and narrative possibilities of these fascinating creatures.
Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood is a promising upcoming action RPG where you will be able to take on the role of one of these hairy, hulking beasts. While the game is still a ways off from being released, let’s take a closer look at what we currently know about it, as well as talk about its setting, and some of our predictions and wishful thinking on everything we would like to see included here.
The World of Darkness
Along with pen and paper systems such as Shadowrun, White Wolf Publishing’s World of Darkness was one of the most popular role-playing settings of the early 1990s. Unlike the more traditional high fantasy PnP systems, WoD was much more somber, more macabre, and had you playing as a member of several (appropriately) dark beings: vampires, werewolves, demons, wraiths, mages, fae, mummies, and other fantastical entities.
Each one of these had their own style of play, special rules, and objectives. For example, the one that people are the most familiar with, Vampire: The Masquerade, has you assume the role of a vampire and all that that entails – creating your character out of one of a dozen or so distinct Clans, stalking mortals that you need to feed off, carefully navigating the complex vampiric social hierarchies, all the while consolidating and expanding your own power and influence.
Werewolf: The Apocalypse focuses on a different angle – with werewolves being a race of eco-warriors (or eco-terrorists, depending on your view) that are desperately fighting to stop the encroaching Apocalypse.
The Story Setting
According to their theology, there are three main spiritual forces responsible for creating and regulating the world: the Wyld (chaotic creation), the Weaver (who then imposes order on that creation), and the Wyrm (entropy).
But, the Weaver, tired of his creations invariably getting destroyed, attempted to imprison the Wyrm. This drove the spirit of entropy mad, causing it to become fixated on complete destruction, breaking the delicate cycle of balance.
Fighting for a Lost Cause
Now, the Garou (deriving from the French term for werewolves: loup-garou), as they call themselves, are Gaia’s (the Earth) last line of defense against the Wyrm’s destructive and toxic influence. In order to stave off the tide of devastation, they will battle those that the Wyrm has infected with its taint – unnatural and unholy creatures such as vampires, demons, and ordinary humans that pollute the environment.
But it is a hopeless cause, and the Garou know that they are only prolonging the inevitable.
Like the vampiric Clans, Garou are also divided into different Tribes. Furthermore, they come in three separate breeds: the Homid (the most common kind, born in a human society), the Metis (the misshapen, sterile offspring of two Garou), and the Lupus (born from wild wolves), and are influenced by the phase of the Moon (called Auspices) during their birth.
Garou Combat Capabilities
Garou have several advantages over other creatures in WoD – they heal almost instantaneously from any injury and can only be hurt by silver or some abilities of other supernaturals, the Spirits grant them Gifts (special magic-like powers), they can shift between shapes at will, step into Umbra (the spirit world), perform magical Rituals, and they have Gnosis (a renewable spiritual resource similar to Mana from the Diablo series).
On the downside, they are also slaves to their Rage – a form of madness imposed by Luna (the Moon) and have to be very careful not to Frenzy and lose their control. In this state, they will either flee in terror, or attack everything in sight – enemies and allies alike.
WTA – Earthblood – What We Know About It
First announced in 2017, WTAE is being developed by French developer Cyanide. Best known for their fantasy sports series Blood Bowl and the goblin sneaking Styx (one of the best stealth games), they’ve also made one of the finest and most authentic – as well as, sadly, one of the least known – game adaptations of Game of Thrones.
A representative of the middle-tier game studio specializing in lower-budget AA titles, their creative output is characterized not by superlative production values, but by the care, effort, and attention that’s integral – and apparent – in their design.
So when word got out that they would be handling a Werewolf: The Apocalypse game adaptation, fans were both excited and a bit apprehensive. Cyanide had proven time after time again that they can make a quality game on a budget, but will this be enough to provide us with a great W: TA game we’ve been waiting for so long?
What little we do know about the game suggests that they’ve done their best to give us a genuine – if constrained – Garou experience.
A New Main Character
In WTAE, you play as Cahal, an outcast werewolf from the Fianna Tribe. The Fianna are Celtic-inspired Garou hailing from Britain. They are infamous for their love of strong drink and revelry but are also more than capable warriors when the need for combat arises. Above all else, they value the bonds of family and kinship and banishing one of their own is seen as a severe form of punishment.
Cahal returns to his former tribe after learning that something has happened to his son. He soon learns that the Tribe’s sanctuary has come under assault by the oil-drilling Endron, a subsidiary of the Pentex mega-corporation. Run by vampires who seek to tap into the Wyrm’s power by deliberately causing wanton environmental contamination, Pentex is one of the chief enemies of all true Garou.
In order to stop their exploitation, Cahal must dedicate himself to driving out their tainted influence, and maybe find his own redemption in the process. To do this, he will have to tap into his innate Garou powers.
Human Form – Stealth?
He has three forms that he can shapeshift into according to the needs of the situation at hand. His first form, the Crynod, is that of a normal-looking human. Armed with a crossbow, you can use this form to carry out silent takedowns of enemies, interact with modern technology (such as hacking security devices), and speak with humans to gather info.
Travel Form
The second form is that of an ordinary-seeming wolf, called the Lupus. With it, you can quickly transverse great distances by running, inconspicuously scout from afar, track character whereabouts, and sneak around.
Werewolf Time
Your final form, the mighty Crinos, is what we usually think of when we hear the word “Werewolf” – a bloodthirsty bipedal cross between man and wolf. This is your main combat form, which you will shift to when you need to unleash the full power of the Garou against the enemies of Gaia.
But this shape is not without its risks. Your Rage can send you into a Frenzy – a state of unhinged bloodlust where you will indiscriminately attack both friends and foes. If you Frenzy too often, you will slaughter valuable allies, and this will affect the outcome of quests, how NPCs view you, and even future enemies. Frenzy too long, you risk being “touched by the Wyrm” – which results in an immediate game over.
Think of this like the Masquerade violations from Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines – in VTMB, one of the goals of vampire society is to remain hidden from mortals, and if you use your powers (or, worse, feed) in open sight, then you will alert humanity to your existence and endanger your entire species. With Garou, who fight against the Wyrm’s corruption, falling to its taint is the same thing – you essentially become the very thing you were fighting against.
This doesn’t mean that Rage doesn’t have its uses. You accumulate it by interacting with objects and characters tainted by the Wyrm’s influence, or by, for example, reading a document describing oil spills in the area. You must keep a close eye on your Rage Meter and use it strategically – in your Crinos form, Rage gives you stronger attacks, and you deplete it with each strike.
Different Gameplay Paths
This system sounds a bit like the one from Neverwinter Night 2’s expansion Mask of The Betrayer (one of our picks in the best PC games of all time article), where you have to consider your approach at all times – do you want the high-risk, high-reward playstyle of a maxed-out Rage Cahal, or will you be a more cautious player that considers Rage a liability? The choice is yours.
Our furry protagonist will travel across the American Northwest (a section of the US which encompasses Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and usually Montana and Wyoming as well) in a series of spacious hub worlds. Besides the physical world, Cahal will also enter the Penumbra (a layer of Umbra that is the spiritual shadow reflection of the real world), where he can undertake special challenges from the Great Spirit of the Waterfall and unlock unique rewards.
WTA – Earthblood – The Trailer
The trailer opening shows us live-action footage of ecological disasters: deforestation, rampant waste dumping, mass fish death, the pollution from oil refineries. Cahal, sporting a very biker/club bouncer-style look, is surveying this with visible disgust, his fist clenching in anger. This is intercut with images of Cahal’s three available forms.
At this point, the music kicks in. “Bones Exposed”, from prominent metalcore band Of Mice & Men, does a great job of setting up the appropriate mood – that of rebellious passion and indignant fury. In his Crinos shape, roaring with Rage, Cahal is charging to dispatch a mechanized exo-suit – a clash of nature versus technology. After which, we can see him facing off against what looks to be a gigantic skeletal bird – a benevolent spirit, or a manifestation of the Wyrm?
In his human form, Cahal looks on to see how his Crinos aspect has decimated several exo-suits but is now covered with tendrils of hate (which, incidentally, look very much like the ones from Princess Mononoke), in danger of being consumed by the Wyrm.
WTA – Earthblood – Release Date
While a concrete release date still hasn’t been announced, WTAE is slated for a Q2/Q3 2020 release. Its biggest competitor is, ironically, a game set in the same fictional universe – Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines 2. VTMB2 was originally supposed to be released in March 2020, but it has since been postponed to a later date. It is also one of the best RPG sequels that we’re anticipating.
These games are set to be pretty different experiences, with VTMB2 focusing more on the role-playing aspects, and WTAE more of an action RPG title, but they will inevitably be compared to one another. VTMB2 has even confirmed to have a werewolf-focused expansion called “Season of the Wolf”. This could present an opportunity for both games to crossover into one another, with easter eggs or direct references and important NPC guest appearances. It would be a natural fit (not to mention – really cool) to see Beckett (the shapeshifting Gangrel that the player character in VTMB1 can confuse with a werewolf when first meeting him) again in WTAE.
We hope that both games will be given a fair chance by the general gaming audience and gaming critics. After all, you can never have enough quality RPGs, especially ones set in such a lore-rich and painstakingly crafted setting like the World of Darkness.
Final Words
Developed by the same team that worked on Styx: Shards of Darkness and written by White Wolf Publishing’s Lead Storyteller Martin Ericsson, Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood has all the makings of a future cult classic. Though it doesn’t have the same amount of character customization (such as the option to pick your own Tribe, Breed, and Auspice) in the same way that Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 does, it is an intriguing gameplay and story concept coupled with an important environmental message.