Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Heart of the Forest Review

There’s something unavoidably daunting about the idea of jumping into a fictional universe which has been developing, growing and shifting for almost 30 years. Take for example, Werewolf: The Apocalypse, a tabletop RPG and spinoff from the well-known Vampire: The Masquerade universe. The game throws players into a world rife with environmental corruption, destructive cosmic forces and a species of werewolves (Garou) who fight an endless, losing battle for the conservation of nature. That’s a lot to take in, and it’s only scratching the surface of what the fictional universe has to offer. If players hope to waltz into the Werewolf: The Apocalypse fiction with the upcoming RPG Earthblood, they might find themselves overwhelmed, lost in a flurry of fictional terminology and concepts. Black Furies and Bone Gnawers, Wyrm and Wyld, Theurge and Ragabash—the list goes on.

Enter Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Heart of the Forest, an interactive visual novel which serves as a perfect introduction to the decades-old Werewolf: The Apocalypse mythos. Telling the story of student Maia as she seeks to discover her family history at the Białowieża Forest in Poland, the novel quickly sees her becoming embroiled in a battle to protect the forest and the spiritual forces that reside within it from money-hungry loggers. Oh, and her family history? Yeah, let’s just say there’s some canine in her DNA which she connects with as the story unfolds, courtesy of some environmental activists who may (or may not) be of the werewolf persuasion too.

As Maia meets these environmental activists and learns more about Garou society, you (as the player) make choices on her behalf. This is where the game ceases to be a mere introduction to the tabletop game’s universe and becomes a mini-tutorial to its mechanics too. Unlike many visual novels, you have a fair amount of freedom in how you make Maia act in any given situation. Most dialogue choices serve to paint Maia as either aggressive or passive, and these choices go on to affect a number of in-game stats.

First there’s the loyalty of other characters: depending on how you choose to react to people—whether you show empathy or apathy towards others, for example—they will form an opinion on you. Friendly, cautious, loyal, neutral: there are a number of potential allegiance indicators, and they go on to affect how each interaction plays out, in turn affecting the ultimate trajectory of the story. Unfortunately, the characterisation itself leaves a lot to be desired. You’ll get to hear about each character’s beliefs and their past as a werewolf, but that doesn't contribute towards making them likeable or even particularly interesting. As an introduction to the Werewolf: The Apocalypse world, it would have been ideal if this story could have roped newcomers in with at least a couple of genuinely engaging characters; then, said newcomers would have more of a reason to pay attention when the decades-old lore starts to work it’s way in.

Anyway, your choices as Maia will also affect her character stats; these include “Wisdom”, “Cunning”, “Analytical” and “Courage”. Not only do these statistics help record what sort of person you’re shaping Maia out to be, but they also affect the choices she’s able to make in the future. A Maia with more points in “Courage”, for instance, might be able to stand her ground in an argument where a more mild-mannered Maia might back down. It’s an effective way of translating the stat-based mechanics of tabletop RPGs to a visual novel; plus, it brings the added bonus of replay value, as you can start the game from scratch and see how the game might play out differently.

Finally, there are the “Health”, “Willpower” and “Rage” meters. These act as resources—of a sort—which fluctuate throughout the course of the story depending on the choices you make on Maia’s behalf. The more you help her succeed in her goals, the more Willpower she’ll accumulate, in turn helping her push further in social and physical situations. The more you push her to act aggressively, the more Rage she’ll build up (and vice versa for passive actions), affecting how in-tune with her werewolf side she is; after all, you might not want her to be full-on ‘beast mode’ all the time. Finally, the Health meter acts as another decision-making resource, allowing Maia to sacrifice some of her own wellbeing in exchange for performing certain physical feats; it also serves as a punishment doled out for poor decision-making.

All of these behind-the-scenes stats are displayed via an in-game character sheet, making it clear every step of the way what sort of place you’re carving for Maia in Garou society. It’s an impressively reactive story by the standards of most visual novels, only hampered by its brief length and weak characterisation. At the start of this review, I called this an “introduction” to the Werewolf: The Apocalypse universe, and that’s exactly what it is. The entire plot feels like a prologue of a larger story; it wasn't satisfying. Still, it's pretty clear that the writing team had a choice to make between telling a grand story or a reactive story. It chose the latter, and with all things considered, I’d say that was the right choice.

Story and mechanics aside, it wouldn’t be a visual novel without a visual element, would it? Heart of the Forest manages to impress in this respect despite a minimalist art style. Bold colours, recurring imagery and clever use of symbolism work together to help build a sense of the story’s spirituality and give it a surreal edge. All of that in addition to excellent use of sound effects form a cohesive experience that helps immerse you in what is—let’s face it—essentially just reading.

Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Heart of the Forest is both an excellent introduction to the Werewolf: The Apocalypse world and a good visual novel in its own right, despite some weak character work. It could have been longer, but there’s enough replay value here to forgive its brevity.