Werewolf: The Apocalypse — The Book of Hungry Names | Game Brain

Werewolf: The Apocalypse — The Book of Hungry Names Game Cover

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In "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.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

86%

Audience ScoreBased on 110 reviews

story33 positive mentions

grinding2 negative mentions

The writing is engaging and immersive, capturing the essence of the Werewolf: The Apocalypse setting with well-developed characters and a compelling narrative.
The game offers significant replayability with multiple choices and paths, allowing players to explore different character builds and story outcomes.
The integration of humor and horror throughout the story adds depth and keeps the experience entertaining, making it a standout in the interactive fiction genre.

The game lacks basic quality of life features such as save functionality and the ability to revisit previous choices, which can lead to frustrating experiences during play.
Some players may find the lore and terminology overwhelming, especially if they are new to the World of Darkness, making it difficult to fully engage with the story.
Frequent updates have caused issues with progress being reset, which can be frustrating for players who invest significant time into their playthroughs.

story
102 mentions
32 % positive mentions
64 % neutral mentions
4 % negative mentions
The story is generally praised for its intriguing plot, memorable characters, and rich lore, particularly appealing to fans of werewolves and the World of Darkness setting. However, players have noted significant differences in experience between the storyteller mode and standard play, with some finding the narrative length overwhelming and the pacing uneven. Overall, while the writing and character development are strong, the complexity and length of the story can lead to mixed feelings about engagement and flow.
- “The story is very good with some legitimately compelling parts, the characters are memorable and fun for the most part, and the jokes even hit the mark occasionally.”
- “The writing and story are top-notch.”
- “The story itself is good, this negative review is for the technical aspects of the game.”
- “Story managed to dishearten me in less than an hour.”
- “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.”
- “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.”
humor
13 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is a standout feature, seamlessly blending with its horror elements to create a unique experience filled with laugh-out-loud moments. Players appreciate the witty dialogue and the strong, quirky characters, whose interactions provide both comedic relief and depth. The balance of absurdity and horror enhances the overall enjoyment, making it a memorable and engaging narrative.
- “In between genuine horror are plenty of hilarious moments sprinkled throughout, mostly coming from the strong characters in your pack.”
- “There's some hilarious dialogue too that made me literally laugh out loud.”
- “And if you’re on its wavelength of humor, there’s an astounding frequency of laugh-out-loud repartee between distinctive, engrossing characters.”
gameplay
11 mentions
27 % positive mentions
45 % neutral mentions
27 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by its intricate RPG mechanics and detailed storytelling, which may overwhelm players unfamiliar with tabletop systems. While the game offers a rich, choice-driven experience and innovative mechanics like spiritual convictions, its length can lead to varied pacing in story progression. However, technical issues such as save rollbacks can detract from the overall experience, causing frustration for players who invest significant time.
- “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.”
- “Needs 'a great game, but don't play yet because' option - because this game deserves positive reviews for its storytelling and choices - like seriously, the way it handles some complex storytelling mechanics is brilliant.”
- “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.”
- “...but...the couple of small patches released cause 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.”
- “You can parse from the descriptions of your options what skills are going to be used, i.e., if you're bad at mechanics, maybe trying to fix a thing to solve your problem is not your best choice.”
replayability
7 mentions
57 % positive mentions
14 % neutral mentions
29 % negative mentions
The game offers significant replayability due to its diverse character creation options and multiple paths, allowing players to experience different outcomes despite the overarching narrative remaining consistent. While the initial playthrough is often the most impactful, the ability to explore various character builds and approaches keeps the experience fresh for subsequent runs. Overall, players find the replay value to be high, making it a worthwhile investment.
- “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.”
- “Finally, the replay value - yes, in spades!”
- “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.”
- “Replayability?”
graphics
5 mentions
60 % positive mentions
20 % neutral mentions
20 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game have received mixed feedback, with some users expressing a desire for improved visuals and aesthetics, noting that the current interface is unattractive and lacks immersive elements like ambient music. While the story is appreciated, many feel that the overall graphical presentation does not meet expectations, especially when compared to other 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.”
- “No graphics card needed!”
- “Yes, but you have to use your imagination. This is not even at the level of 'Heart of the Forest.' There is no ambient music, no visuals, and the interface is very, very ugly. However, the story is pretty good so far (5 hours in).”
grinding
2 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspects of the game to be tedious, particularly noting that the lengthy end battle feels drawn out and lacks engaging buildup. Additionally, some users feel overwhelmed by the complex lore, which contributes to a sense of frustration during gameplay.
- “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.”
character development
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
-50 % neutral mentions
50 % negative mentions
The game offers ample opportunities for character development, with well-crafted writing and immersive world-building that enhances the experience. Players are intrigued by the potential growth of a cast of complex characters, including those with dark and tumultuous backgrounds.
- “There are 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, it will be interesting to see how the character development unfolds with a cast of bad-tempered, angry, murderous monstrosities rampaging around the countryside while trying to keep their magic and themselves hidden.”
- “The writing is smooth and nothing feels off about the world building, even though I am only a little way in. It will be interesting to see how the character development unfolds with a cast of bad-tempered, angry, murderous monstrosities rampaging around the countryside while trying to keep their magic and themselves hidden.”
atmosphere
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for effectively conveying the story and setting, creating an immersive experience that resonates with players.
- “The story, setting, and atmosphere are all fantastic.”
- “I played WTA only once myself, but I think the game conveys the atmosphere of the setting nicely.”
music
1 mentions
0 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
300 % negative mentions
The music in the game is noted to be lacking, with no ambient tracks or engaging soundscapes, which detracts from the overall experience. While the story has received some praise, the absence of a compelling musical backdrop and poor interface design are significant drawbacks.
- “The music is completely forgettable and doesn't enhance the gameplay experience at all.”
- “There is a lack of variety in the soundtrack, making it feel repetitive and dull.”
- “The absence of ambient music really detracts from the overall atmosphere of the game.”