World of Darkness Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood - action-RPG adaptation from Cyanide

[Life of the Party]

Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood Is An Arcade Brawler With a Twist - E3 2019

Werewolf: The Apocalypse is a tabletop RPG set in the semi-connected World of Darkness universe*, where classic monsters fight against greater evils than themselves. Because of its deep tabletop roots, I was surprised to find that Earthblood, the long-in-development adaptation of the W:TA License, is less an RPG and more of a combat-driven action game.

But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Earthblood tells the story of Cahal, a werewolf who’s lost his human family and is struggling to reconcile with his wolven self, as he struggles to protect Earth (yes, he's what the government would call an "eco-terrorist") in a centuries-long war against an ancient evil force hell-bent on bringing about the apocalypse (GET IT?).

The ancient force, known as The Wyrm, is less a "big bad" it seems, and instead just an ever-present threat that must be kept at bay. The short(ish) is that it's corrupting power has infected countless unwitting humans, as well as a few willing ones like those in control of various oil companies, logging operations, arms manufacturers and the rest of the Evil Corporate Checklist. It can corrupt nearly anyone - even you. And this is where Earthblood's most intriguing concept comes into play.

The corrupting influence of the Wyrm is strengthened by negativity - greed, arrogance, jealousy, and most importantly, violence. When he transforms to his werewolf form in combat - the design of which is appropriately both empowering and terrifying - Cahal has to fight to keep his bestial nature under control. Every hit you make on an enemy, every kill or brutal finisher you enact, increases his "Rage" meter. Heightening your Rage allows you to perform special moves, like area attacks or extra damage, but if it fills completely, the corruption takes hold and it's game over.

It's an interesting mechanic, one that adds a unique need for strategy in what would otherwise be a fairly generic arcade brawler. We didn't see Cahal's human form get into any scrapes, but we did see him sneak into an oil plant using his wolf form (just a normal wolf, not the giant raging monster kind) to sneak past security guards and cameras. There are apparently some social mechanics where corruption plays a part as well, though we weren't able to see them in action. If you choose negative options in conversations or interactions, you'll also gain corruption - though there are skills to unlock that can reduce the rate at which your corruption accumulates.

With a release date slated for sometime in 2020, I'm curious to see more of what Werewolf has to offer. If it can capitalize on its unique corruption mechanic to create some truly interesting encounters and story beats, it might have something special on its hands. Or, I paws, I guess.

https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/0...ood-is-an-arcade-brawler-with-a-twist-e3-2019

 

[Xeon]

I could be wrong, wasn't Werewolf the first game announced related to World of Darkness? kinda sucks there is still no gameplay demo or real screenshots or whatever when Bloodline 2 was the last I think and giving tons of info already.

 

[Ismaul]

An Arcade Brawler.

Not what I expected, to say the least.

 

[Jenkem]

https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/0...ood-is-an-arcade-brawler-with-a-twist-e3-2019

Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood Is An Action Brawler With a Twist

Werewolf: The Apocalypse is a tabletop RPG set in the semi-connected World of Darkness universe*, where classic monsters fight against greater evils than themselves. Because of its deep tabletop roots, I was surprised to find that Earthblood, the long-in-development adaptation of the W:TA License, is less an RPG and more of a combat-driven action game.

But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Earthblood tells the story of Cahal, a werewolf who’s lost his human family and is struggling to reconcile with his wolven self, as he struggles to protect Earth (yes, he's what the government would call an "eco-terrorist") in a centuries-long war against an ancient evil force hell-bent on bringing about the apocalypse (GET IT?).




The ancient force, known as The Wyrm, is less a "big bad" it seems, and instead just an ever-present threat that must be kept at bay. The short(ish) is that it's corrupting power has infected countless unwitting humans, as well as a few willing ones like those in control of various oil companies, logging operations, arms manufacturers and the rest of the Evil Corporate Checklist. It can corrupt nearly anyone - even you. And this is where Earthblood's most intriguing concept comes into play.

The corrupting influence of the Wyrm is strengthened by negativity - greed, arrogance, jealousy, and most importantly, violence. When he transforms to his werewolf form in combat - the design of which is appropriately both empowering and terrifying - Cahal has to fight to keep his bestial nature under control. Every hit you make on an enemy, every kill or brutal finisher you enact, increases his "Rage" meter. Heightening your Rage allows you to perform special moves, like area attacks or extra damage, but if it fills completely, the corruoption takes hold and it's game over.




It's an interesting mechanic, one that adds a unique need for strategy in what would otherwise be a fairly generic arcade brawler. We didn't see Cahal's human form get into any scrapes, but we did see him sneak into an oil plant using his wolf form (just a normal wolf, not the giant raging monster kind) to sneak past security guards and cameras. There are apparently some social mechanics where Rage plays a part as well, though we weren't able to see them in action. If you choose negative options in conversations or interactions, you'll also gain Rage - though there are skills to unlock that can reduce the rate at which your Rage accumulates.

With a release date slated for sometime in 2020, I'm curious to see more of what Werewolf has to offer. Its arcade-ey combat seems to be on-point - evoking memories of the surprisingly excellent X-Men Origins: Wolverine game - and if it can capitalize on its unique corruption mechanic to create some truly interesting encounters and story beats, it might have something special on its hands. Or, I paws, I guess.

 

[Roguey]

Scope control.

Wonder if this should be moved to general gaming now though.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

This is reminding me of the time that the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Ravenloft IP was used for a 3D fighting game:

 

[Fedora Master]

Is... is that a joke?

 

[Tiospo]

I hope it will come sooner, because this game is very immersive, .. would be great!

 

[Morgoth]

This sounds already much more exciting than Soylines 2.

 

[rolandz_Baton_PROD]

mmmhrrrmrmm

Those earrings look nice.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Is... is that a joke?

If only. TSR cancelled its licensing deal with SSI so that other companies could embark on such well-conceived projects as a 3D fighting game branded with the AD&D and Ravenloft logos. Dragon Magazine had one advertisement for "Iron & Blood: Warrior of Ravenloft", and it was apparently released on both Playstations and PCs, but I can't remember ever seeing a copy of it or hearing/reading of anyone playing it.

 

[Yosharian]

Is... is that a joke?

If only. TSR cancelled its licensing deal with SSI so that other companies could embark on such well-conceived projects as a 3D fighting game branded with the AD&D and Ravenloft logos. Dragon Magazine had one advertisement for "Iron & Blood: Warrior of Ravenloft", and it was apparently released on both Playstations and PCs, but I can't remember ever seeing a copy of it or hearing/reading of anyone playing it.

Wait it's real?

 

[LESS T_T]

Another preview mentioning this is not a "full RPG": https://techraptor.net/content/were...ood-is-shaping-up-to-be-a-rage-fueled-brawler

Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood is Shaping Up to be a Rage-Fueled Brawler

Recently there was a little game called Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 announced. A sequel to a cult classic video game, and perhaps more importantly based on a famous tabletop game, Vampire seems to have a lot going for it. However, White Wolf has more than one tabletop game to base video games on. So we get Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood, this time based on the werewolf half of the tabletop. After what seemed like a very long time in development, I got to see how the game is shaping up.

I was warned beforehand, and this seemed to hold true on what I saw, that Earthblood is still in a pre-alpha state. The graphics sometimes had trouble loading in right away, there was no real soundtrack to speak of, and it was obvious some animations were missing. Still, what I got to see left me extremely hopeful for the finished product.

First things first, Earthblood isn’t really a full RPG. Rather, it’s closer to an action game with RPG elements. At the start we were introduced to Cahal, a werewolf who doubles as an “eco warrior.” In other words, you kill people who are hurting the planet. The first half of the demo took place in what appeared to be an oil field, albeit one with way more heavily armed guards and mech suits than you would expect.

We quickly get introduced to Cahal’s powers. At any point he can switch between his human and wolf form. While human or wolf, the game is more stealth based. You’ll be crouching and crawling as either form, and the human is also equipped with a crossbow for some stealth kills. While the human form may be able to pick a few enemies off, he’s not really made for combat and the dev did confirm that once you enter combat you become the third and most important form: the werewolf.

You can’t have a werewolf game without werewolves. Any time you enter combat you’ll turn into the hulking beast. Normal humans don’t really pose much of a threat, and the demo saw Cahal toss them around like ragdolls. He had some basic combos that let him tear them in half, or pick people up and throw them at each other. Each swing also felt ridiculously strong thanks to the destruction physics. Hitting a box caused it to shatter into pieces, and said pieces would go flying and knock enemies down. The first fight ended with a mini boss against someone in a mech suit, and watching our werewolf tear it apart is genuinely satisfying. Later we saw our werewolf fight a feral werewolf, and the fight ended with Cahal ripping out his opponent’s jaw and beating him to death with it.

There’s also a super important element present in Earthblood, and that’s managing rage. As you hit enemies, or get hit by them, you gain rage. You have to spend rage to use special abilities, such as leaping slams or charging forward. You may have noticed I said “have to” rather than “can”. This is because you need to manage your rage. If it fills up all the way Cahal goes feral, and the only cure for that requires killing everyone in the nearby area, including your friends. Rage doesn’t just fill up in combat either. When you talk to other characters you can gain rage from the conversations. You need to be careful in what you provoke people to say, as filling up your rage in conversation has the same result as it does in combat: you become a feral werewolf and have to kill everyone else to go back to normal.

We then moved to the second part of the demo, which took place in a dense forest. This was more used to show off that each level was open enough for you to explore, even if the game won’t be open world. We got to see that Cahal could just hang out with wolves and bears without being bothered. The developer said he could also talk to tree spirits to get side quests. We also got a look at the skill tree, which allowed Cahal to level up in either combat, stealth, or dialogue. While the specifics on what he could learn weren’t shared, I did catch a glimpse at one stealth ability that allowed Cahal to sniff out enemies while in the wolf form.

At that our demo of Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood came to an end. I have to admit I am insanely excited for the game based on what we saw. Sure the graphical polish needs work, but the rage mechanic seems like an extremely unique way to make Earthblood stand out from the crowd. Plus you get to play as a big ol’ werewolf smashin’ shit. What’s not to love? The game is set to be released some time in 2020 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

 

[Fedora Master]

Is... is that a joke?

If only. TSR cancelled its licensing deal with SSI so that other companies could embark on such well-conceived projects as a 3D fighting game branded with the AD&D and Ravenloft logos. Dragon Magazine had one advertisement for "Iron & Blood: Warrior of Ravenloft", and it was apparently released on both Playstations and PCs, but I can't remember ever seeing a copy of it or hearing/reading of anyone playing it.

I meant the Werewolf Brawler reveal but still, informative.

 

[Andhaira]

Is... is that a joke?

If only. TSR cancelled its licensing deal with SSI so that other companies could embark on such well-conceived projects as a 3D fighting game branded with the AD&D and Ravenloft logos. Dragon Magazine had one advertisement for "Iron & Blood: Warrior of Ravenloft", and it was apparently released on both Playstations and PCs, but I can't remember ever seeing a copy of it or hearing/reading of anyone playing it.

It was real, I assure you.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

Is... is that a joke?

If only. TSR cancelled its licensing deal with SSI so that other companies could embark on such well-conceived projects as a 3D fighting game branded with the AD&D and Ravenloft logos. Dragon Magazine had one advertisement for "Iron & Blood: Warrior of Ravenloft", and it was apparently released on both Playstations and PCs, but I can't remember ever seeing a copy of it or hearing/reading of anyone playing it.

Wait it's real?

edit.
choppy emulation in that video, but I'm too lazy to seek another.

 

[kain30]

a brawler game... so something like golden axe then... no buy for me.

 

[Feargus Jewhart]

Who the fuck wants a WoD Brawler? How the fuck do you miss your mark this hard when gouging for what the audience would actually pay for?? Why the fuck would you recreate a game that is a cult legend due to being supposedly complete and good but never released? How the fuck do you look at that as a concept and then go "you know what would be really fun? Let's make it a brawler!". I hope this is just the journalist fucking up ... Because If I would want to play a game so edgy and kewl kid that I can button smash to see some animated 80's special effects gore I would have subjected myself to Mortal Kombat 13 and become the idol of all 13-year-old boys from 2004.

 

[Kem0sabe]

It sounds more like a typical action adventure game with melee combat.

 

[Roguey]

Who the fuck wants a WoD Brawler? How the fuck do you miss your mark this hard when gouging for what the audience would actually pay for?? Why the fuck would you recreate a game that is a cult legend due to being supposedly complete and good but never released? How the fuck do you look at that as a concept and then go "you know what would be really fun? Let's make it a brawler!". I hope this is just the journalist fucking up ... Because If I would want to play a game so edgy and kewl kid that I can button smash to see some animated 80's special effects gore I would have subjected myself to Mortal Kombat 13 and become the idol of all 13-year-old boys from 2004.

Werewolves are all violent environmental activists anyway, why bother to offer the illusion of role playing.

 

[Rahdulan]

Problem with this direction is it would've been IDEAL for a party-based RPG because the idea of Pack is actually central to Werewolf.

 

[J1M]

"Always" since 2.5 years ago.

I count zero WoD games released in the last 2.5 years.

 

[Infinitron]

More E3 previews:
https://wccftech.com/werewolf-the-apocalypse-earthblood-preview/
https://mammothgamers.com/2019/06/e3-2019-werewolf-the-apocalypse-earthblood-preview/
https://nichegamer.com/2019/06/19/werewolf-the-apocalypse-earthblood-e3-2019-preview/
https://aggrogamer.com/article/7433/E3-2019-Impressions--Werewolf-The-Apocalypse--Earthblood
https://rpgamer.com/2019/06/werewolf-the-apocalypse-earthblood-e3-impression/
https://gotgame.com/2019/06/21/e3-2019-preview-werewolf-the-apocalypse-earthblood/

Interview: https://www.gamereactor.eu/werewolf-earthblood-brings-the-essence-of-being-a-werewolf/

 

[Sacibengala]

They never learn a thing.

 

[glass blackbird]

"s Rage is gained even during interactions with NPCs, players must be careful and keep it in check, as Cahal can kill any character, which can lead to consequences."

lol nice

i dont fuckin believe it for one moment but nice