Image Cropping
Image Cropping
Age Verification Failed
Sorry, you're not eligable to view this content
Go Back to Home Page
Age Verification
Please enter your date of birth
Month
Day
Year

  mobile - header

Sign In Close
 
Enter your username.Your password will be send to your registered e-mail address.


Rating 2
2
Bad

Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood - Review

Woof
Score: 2/5
Reviewed by Oliver VanDervoort on PS5 - February 12, 2021   

One of the truly odd things about Werewolf: The Apocalypse Earthblood, other than its insanely long name, is that it actually ties into another game's universe. Set in the same universe as Vampire: The Masquerade, Earthblood is part of the developers' larger dark universe. This is a universe where monsters of all types are walking the earth at all times, just sorta blending into the background like it was nothing.

On its face, the idea that a clan of werewolves are also environmental activists is a heck of a story setting. In Earthblood, players take on the role of one of those activists, who are trying to infiltrate and take down the evil energy company, Endron. Yes. That's really the company's name. Those who lived through the 1990s will almost certainly have a chuckle at that one.

When the main character, Cahal loses his temper and his control during a mission, he is separated from the rest of his pack. The ensuing story has him trying to sneak around enemies in his full wolf or human form. Should Cahal find a spot where he can no longer sneak, he can turn into his werewolf form and try and kill as many Mech suited warriors as possible. 

Enemy AI Could Be Better

Speaking of sneaking around. It feels like this ought to be a bit harder. This is, after all a company that is used to having to try and fight against ecoterrorist werewolves. You'd think they'd be on the lookout a little bit more.

It needs to be pointed out that Earthblood is not a full-on AAA title. The AI when Cahal is sneaking around the facility definitely shows where it's possible there simply wasn't enough of a budget. Of course, enemies detecting when someone is sneaking around is always a little tricky. Even in big games like Hitman 3, it's always a little weird to simply go around a corner and suddenly be forgotten.

Things are a bit worse in Earthblood. There were several times when I should have been caught out in the open, but all I had to do was find a way to get behind someone. Suddenly, I was basically invisible. That shouldn't be a thing that happens in 2021. If I'm not actually hiding, just being directly behind someone shouldn't allow me to hide.

Sadly, that wasn't the worst part about prowling around the Endron facility.

Combat Loses Its Luster Quickly

On the one hand, turning into a werewolf and throwing enemy soldiers all over the room is a lot of fun. The problem is that, despite the fact that the game is supposed to have a progression system, the combat never really progresses. After about the 50th time of picking up a soldier and hurling him into his friends, even this becomes a little dull.

It doesn't help that you're really not supposed to engage in enemies in any other form. When you are in full wolf form, you are mostly supposed to be entirely avoiding combat. When you're in the human form, you can use a few weapons, but they are largely inadequate against the horde of enemies that will converge on you. When that horde does run into the room, you're going to want to turn into your monster form in order to battle through them.

There's also the fact that these enemies keep coming. There doesn't appear to be any rhyme or reason where they come from. There doesn't ever really appear to be an end to them. The best stealth game of the year, Hitman 3 is as great as it is, because if you take out all the guards in a particular area, they are officially taken out. They don't just suddenly appear out of nowhere when it's time to fight again. That's not the case in Earthblood. Sit in a room long enough and the Endron baddies will just keep coming and coming and coming.

It really does beg the question as to why there are trees to add new abilities and power, if the fights are all going to be about tearing people limb from limb with the same basic moves. I found myself wondering if there wasn't something quite a bit more engaging than originally planned. It's one of those questions that could see something upgraded if this was a game that was being put together by a big studio. It seems unlikely there are going to be a ton of fixes offered for Earthblood.

PS5 or PS3?

No, this game isn't strictly a PS5. Rather it's a PS4 game that plays on the PS5. Still, the character models are ones that if I had to pin on a console generation, would be top of the line PS3. When you're talking about games that are standing out for the way they look, that's a pretty big knock.

The game doesn't look bad, per say. It just doesn't look like a game you'd expect to be playing on the newest generation of consoles unless you were playing something released about seven years ago.

It's extremely odd to release a game for the current generation of consoles and PCs that looks as old as this game does.

Final Roundup

The good news about Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood is that it makes for an intriguing entry, storywise in the dark world this game is a part of. The negative is that it's not a game I'm going to be returning to anytime soon. Much of the game feels like a slog, in part because of repetitive mechanics and maps. It's also just not pretty enough to grab someone there either. In all, a game that looked like it has some serious potential falls very short.

Comments

Comments (0)
Sign In to Comment
Member Rewards
Powered By: Image

© 2024 Pro Gamer Media LLC, DailyGamer.com and DailyGamer Logo All rights reserved. All trademarks, logos, copyrights, images and videos displayed herein are the property of their respective owners and are displayed in accordance with the "Fair Use" Act.