Werewolf: The Apocalypse — The Book of Hungry Names
- April 25, 2024
- Choice of Games
- 10h median play time
Get on SteamIn "Werewolf: The Apocalypse — The Book of Hungry Names," you are a werewolf fighting to save the earth from destruction. Together with your pack, you must defeat the Wyrm, a Wyrm Spirit that manifests as a lie you want to believe. This text-based interactive novel, set in the World of Darkness, offers hundreds of choices and over 1.6 million words of immersive storytelling. Your shapeshifting abilities, deep connection to nature, and raw courage will be tested as you work to protect the living earth.
Mac OS
PC
Steam Deck
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- Incredible writing and worldbuilding that captures the essence of being a Garou in a slow apocalypse, with a rich exploration of lore and character depth.
- The game offers a vast amount of content with multiple branching paths, making it highly replayable and engaging for players who enjoy interactive storytelling.
- Characters are well-developed and memorable, with humorous and emotional moments that enhance the overall experience.
- Frequent technical issues, including save progress being reset after updates, which can lead to frustration and loss of hours of gameplay.
- The game can feel overwhelming for newcomers due to its dense lore and complex mechanics, making it difficult to fully grasp the story without prior knowledge of the setting.
- Some players may find the pacing slow, with lengthy sections that can feel drawn out, detracting from the overall engagement with the narrative.
- story201 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The story is widely praised for its depth, character development, and intricate world-building, with many reviewers noting its engaging narrative and memorable characters. While some players found the pacing slow and the length overwhelming, the overall writing quality and the variety of choices available were highlighted as significant strengths. Despite minor technical issues, the game successfully immerses players in a compelling werewolf-themed adventure that encourages exploration and replayability.
“The writing and story are top-notch.”
“Characters are well-written and memorable, and the story itself is quite good, with a satisfying ending and epilogue.”
“This is an impressive CYOA that perfectly channels what I loved about Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines, in the sense that it made me excited to learn more about the setting of Werewolf, has great variety in how the story can diverge depending on my role-playing choices, and a cast of very memorable characters.”
“I can't explain what it is, but I am not hyped to keep going and finish the story.”
“I found this game to have been good overall, but it was hard to get invested at first since I wasn’t familiar with the lore, which made the story confusing.”
“There were several points where it felt like the story was drawing to a close, only for it to keep going, and going, and going.”
- humor26 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is frequently highlighted as genuinely funny, with many players noting laugh-out-loud moments and witty dialogue that enhance the experience. Characters are described as complex and engaging, contributing to a blend of humor and horror that keeps players entertained and invested. Overall, the game's ability to intertwine absurdity with darker themes creates a unique and enjoyable atmosphere.
“I couldn't stop laughing at several points, and loved all of them so much I couldn't pick a favorite, which is normally easy for me, as I fixate on the goblin characters lol.”
“And if you’re on its wavelength of humor, there’s an astounding frequency of laugh-out-loud repartee between distinctive, engrossing characters.”
“My favorite part about WOD in general is where the absurdity of monsters mixes with the horror of them; humor and horror play off each other so very well in Marquis' writing.”
- gameplay21 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by its deep RPG mechanics and intricate storytelling, which effectively integrates player choices and character skills into the narrative. However, some players find the complexity overwhelming, especially those unfamiliar with tabletop systems. Additionally, technical issues such as save game rollbacks have led to frustration, detracting from the overall experience despite the game's rich content and engaging mechanics.
“This game is ridiculously detailed, long, and has the deepest RPG mechanics yet.”
“An elegant approach to beloved tabletop mechanics provides a choice-driven structure to Kyle Marquis' compelling mystery of shattered heroes and dead gods.”
“But the most interesting game mechanic was spiritual convictions.”
“...but...the couple of small patches released causes the game to roll back your save game to a safe state, so you can lose hours of gameplay (I just lost 12 hours) and no way to recover as there is no version rollback.”
“The moments that I didn't like come out of the very RPG system that is built into the game, which can make you as a player not very familiar with the tabletop game overwhelmed by all the terms and mechanics.”
“Gameplay?”
- replayability13 mentions
- 62 % positive mentions
- 15 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
Replayability is a notable feature of the game, allowing players to experience different character builds and approaches to scenarios, despite the overarching story remaining consistent. While the initial playthrough is often the most impactful due to its twists, the variety in character creation and paths ensures that players can enjoy multiple runs without feeling repetitive. Overall, fans of engaging narratives and the classic World of Darkness setting will find significant replay value.
“If you're a classic World of Darkness fan and enjoy great writing, engaging stories, and a huge amount of replayability, this is an instant buy.”
“The sheer replayability of this, as well as the incredible job the author has done, leaves no room for buyer's remorse or spender's guilt in my mind.”
“While the game plays best the first time before all the twists and turns are spoiled, it offers enough choice in character creation and different paths that it's very replayable, despite its sparse nature as a text game.”
“While replayability is somewhat limited since the story itself follows the same broad strokes every time, you can play through several times with completely different character builds and explore all kinds of different ways to approach the scenarios presented throughout the story.”
“Finally, the replay value - yes, in spades!”
“Replayability?”
- graphics10 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received mixed feedback, with many users noting a lack of visual appeal and aesthetic detail, likening it to a text-based novel rather than a visually engaging experience. While the story is praised, the interface is described as unattractive, and there is a desire for at least minimal 2D graphics or improved aesthetics to enhance the overall experience. Overall, the graphics are not a deal breaker, but they fall short of expectations set by previous titles in the genre.
“I have been eagerly anticipating it ever since I finished Vampire: The Masquerade - Night Road, as the writing, story, and aesthetics of that game were absolutely top tier.”
“It's not a deal breaker since this is basically a novel, but it would be nice to see a bit more attention to the aesthetic side of things.”
“I don't even need gigapixels of 3D; even something with 2D graphics would be amazing.”
“Yes, but you have to use your imagination. This is not even 'Heart of the Forest' level. There is no ambient music, no visuals, and the interface is very, very, very ugly. However, the story is pretty good so far (5 hours in).”
“The graphics are so poor that it feels like no graphics card is needed!”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for effectively conveying the setting and enhancing the overall story experience. Players appreciate how well the game immerses them in its environment, contributing to a compelling narrative.
“The game conveys the atmosphere of the setting nicely.”
“Pros: story, setting, atmosphere.”
“The atmosphere is immersive and enhances the overall experience.”
- character development4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The character development in the game shows promise, with a well-crafted world that allows for significant growth among a cast of complex, flawed characters. Reviewers note the potential for intriguing evolution as these angry, monstrous figures navigate their hidden magic and tumultuous surroundings. Overall, the smooth writing enhances the anticipation for how these characters will evolve throughout the story.
“Plenty of opportunities for character development.”
“Plenty of opportunities for character development.”
“The writing is smooth and nothing feels off about the world building, even though I am only a little way in, and it will be interesting to see how the character development comes along with a cast based on bad-tempered, angry, murderous monstrosities rampaging around the countryside and trying to keep their magic and themselves hidden.”
- grinding4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and overly lengthy, particularly noting that the final battle feels drawn out and lacks engaging buildup. Additionally, the convoluted lore contributes to a sense of frustration, making the overall experience feel laborious.
“The only downside was the way the romances were abruptly thrown into the story; I would have preferred a better build-up, and the end battle was a bit too long and tedious.”
“Perhaps I'm part of the uninitiated when it comes to lore, but I found this title to be tediously obtuse and nearly incomprehensible.”
- music2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The music aspect of the game has been criticized for lacking ambient sound and overall quality, with users noting that it does not reach the standards of similar titles. Despite this, some players find the story engaging, suggesting that the music's shortcomings do not detract significantly from the overall experience.
“The music is completely lacking; there's no ambient sound to enhance the experience, making it feel empty and uninspired.”
“The soundtrack is forgettable and does not contribute to the atmosphere of the game at all.”
“There is a severe absence of music, which detracts from the overall immersion and enjoyment of the game.”
Buy Werewolf: The Apocalypse — The Book of Hungry Names
Play time
Videos
Similar Games
