Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood Reviews
Besides the prominent pro- or antagonists like zombies and vampires in recent years, Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood positively stands out from the crowd with the rather stepmotherly treated werewolves. Unfortunately, that's almost all that can be said positively about the title. But don't misunderstand - Werewolf isn't a bad game per sé, it's just mediocre: Graphics and story look old, especially in direct comparison with other recently released titles, many parts like the skill tree seem to be seen as a must rather than a real enrichment for the game and the short game duration of about eight hours isn't convincing either. Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood seems to want a lot, but not be able to accomplish that much. At least there could have been more of the heavy metal music.
Review in German | Read full review
Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood suffers from repetition and terrible stealth-focused gameplay that fails to capitalizes on its potential world.
Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood is a low-budget effort with a cool looking blood effects, but not much else. So don't expect anything good from the visuals or the overall narrative.
Review in Russian | Read full review
All in all, Earthblood is a promising assortment of competent and mismanaged concepts. Yet even with several annoyances and late-game repetition, there's no silver bullet taken against my primal enjoyment.
B-story, bad characters, boring combat system. A completely repetitive system of quests where you always do the same thing. The game contains several bugs, getting stuck in the wall, soldiers walking into the wall. Boring combat system and stealth. Graphics both from PS3. In short, a title that might have worked maybe 10 years ago.
Review in Czech | Read full review
Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Hearthblood is a game that manages only at a narrative level to make a worthy use of the prestigious brand of Werewolf: The Apocalypse. At the level of gameplay it performs a sufficient task without ever taking risks and with only sketchy RPG options while at a technical level, despite not having particular bugs, it never reaches an adequate yield for the platforms on which the title is launched. A game that we recommend at full price only to those who love in a visceral way the settings of the World of Darkness and the paper RPG Werewolf: The Apocalypse published by White Wolf, while lovers of action RPGs should think about it only after a drastic drop in price.
Review in Italian | Read full review
I could delve into more, but I'd just be filling space at this point. I did have some nuggets of fun with Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood, but there's too much I can't ignore to recommend it to anyone, especially with the dawn of next-gen systems and titles that execute their concepts much better and simply look like what current games should be.
Truth be told, Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood has a lot of promise. From its narrative hook that sadly never catches on, through to its would-be addictive gameplay loop that never delivers, it is clear to see where things should have worked out well. Unfortunately, the emptiness felt from the repetitive levels and incredibly samey mission structures are too difficult to ignore. On a positive note, the dialogue system feels modern and less primitive than its overall design, and the RPG-lite system can be fleshed out in a possible expansion down the line. Sadly, these positives are not enough to sway away from the tepid gameplay, aged visuals and a total missed opportunity to further explore the copious amounts of lore and background from which the game is based! Until the developers pull some Hello Games antics and completely end up bringing more to the table than what this game offers, it simply cannot be said that Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood is any good.
Given how rich World of Darkness universe is, Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood is nothing but a total disappointment.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood is a forgettable and disappointing adventure. The World of Darkness is rife with potential, but Cyanide squanders it with this dated action adventure title.
Wolf. Crinos. Human. Three forms that render the moment-to-moment gameplay of Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood as unique as it comes. When you aren’t sneaking around in the shadows in Cahal’s wolf form, you are shapeshifting into a human to snap necks or transitioning into a Crinos to wreak havoc on the environment and your enemies. It’s fascinating, yet oh-so-flawed.
Such a waste of a World of Darkness franchise potential.
Review in Russian | Read full review
At times, Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood will deliver a glimpse of a great power fantasy, only to be torn down by everything else it has to offer.
Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood is fun when we ignore some of its most severe limitations. It's a good mix between stealth and hack n 'slash action with a somewhat one-dimensional protagonist as in a good action movie from the 90s, but that at the same time begins to build an interesting universe full of possibilities.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood had a lot of potential. The World of Darkness universe is clearly full of interesting lore, creatures and characters, so it’s a shame that the game drops the ball so hard. While some players may find some surface-level enjoyment in the game’s stealth and combat, the lack of depth or player growth makes them feel old fast. Even if you are a World of Darkness superfan, it’s probably best to skip Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood, at least until it’s heavily discounted.
WTAE is a prime example of the latter. With its phoned-in stealth, mediocre combat, poor storytelling and rough presentation, calling it a missed opportunity is an understatement, especially on a new generation console. Even die-hard fans of the tabletop game will likely struggle to enjoy this take on the franchise. There's a blueprint here for an interesting concept, but sadly nothing more. Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood is out now for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series S|X, Xbox One and PC (via the Epic Games Store), priced £34.99 - £44.99
Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood is a long name for a short, uninspired game. I was really hoping this would be a hidden gem that managed to rekindle my love of b-tier titles. Instead it just feels generic in every sense of the word. The combat is its only saving grace, and that cannot carry the game.
Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood seemingly tries to bite off more than it can chew. As cheesy as that sentence sounds, it certainly meets that description. There are moments that stand out amongst the mediocrity of it all, that elevate the overall experience, but it’s not enough to justify playing it solely for those moments. The main “selling point” for the game being the ultra-violent combat could actually be its weakest element. So much so that the added inclusion of stealth mechanics is preferable to the main attraction. And it’s this secondary gameplay loop that is left feeling shallow and easily manipulated because of this split focus. Within the stealth systems, there is the potential of something interesting when mixed together with in-universe powers, but the current execution failed to capture the full fantasy.
Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood offers some brutally satisfying combat, but everything else in-between feels a little half-baked. It’s not that any of it is bad, but the stealth mechanics are inconsistently utilised, the level design can lack variety, whilst the visuals feel very dated – especially by PlayStation 5 standards. Despite this, I did enjoy my time playing through the game with the murderous rampages offered in Cahal’s werewolf form offering enough to make the ten-hour adventure worthwhile. Players might just want to keep their expectations in check if they were hoping for an adventure that really embraced a blend of stealthily sneaking around and all-out action fruitfully.
There is a lot of potential in Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood, I just wish more of it had been fully realized. There are moments of excitement to be had, especially in the game’s earlier hours as you take on your werewolf form and lay waste to your opponents. However, the combat and many of the environments become repetitive relatively quick. Given the game’s tie-in to the well-established RPG property of Werewolf: The Apocalypse, I do wish there had been more depth in both character development and the story itself. There is a ton of potential lore to draw from here, but it misses some of those opportunities. The end result? A decent enough weekend action-RPG binge, but not much else.