A good narrative with a great presentation that gives us a solid Werewolf The Apocalypse game that provides you more time to enjoy being a werewolf than the previous game did.

A partial sequel to Heart of the Forest where you play as a new character while also running into and working with the main character and some of the supporting cast of the previous game, though this one can be played without you missing out on much if you skipped the first.

Purgatory has you playing as a woman from Afghanistan who comes from a sect of werewolves. The game opens as you attempt to get through the border to Poland with your younger brother to join your aunt, passing through the forest that was the main setting of the previous game. While there you learn that the local werewolves have had one of their members recently killed and that many are split on a desire to help the refugees and protect them from the border guards while others see them as distractions from their purpose in fighting creatures of the Wyrm. One werewolf in charge of his own pack recently seems to have developed a hatred or suspicion of refugees and blames them for their recent loss. You end up being able to join a character from the previous game as you look into the death of the werewolf or you can join your pack leader in investigating the mounting schism in the werewolf community.

Purgatory primarily functions the same way as the previous game, a visual novel where the different stats you gain (in wisdom, glory, and honor), trust levels with possible friends and allies, and maintaining different levels of rage, health, despair, and willpower can effect the actions you can perform and the choices and information available to you. It also maintains the atmospheric artwork and music and sound of the previous game. Where Purgatory surpasses the former is by having you start out as a werewolf with many more opportunities to shapeshift between your five different forms and more times for your amount of rage to effect your possible actions. When the game begins you can choose one of three different skills in physical, social, and mental categories that can give you new ways to deal with or attempt to deal with problems. A choice between five auspice options gives you a one use power that can help in certain situations and can provide unique flavor to text or information based on the knowledge you have, choosing between one of five tribes does the same, you also choose between one of three packs but those don't give you a power and I don't remember the one I chose ever doing anything but I played a route that was probably less likely for it to come up. Early in the game you get two different story routes that you can follow that greatly change what you are doing and who you are spending time with, this is also a good change as the previous game mostly had one path with different minor routes to get to know a bit more about the rest of the cast and was much more likely to end with you feeling like you were missing things without multiple playthroughs.

It is a short game, with my first playthrough taking under three hours. Issues with that come from them needing to include more seemingly ridiculously minor ways to potentially lower your limited willpower or to effect your rage, I actually never found a moment in my playthrough where I could use any item I picked up or either of the two gifts I gained from my chosen auspice or tribe with the paths I chose so while you might seemingly get a lot of options many might not necessarily matter in your playthrough. There is also no way to make manual saves, the game just autosaves as you reach certain points in each minor section of a chapter so you don't have much ability to go back and change your decisions or see alternate routes without starting a new game, and when you start the new game you don't even have the normal visual novel options of rapidly making text you have seen before progress until you reach something new.

Screenshots: https://x.com/Legolas_Katarn/status/1830429045911343221

A good narrative with a great presentation that gives us a solid Werewolf The Apocalypse game that provides you more time to enjoy being a werewolf than the previous game did. A partial sequel to Heart of the Forest where you play as a new character while also running into and working with the main character and some of the supporting cast of the previous game, though this one can be played without you missing out on much if you skipped the first. Purgatory has you playing as a woman from Afghanistan who comes from a sect of werewolves. The game opens as you attempt to get through the border to Poland with your younger brother to join your aunt, passing through the forest that was the main setting of the previous game. While there you learn that the local werewolves have had one of their members recently killed and that many are split on a desire to help the refugees and protect them from the border guards while others see them as distractions from their purpose in fighting creatures of the Wyrm. One werewolf in charge of his own pack recently seems to have developed a hatred or suspicion of refugees and blames them for their recent loss. You end up being able to join a character from the previous game as you look into the death of the werewolf or you can join your pack leader in investigating the mounting schism in the werewolf community. Purgatory primarily functions the same way as the previous game, a visual novel where the different stats you gain (in wisdom, glory, and honor), trust levels with possible friends and allies, and maintaining different levels of rage, health, despair, and willpower can effect the actions you can perform and the choices and information available to you. It also maintains the atmospheric artwork and music and sound of the previous game. Where Purgatory surpasses the former is by having you start out as a werewolf with many more opportunities to shapeshift between your five different forms and more times for your amount of rage to effect your possible actions. When the game begins you can choose one of three different skills in physical, social, and mental categories that can give you new ways to deal with or attempt to deal with problems. A choice between five auspice options gives you a one use power that can help in certain situations and can provide unique flavor to text or information based on the knowledge you have, choosing between one of five tribes does the same, you also choose between one of three packs but those don't give you a power and I don't remember the one I chose ever doing anything but I played a route that was probably less likely for it to come up. Early in the game you get two different story routes that you can follow that greatly change what you are doing and who you are spending time with, this is also a good change as the previous game mostly had one path with different minor routes to get to know a bit more about the rest of the cast and was much more likely to end with you feeling like you were missing things without multiple playthroughs. It is a short game, with my first playthrough taking under three hours. Issues with that come from them needing to include more seemingly ridiculously minor ways to potentially lower your limited willpower or to effect your rage, I actually never found a moment in my playthrough where I could use any item I picked up or either of the two gifts I gained from my chosen auspice or tribe with the paths I chose so while you might seemingly get a lot of options many might not necessarily matter in your playthrough. There is also no way to make manual saves, the game just autosaves as you reach certain points in each minor section of a chapter so you don't have much ability to go back and change your decisions or see alternate routes without starting a new game, and when you start the new game you don't even have the normal visual novel options of rapidly making text you have seen before progress until you reach something new. Screenshots: https://x.com/Legolas_Katarn/status/1830429045911343221