Werewolf: The Apocalypse — Purgatory

The story just beats you over the head with the theme in every single scene, and it’s really hard to connect to any of the characters, they just exist to move the plot forward. What’s supposed to be a traumatic loss and the grieving of a family member ends up feeling like empty filler garbage, as the writers drag you through it multiple times to “confront” your past. Why do I have to sit through so many flashbacks when the point of every single one is the same? These people had hard lives and don’t you ever forget it, player.

Another great tale from the World of Darkness. While some may think the tale is woke, we are all immigrants, even the natives, all on a quest for somewhere else from the River Nile.

I have spent around 35 hours in this game and I’m still near the beginning. 😅 Not because the game is slow — but because I keep stopping to think. The writing is surprisingly rich: the philosophy of the Triat, refugee trauma, grief, politics, spirituality, moral ambiguity, symbolism, character psychology… even small dialogue choices can make you sit there analyzing them for minutes. This is less “play fast and move on” and more “immerse yourself and reflect.” If you enjoy narrative-heavy games with atmospheric writing and meaningful choices, this game deserves far more attention.

A great game that expands the law and there are more options to shift and examine the story from two different angles. Would of liked some of the decisions from Heart of the Forest to cross over but still worth the repeated gameplay.

LOVE THIS GAME BUT GOOD GAIA WAS IT SHORT MAKE ANOTHER ONE AND LONGER PLEASE RAUUUUUUU

If you enjoyed Heart of the Forest, you will also like this one! If you’re new to the series, I recommend playing HotF first as it eases you into the lore a bit more gradually. There’s something special about Different Tales’ visual novels. Like this studio’s other work, Purgatory has an engaging story that grabbed me immediately, beautiful watercolor artwork and music, and the RPG mechanics are fun. But what really sticks is a certain atmospheric melancholy and lyricism. It’s a suspenseful werewolf story that also takes the time to lovingly describe things like a cozy coffee shop or intimate little conversations with strangers, but somehow never feels slow. I love how grounded in our real world and politics the narrative is. It made me really want to visit Poland. Thanks to the devs for another great experience. I hope they can put out more stories soon.