Today I’m finishing my World of Darkness video game reviews with a trip to the ancient Białowieża forest…
“Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Heart of the Forest” is a interesting title in the World of Darkness’ Steam offer, albeit one with which I had the least ammount of fun. Developed by Different Tales, it is a visual novel role-playing video game, similar in mechanics to both “Vampire: The Masquerade” titles, but with a bigger emphasis on character progression. It is entirely text-based, just like the two Vampire games were. It was released in October of 2020 on Windows, Linux and MacOS.
Oh, just a word of caution – there will be slight spoilers ahead.
You play as Maia Boroditch, a young American girl of Polish ancestry, who visits Białowieża to learn more about her history. Maia has recurring nightmares about wolves, blood and forests, and she wishes to discover her roots. She’s accompanied by Anya, a fellow student, and Bartek – a young boy who lives in Białowieża and is a son of a prominent local politician. Along the way she encounters a plethora of interesting characters, most of them involved heavily in the fight against the deforestation of Białowieża. Soon, Maia will learn the secrets of this unique and fascinating place, her heritage as a Boroditch, and her ultimate fate as one of the shapeshifting Garou – the werewolf warriors of Gaia.
As is the case with the pen & paper “Werewolf: The Apocalypse”, this game has a very strong enviornmental theme to it. This important topic is presented in a interesting and engaging way, and I never had a feeling of being force-fed it by the creators. Białowieża is one of the last primeval forests in Europe, and its importance to the ecosystem, as well as Polish culture is beyond question. That said some of the older WTA material could be a bit… preachy, when it came to such things. I’m glad that the people at Different Tales chose the right approach with the message that they wanted to convey. “Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Heart of the Forest” also tackles the difficult topics of antisemitism, homophobia and racism, all real issues in the eastern Poland. Again – kudos to the devs for showing these issues in a serious and mature manner.
The characters are a interesting bunch. Maia reminds me of the protagonist of “Coteries of New York” in that her personality really depends on the player’s actions and decisions. Sadly, after finishing “Shadows of New York”, almost no one can top the wonderfuly depressing Julia Sowinski, and Maia is no exception. She is young and naive, especially about her “true” heritage, but in the end she isn’t memorable in any real way, which is a shame. Strong, well written female characters are still a rarity in video games.
Anya and Bartek, Maia’s closest companions, also work as her moral dilemma options. Anya is strongly against the removal of the trees, while Bartek advises caution when it comes to any pro-ecological choices. Of course our main heroine can always ignore both of them, but that’s where the relationship mechanic kicks in. Depending on Maia’s attitude towards people, she can either make friends or enemies, and these choices may have impact on the ending of the game. Maia can be a dick to almost everyone she meets along the way, but she can also show compassion, fighting spirit and wit – all of which will make different impressions on various NPCs.
Aside from Bartek and Anya, “Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Heart of the Forest” presents a colorful cast of pro-environmental activists, local policemen and politicans, as well as a few supernatural denizens of the World of Darkness. They’re all presented in a interesting manner, although some of the obviously “bad” people sometimes feel a bit cartoonish. I’m looking at you, Minister of Environment. That said I really enjoyed learning about her ancestry and how it still haunts her bloodline. The devs really showed us that the Garou, while acting for the greater good, can be incredibly brutal and uncompromising in their quest. That’s the part of Werewolf: The Apocalypse which I always enjoyed the most.
Graphics and music are kinda interesting. The entire theme of the game is that there’s something lurking right under Maia’s nose, something ancient and primeval. It’s the Puszcza, which in this game works as a entity in itself. It reaches to our heroine in her dreams, urging her to embrace her heritage and become a warrior of Gaia, just like her ancestors did many years ago. The uneasy tension is really felt in the hazy color palette, as well as the minimalistic soundtrack. Throughout the majority of the game, we’re getting the feeling of a build up of tension, and of a imminent, encroaching threat…
…right until the final act of the game, when Maia experiences her first transformation. After that the secrecy and tensions kinda dissapear and all that’s left are conversations with your packmates. While interesting in their own way, they’re sadly not that engaging and with Maia now embracing her true nature, the secrecy and tension of her mysterious bloodline are gone. I’m not saying that it’s a bad thing, but I much more enjoyed the young Boroditch’s adventures when she was still “human”.
Oh, and there’s the quasi-RPG system that I almost forgot about. Maia has three stats – Rage, Willpower and Health. Rage is used in making direct, brash and aggressive decisions, while Willpower is spent when Boroditch has to make difficult in-game choices. Health is pretty self explanatory, and there are certain events in game which can lead to Maia loosing her strength and suffering various inujries. All of these traits can be replenished during game, usually when acting in accordance to Maia’s goals and personality (which can also change, by the way).
Finally, after her first transformation, Maia is forced to assign her character to one of the five auspices of Garou’s culture, based on the lunar cycle. Naturally I went with Theurge because that was the one auspice which I always RPed as, back in my WTA days. Plus I like the idea of a warrior-philosopher, so yeah, it was a natural choice for me. Young Boroditch’s character sheet changes slightly after her Rite of Passage, and she also has to take a patron to guide her in her future quest as a warrior of Gaia. While these choices are interesting, they’re not really THAT important when it comes to the ending of the game. Still, I liked the fact that the devs tried to show us the difficult struggles of a young werewolf who just begins to explore the mysteries of her kind, as well as their ultimate quest to defeat the Wyrm.
Speaking of which, there is almost no combat in this game. Yeah, like none at all. There are a couple of skirmishes, and we can later savage people as the good old Crinos, but in the end this game is very light on conflict and physical violence. I gotta say, I absolutely love this approach. It could’ve been very easy for the developers to throw Maia against Fomori and Black Spiral Dancers or even a Pentex First Strike Team. Instead they’ve opted for more private and personal journey, one which shows the fear, uncertainty and cluelessness of our main heroine. I think that this was the way to go here, and like with “Coteries of New York”, this game is perfect for people who are just beginning their journey with the grim and fascinating World of Darkness.
“Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Heart of the Forest” only took me 3,5 hours to finish, and I was trying to explore as much of the game as possible. For the price that I’ve paid it’s simply too short. While Maia Boroditch’s journey was a fascinating and tense adventure, the very short length left some bad taste in my mouth. Hopefully the sequel, if Different Tales ever make one, will be much longer. The devs proved that they can create interesting characters and weave a tight and engaging story. Now we only need a title of decent length to fully enjoy their work, and we’re good to go. I sincerely hope that in the future, Different Tales will deliver us a fully-fledged Werewolf: The Apocalypse experience, and one that we will remember for a very long time.
I suggest waiting for a Steam sale, and then grabbing “Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Heart of the Forest”. For the current price it is simply too short. Well, unless you’re a die-hard WTA fan, in which case purchasing this title should probably be a no-brainer.
Until next time!
Xathrodox86
It always rains in Nuln 