Werewolf: The Apocalypse — Heart of the Forest

It's a nice game, especially if you didn't know the TTRPG Werewolf: The Apocalypse like me. It’s a fairly light visual novel, but it worked well as an introduction to the lore and actually got me interested enough to look more into the TTRPG itself. A single playthrough took me about 3 hours, which felt a bit short, and the ending plus the lack of clear impact from my choices was a little disappointing for a choice-based game. Maybe that was intentional, but it made the experience feel a bit weaker than I hoped. Overall, it’s worth checking out if you’re curious about the setting, but probably not if you already know the lore well.

Better than a choose your adventure series.

Werewolf: The Apocalypse — Heart of the Forest Review (100% + All Achievements) Werewolf: The Apocalypse — Heart of the Forest is an interactive visual novel set in the World of Darkness universe, where player choices shape character stats, narrative direction, and ultimately the protagonist’s legacy. This is a niche experience that will primarily appeal to fans of the World of Darkness, as well as players who enjoy reading-heavy games and don’t mind a relatively short playtime. As a fan of the setting myself, I was particularly interested in a story focused on the werewolf side of the lore—and in that regard, the game delivers. However, the narrative can feel rushed at times, especially in Chapters 5 and 6, which stand out as the weakest parts of the experience. The game is quite short, taking around 2 hours and 30 minutes to complete a single playthrough. While the €10 price point isn’t unreasonable, it may feel a bit steep given the limited length. Replayability is decent but comes with notable frustrations. On subsequent playthroughs, it becomes difficult to track which dialogue options have already been selected, as the game does not clearly highlight previously seen content. This makes later runs—especially the third and fourth—feel tedious and occasionally confusing. That said, the story itself is engaging, offering meaningful choices, a solid variety of outcomes, and an appealing art style complemented by atmospheric background audio. For achievement hunters and dedicated World of Darkness fans, full completion can take approximately 10–12 hours. In Summary: A good interactive novel with a compelling premise, decent characters, and an interesting gameplay system inspired by the tabletop RPG. Unfortunately, it is held back by uneven pacing—particularly in the final chapters—and a lack of quality-of-life features for replayability. Final Verdict: 6.5/10 Pros: - Engaging story, despite some pacing issues - Decent replay value - Interesting and well-implemented gameplay concept Cons: - Weak and rushed final chapters (5 and 6) - Replayability hindered by lack of dialogue tracking - Short overall length (2–3 hours per playthrough)

Essa Review está em Português e em Inglês - De tão revoltado que fiquei. This review was written in both Portuguese and English - that’s how pissed off I was Unfortunately, this game can’t even be compared to The Book of Hungry Names. It tries to present a system of choices and branching paths, but it’s actually as linear as the options it gives you. You’re locked into choosing between only two tribes, and when we’re talking about Werewolf: the Apocalypse in the World of Darkness, that alone already hurts the game badly. At first I was paying attention to the characters — Daniel, for example. He seems open, friendly, and like he could become a good ally or even a close companion in battle. But then he reveals he’s a Red Talon, and the guy who treated you patiently suddenly looks at you with disgust and gets angry just because you were born homid? Like… what the hell? Daniel, do you have some kind of issue? Anyway, the game feels very forced when it comes to pushing a very loud context about gender diversity, even if you just want to go out and kill the people destroying Gaia. Here comes a HEAVY SPOILER: You play as Maia. There’s a girl traveling with you who clearly has romantic interest in you. Up to that point, fine — nothing wrong with that. The player can choose whether to pursue romance or not. The forest is being destroyed by loggers — animals dying, corruption everywhere, and more than enough reasons to make a werewolf furious. But the only two tribes you’re allowed to join are: Black Furies — led by a woman portrayed as somewhat unhinged, basically the stereotypical “butch lesbian” archetype. And yes, I’m being sarcastic here, because the game clearly aims at that exact image, as if a lesbian woman could only be represented that way. On top of that, it’s a tribe that (at least in older editions before W5) existed exclusively for women and fought only for women, ignoring everything else. Children of Gaia — a pacifist tribe that prefers dialogue, led by a trans character. It feels like the game is pushing a trans person into the role of someone who is always peaceful, passive, and against violence… Come on. Anyone, regardless of gender identity, can feel rage and act on it — especially a werewolf! Both tribes feel trapped inside stereotypes. And to be clear: what really bothered me was the way the tribes were presented through very stereotyped characters. FIRST ACTION AGAINST THE LOGGING OPERATION?? PAINTING. P A I N T I N G. THEY PAINT THE DAMN MACHINES. Holy hell. Two packs of werewolves working together… and they decide to paint the tractors in the middle of the forest — with paint that would realistically damage the soil?? I almost quit the game right there. Almost. When I was forced to choose between only those two tribes, I actually quit. I saw the story was already at 83% completion and went back just clicking through quickly — it took only minutes to reach the ending. Disappointing. I have no other word. Locking the player into a specific narrative anchor in a game that advertises choice and RPG freedom is just sad. The Book of Hungry Names is excellent, and this game honestly shouldn’t even carry the Werewolf: the Apocalypse name. Maybe it would work as a Telltale-style story that borrows a few elements from the setting — but not as a game truly connected to the universe. ========================= Infelizmente este jogo sequer pode ser comparado ao ""The books of hungry names". Ele tenta trazer uma pegada de escolhas e rotas, mas é tão linear quanto as escolhas que ele apresenta. Ele te trava na escolha de duas tribos, e falando de Lobisomem da WoD, isso por sí só já mata o game. No começo eu prestava a atenção nos personagens - Daniel é um deles, que aparenta ser aberto, receptivo e uma possibilidade de boa amizade ou aliança nas batalhas, mas então o cara se revela um Garra Vermelha (Red Talon) e o maluco, que antes te tratava bem e com paciência, te lança um olhar de desgosto e fica puto com você porque você é hominídeo de nascença?? Tipo: COMO ASSIM CARALHO? Daniel tu tem algum problema disfuncional? Enfim, muito forçado na questão de inserir um contexto quase gritante de você fazer parte da diversidade de genero, ainda que você queira apenas sair matando quem está destruindo gaia. - E aqui vai um spoiler VIOLENTO: Você joga com Maia - que tem uma mina que te acompanha e tem segundas intenções. - Até então, ok, nada de mais - o jogador escolhe se tenta o romance ou não ou sei lá. A floresta está sendo destruída por madeireiros - animais morrendo, corrupção e motivos mais do que suficientes para deixar um lobisomem revoltado. Mas as únicas duas tribos que você pode entrar são: Fúrias Negras; Liderada por uma mulher que é meio doida da cabeça, um arquétipo de Lésbica estilo Sapatão (E aqui eu digo com sarcasmo mesmo, pois os caras miram justamente naquela imagem de uma "mulher-Macho" como se uma mulher lésbica só pudesse se apresentar assim). - E justamente de uma tribo que é feita unicamente (ou era nas versões anteriores antes do W5) de mulheres que lutam apenas por mulheres e ignoram todo o resto. Filho de Gaia: Uma tribo pacifista que prefere o diálogo e tem como líder uma pessoa trans... Cara, praticamente empurrando uma pessoa trans para o papel de alguém sempre super pacífico que não gosta de violência, que é passivo para com o mal... Mano!!! Certeza que a pessoa, independente do genero que ela se identifique, por sim SENTIR RAIVA E AGIR DE ACORDO - AINDA MAIS SE TRATANDO DE UM LOBISOMEM MALUCO! As duas tribos são bem presas no conceito de estereotipagem - E deixo claro: O que me revoltou foi a apresentação das tribos representadas por dois personagens bem estereotipados! PRIMEIRA AÇÃO CONTRA A OPERAÇÃO DA MADEIREIRA?? -- PINTAR - P I N T A R - PINTAR O CARALHO DAS MAQUINAS!!! CA RA LHO PUTA QUE ME PARIU! AS DUAS ALCATÉIAS DE LOBISOMENS QUE ESTÃO TRABALHANDO JUNTAS RESOLVEM -- P I N T A R -- OS TRATORES NO MEIO DA FLORESTA COM TINTA QUE É AGRESSIVA CONTRA O SOLO?? EU QUASE QUITEI O JOGO NESSA HORA - QUASE!! Quando você é forçado a escolher apenas entre essas duas tribos eu quitei, vi que a história estava em 83% e voltei clicando para passar rápido - o que não demorou minutos para ter o end game. DECEPCIONANTE - não tenho outra palavra, essa porra de prender o jogador em uma âncora especifica para um game cuja a proposta é escolhas e rpg é triste demais. The book of hungry names É BOM DEMAIS e esse game aqui nem deveria ter o nome de Werewolf Apocalypse atrelado a ele - talvez um telltale QUE USA ALGUNS POUCOS ELEMENTOS no universo, e não um jogo LIGADO ao universo.

O jogo é bem envolvente no início e como alguém que gosta muito do universo de WoD e joga os RPGs, eu aproveitei bastante. Os aspectos visuais são bem satisfatórios, artes bem construídas e condizentes com as escolhas realizadas e te fazem transportar para dentro do jogo. O enredo em si não é muito complexo e acho uma ótima porta de entrada para quem não conhece as histórias que cercam WoD, o ponto negativo fica para o clímax que achei um pouco corrido e falta carga sentimental na escrita. De qualquer forma, vale muito a pena jogar!

8/10

Je pourrais essayer d'utiliser des mots pour décrire mon expérience mais ça serait l'enfermer dans quelque chose qui ne sera probablement pas ce que vous vivrez en jouant au jeu. Sachez ceci : c'est court, c'est intense et je suis convaincue qu'il faudrait le jouer au moins cinq fois pour en voir quelque chose qui s'approche de la totalité. J'aurais aimer me perdre dedans des heures et des heures de plus et j'aurai sans doute à rejouer au jeu pour pouvoir faire ça, pour espérer trouver des choses différentes et jouer des fins différentes, même si mes tripes me diront de continuer à faire les choix que j'ai déjà fait, sans doutes.

AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BABY I'M GONNA PREY ON YOU TONIGHT

Very good Werewolf the Apocalypse story. Makes me wish I still had a larp or tabletop group to play with.

i enjoyed it, the world needs more werewolf games for real