Hi I’m Pam and I’m here to talk about
video games.
Today I’m doing something a little different
and am talking about a demo I recently played
of a game that is still in development. That
game is Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Heart of
the Forest.
Werewolf the Apocalypse is a role playing
game setting in the World of Darkness, along
with Vampire the Masquerade and Mage: The
Ascension. After many years of not doing a
whole lot with these properties, video games-wise,
a number of games are currently in the works.
Heart of the Forest is a visual novel with
adventure and RPG elements that is being made
by Different Tales. This studio was founded
by two of the lead developers from the original
Witcher game.
I got to play a 30 minute demo of the game
that presented the prologue and served as
an enticing introduction.
You play Maia, an American woman who has travelled
to Poland to learn more about her family and
past. She has strange dreams and feels like
she’s being called to the place she’s
visiting - Puszcza Bialowieska, one of the
last primeval forests in Europe.
This is a really interesting setting for the
game and it takes local folklore and legends
into account for the scenarios you’ll find
yourself in. The forest is alive and calling
to you and you need to figure out its secrets.
In the demo you find out that logging is happening
in the forest, setting up a conflict between
nature and industry, one which you will surely
have a hand in.
There are many choices to make and different
paths to take - for example in my 2 plays
through the demo I ended up travelling with
a different companion based on some of my
reactions. But I think this will really be
a game about developing your character - deciding
how she reacts to what’s going on around
her and ultimately who she is.
There are a few different stats to balance.
Your main resources are rage, willpower and
health. The level of your rage will determine
if you are aggressive or passive, if you empathize
and think ahead or act immediately on your
beliefs. Willpower lets you control yourself
and not be overtaken by your rage and can
be recovered by achieving your goals.
You also get a stat sheet which shows different
personality qualities like brave, inspiring
or cunning, and lets you know the status of
the relationships you have with people you
meet along the way. Later on, you’ll get
to choose your auspice, the moon you were
born under and your true nature.
This demo definitely left me wanting to play
more. The writing is really good, very evocative,
and I wanted to learn more about the setting.
I was also really pleased that the game is
set in Poland. Most of the World of Darkness
games get set in the States, in New York,
or L.A. or Seattle and it was nice to not
have to pretend to be there.
I have to give a special mention of the game’s
presentation. It looks very different from
any art style I’ve seen in this kind of
game before. The artwork uses a combination
of photography and manual drawing. The backgrounds
are vibrant in their colours and contrast
and do a lot of playing with negative space.
It makes everything look very surreal and
intense but also leaves a lot to your imagination.
It’s perfect for what will undoubtedly be
a very dark story.
The music and sound effects are also a real
highlight. There is a musical score, but it’s
punctuated by the sounds of nature - the wind
through the trees, animal cries and bird calls.
There are also sometimes the sounds of breathing
and other vocalizations. It does a great job
of putting you right into the story, whether
it’s exploring the forest or experiencing
a dream that Maia is having. At times the
sounds can be almost uncomfortable in their
intensity, which is a really cool effect.
I think the visual novel format is a really
great option for role-playing here and I’m
particularly excited to meet some supernatural
creatures later on. I think Maia’s story
will be an interesting one and I’m excited
to see the art and soundtrack that will be
in the rest of the game. Werewolf: The Apocalypse
- Heart of the Forest is set to be released
in Q4 of 2020 for Windows, Mac and Linux.
If you want to see more videos covering World
of Darkness properties, I have a playlist
of them. Or check out another of my videos.
I have a Patreon if you want to support my
channel. Thanks for watching and I’ll see
you next time.
