Overall most helpful review

Posted on: June 10, 2022

StingingVelvet

Games: 1170 Reviews: 17

Good ideas, low rent execution

I played this on Epic. The idea is great, a Deus Ex style game with sneaky werewolves in the World of Darkness setting. It's got evil corporations, cool powers, a mix of stealth and action, etc. etc. If that sounds amazing to you, you might enjoy it despite its flaws. The problem is not just that the budget is low. Lots of "janky" AA games surpass their origins and offer great gameplay (Elex for example). However this low budget is paired with a general lack of quality development, leading to a game with no heart or great gameplay to match its jank. At the end of the day you get a simple, low rent version of the genre in a cool setting. Maybe that's enough for you. It was enough for me for 10 or so hours, before I ditched it.

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Posted on: March 15, 2023

Elkor_Alish

Verified owner

Games: 298 Reviews: 56

Staggeringly Inept

I sometimes regret posting negative reviews on a game. . .But I don't think I will this time. Some things are obvious, such as the fact that at some point in development they decided to go a different direction but were too far along to create the assets needed to support the shift in narrative and so just repurposed what they had. In light of that, they did what they could, but the final product is nothing you could call good. By the time the opening credits end you will suspect a great deal of content was cut and the signs are everywhere after that, from NPCs who have names but no interactions, to conversations about other NPCs who died that you never met. Because there is no immersion or buildup prior to any of this you are left without any emotional anchors and so just shrug off a lot of your early experiences in the game and that disconnect only becomes greater as you go The environment and art style is supposed to be evocative of other, older, titles from Vampire: The Masquerade, such as Bloodlines and Redemption (was that the title, with Christof?). That worked for me, I imagine it will be dated for most though. The main benefit from this is everything loads and plays nicely and with some real fluidity. The levels were well crafted, with breadth and verticality to make exploration interesting but because there is so little to interact with it accomplishes no more than breaking up the monotony -and the gameplay is monotonous. This game ostensibly centers around the White Wolf system werewolves known as Garou, they never touch on any of the lore or background choosing to focus on environmentalism save for in the form of a half dozen "notes" you can pick up and read clearly added in post. That there is a stealth system but you cannot choose when you use it, just as there is a save system but you have no control over that either. There is a dialogue, but again, but its mostly pushed on the player with no opportunity for role playing. This game is just bad

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Posted on: January 28, 2024

XYCat

Verified owner

Games: 1157 Reviews: 35

The game's alright

If you're expecting an RPG or something storytelling heavy like the tabletop RPG, then you could be disappointed because this is an action game. You can stealth a bit if you want, like the screenshots make it seem, but things get violent eventually and most of the time going straight into combat gets you the exact same results as stealthing but it's faster. Basically it's a very simple action game with a werewolf, don't expect too much else out of it. As for the story, the game just drops you right in - you're a werewolf and you fight Exxon, I mean Endron, stuff gets violent. You're not being introduced to the tabletop world like a newbie, the game doesn't bother with that and drops you straight into the action. In fact, when the game tries to give you story and conversations, it just kinda slows the whole thing down with little point to it. It sometimes has funky bugs and models could look better in this engine, but if you want some very straightforward action with werewolves then the game's got that covered. 3/5 would probably be more appropriate but I had fun enough, so whatever. Also you get to transform into a wolf to run faster and stealth better, :D If you want something closer to the storytelling of the tabletop RPG then Werewolf the Apocalypse - Heart of the forest is what you want to play.

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Posted on: November 4, 2023

Empow3rd

Verified owner

Games: 342 Reviews: 21

Better than I expected

This game seems to have quite a mixed reception but for me it was pretty solid game for 10 euros. The game is a mixture of poor man's Deus Ex and a competent God of War clone to put it simply. The game has stealth sections that allow you to completely skip combat encounters or weaken them by hacking to disable cameras and turrets, take down opponents via melee takedowns or a crossbow, and sabotage fuse boxes to weaken reinforcements to combat arenas. The stealth gameplay is a bit barebones and not super exciting, however it did start to grow on me as the game went on. Cyanide's Styx: Shards of Darkness was a more pure stealth game which was very good, so I am somewhat surprised they didn't make the stealth game as engaging this time around. When stealth fails or you choose to not even try to stealth, you'll become a werewolf. In werewolf mode the game becomes an surprisingly solid action game where you slaughter enemies in combat arenas with waves of reinforcements. Even if you fail your stealth attempt, what you did during stealthing does matter. Depending on your actions you will have less enemies to fight, disabled turrets, more rage (you gain rage resource from enemy takedowns, which gives you an edge in combat), and weaker reinforcements. Even if I failed stealth I didn't feel punished or frustrated as my efforts were still making a difference, the werewolf combat being fun also helps. The game is not very long (10 hours or so) but then again the game's formula gets a bit repetative, but the latter half was much more challenging and exciting. The story, voice acting, writing are all okay. Competent but not especially memorable. This game is maybe more of a 3.5/5 but I am rounding it up for the sheer novelty of the game. The mix of vastly different stealth and action gameplay can probably feel like too much for some, but if the barebones stealth is not your cup of tea you can for the most part ignore it completely.

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Posted on: October 11, 2024

clypsiphaya

Verified owner

Games: Reviews: 2

Worthy of the name, but not of the price

THE GOOD: Earthblood nailed the vibe of being a Fianna werewolf fighting for the sanctity of our planet. It had some epic (if slightly predictable) twists and betrayals, which I won't spoil here. The combat was fast, fluid, and vicious, and perfectly encapsulated what it should feel like to be a six-hundred-pound killing machine fueled by rage and booze. THE BAD: Although the plot had some good third-act twists, the writing as a whole feels like White Wolf fanfiction penned by an overly-devoted fan. As mentioned above, several of the plot twists are pretty predictable. There's a LOT that Cyanide could have done to enhance QoL - a proper quest log, better UI, clearer sidequest triggers... THE UGLY: The worst, though, is the practically on-rails gameplay system. Either you're in stealth, you've blown stealth and you're in murder mode, or you're playing a walking & talking simulator - the divisions between game modes are sharp and jarring. Freedom of choice isn't even an illusion in this game like it is in many modern games - save for the final choice of ending, which is a single, split-second decision of "pick a door." For a game based off of a tabletop storytelling RPG, this is an Unforgivable Sin. BOTTOM LINE: It's a fun narrative to while away an evening with, if you can get it on sale. (I got the upgraded edition for a grand total of four bucks, and even now I'm not certain I got my money's worth.) As long as you don't expect anything spectacular, you'll have a good time - it's all flash and little substance.

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