Werewolf: The Apocalypse — The Book of Hungry Names

As a longtime Werewolf: The Apocalypse enthusiast with near debilitating social anxiety, I've always been kind of frustrated with the lack of good video games in the setting. I've always been super nervous about playing tabletop games online with strangers, so licensed Werewolf games have made up the majority of my experience with the setting, and given White Wolf's notoriously spotty record of video game adaptations, there are only a handful of Werewolf games, and fewer still worth playing. All things considered, I am very happy to say that The Book of Hungry Names is one of those precious few.
The Book of Hungry Names is an entirely text-based role-playing game from writer Kyle Marquis of Choice of Games, a company that specializes in a sort of "choose your own adventure" style of interactive novel. Much like other CoG titles, you start off your adventure with a series of choices engineered to build yourself a character from scratch; most of your character's physical characteristics are left to your imagination, focusing instead on establishing a background and basic skillset for you to start engaging with the world. Much like the tabletop game, the actions you take succeed or fail based on dice rolls, with modifiers depending on the stats associate with whatever action you decide to take. As such, gameplay essentially boils down to understanding your character's skillset and playing to their strengths so you can survive long enough to further develop and expand on your skills.
It's a fairly simplistic system, and I understand that a lot of gamers may be put off by the idea of playing what is essentially an interactive novel. That being said, I think anyone open to this kind of experience will be pleasantly surprised by the mechanical depth that comes into play when you factor in the Werewolf ruleset on top of CoG's formula.
I think the most exciting feature here is actually the "convictions" you can develop over the course of the game. It's a little bit like the classic "morality meter" trope, but instead of being one single gauge that tracks how "good" or "evil" you are you get no less than 5 separate gauges tracking your attitudes on various werewolf issues like your relationship with the Garou "Litany" and your willingness to coexist with non-Garou human beings. While you are ultimately free to choose whatever dialogue options you like, regardless of whether it's consistent with decisions you may have made in the past, your convictions become a major factor in your dealings with the spirit world, as spirits react strongly to those with a strong sense of self. As such, it becomes crucial to understand your own convictions in order to deal with them effectively, as particularly strong convictions may earn you Gifts from like-minded spirits, and even determine which tribes you may eventually join. It's a rare morality system that manages to have a meaningful impact on gameplay without restricting your own role-playing potential, but The Book of Hungry Names has done it.
Of course, no matter how mechanically good the game might be, none of it would matter if the story itself weren't worth reading. Fortunately, Marquis has delivered a very engaging campaign which is well worth at least two playthroughs. Marquis uses the established conventions of Werewolf: The Apocalypse and the wider World of Darkness setting to deliver a compelling cosmic mystery which pits you against an entity which excels at deception and subversion, capable of trapping mortal beings in illusions that cater to their own convictions and desires, and even force you at times to act contrary to your own convictions simply to avoid falling into its traps. The final confrontation is nothing short of epic, and a victorious ending feels like a genuine and very satisfying triumph.
If anything, I think the only thing I didn't like about this game is that it has a tendency to drag on at times, especially when the aforementioned spirits start coming into play. You can end up spending a lot of time meandering about the hub town between missions just trying to make contact with spirits to figure out which ones you can actually obtain gifts from and ultimately restore the Broad Brook caern to its former splendour, and I found myself a little aggravated with the repetitiveness of it. Fortunately, The Book of Hungry Names mitigates this by making permadeath an optional feature rather than a core mechanic as appears to be the norm for CoG titles. To be clear, you can generally avoid an early game over with a decent understanding of your own skills, but given the length of this particular game, I think it's worth mentioning that you can run a playthrough or two without permadeath if you're understandably afraid of having to restart 30+ hours into a campaign and on the cusp of the final battle.
In short, The Book of Hungry Names is a fantastic Werewolf game, and I would absolutely recommend it to anyone who is both interested in the setting and open to an entirely text-based game, and especially if you're a fringe Werewolf enthusiast who's been itching for a game to dip your feet into the World of Darkness.

Play the world's most unfortunate late-teen-to-twenty-year-old as they unravel the mystery of a lost pack of werewolves whilst struggling against modern horrors like homelessness and being poor. Several quirky and funny werewolf freaks to romance (or not, if you don't want to) including Gaia's gift to earth, Nin.
I haven't finished this game yet (Though I think I'm close!), but I've played enough of it to fall in love with the writing style. It's concise and witty, and made me like Garou despite initially disliking them. If you're into World of Darkness, or WANT to get into it and like reading, this is a really good game for you.

First up let me say this is far and away the longest one of these games i've ever played. If you're a quick reader maybe 12-14 hours. Secondly is pretty dense, as in difficult to understand. This isn't my first WTA game but i struggled to wrap my head around the sheer amount of concepts and jargon. Thirdly because the central premise of the games involves something that can warp reality the narrative does occasionally suffer from lurching around jarringly. Lastly while i like the author's style and ideas i do find their own voice tends to override the characters at times. A 70 year old half-crazy warewolf probably doesn't have a favourite anime, a 40 year old media mogul probably can't quote up to date memes. The problem is that with a story this large it becomes impossible to ignore that characters with extremely different ages, lives and experiences probably shouldn't all have the same level of references and humour as their 30-something author does.
All that being said this does everything i want these games to do. It's engaging, complex, reactive and interesting. Just maybe don't set out to finish it in one sitting.

Okay, this one needs some explaining.
Honestly? 8/10. Very good experience that is only rivalled by one other WtA interactive novel.
The story is genuinely good, where many World of Darkness writers have been struggling with in recent years. The opening sets a tone that it is genuinely impossible to please everyone, and whatever you do can have negative consequences. The various plotlines also weave together, though I did appreciate the side plot where some random event unrelated to Werewolves happens, and your pack are the only ones there to deal with it (I assume the Mages, Hunters, and Vampires were unaware of otherwise occupied). This is very classic WoD. Following the mystery is also interesting. The weakest part of the story is the end. I suspect the game is trying to make you question whether you won, as I feel that way even though the ending I got appeared objectively good. That being said, there isn't much exploration beforehand of which ending you want to choose. Consequently you aren't entirely sure what you're choosing at the end.
As an interactive novel, it should be obvious that you'll be reading and know how to act based on the information being given to you. To understand the story you have to dig in. But WoD players are generally there for the narrative. I personally liked the clash of ideologies, especially one of the characters talking about Gnostics and another outright being the sole member of a cult. In a lot of ways, it hints at Cainites and the Sabbat. But more down to earth, the characters have different approaches to dealing with the enemy and the humans that get in the way.
The relationships are good. Pleasing one person will alienate others. I have two issues though. Firstly, just because I want to sit down and talk with a packmate who I've got a poor relationship with, doesn't mean I want to get in their bed. The game does make it obvious occasionally where you're flirting, but overall desperately needs to consistently put it in brackets when you're developing a romance or not. Which leads me onto the second point: I'm not sure what the relationship system does. I can build the scores up to five dots, but I couldn't see any point where these mattered, save for a few choices relating to picking someone you trust. I would also say the dialogue is a bit ropey on occasion; fair enough in a story of 1.6 million words. The bit that stuck out to me was the British character... I am British... some of those phrases are not used in serious situations. He comes across as something of an American's stereotype of a Brit. His mannerisms can be disjointed.
Another weak point is the tone. Setting tone in a video game is easier when you use art and music. In all fairness, they're upfront that this is an interactive novel, and you're lucky you're getting any art. Seeing the main antagonists getup was simultaneously hilarious, surreal, and slightly uncanny: again classic WoD. That being said, some music and more art would give the game its own unique tone. Heart of the Forest by contrast does this perfectly, giving a tone of anxiety as you discover yourself. I highly recommend putting on some official and unofficial WtA tracks on in the background, as otherwise it can feel bland.
Speaking of other WoD products, the game uses the system relatively well. I like seeing all the base attributes and most of the skills make it into the game. There are a ridiculous number of ways to solve problems, especially with gifts. My personal favourite was the Porcupine, as making those who harm me suffer 'coincidental' backlash just brings satisfaction, even if its not the most practical. I am going to compare this with Heart of the Forest and it's sequel again though: the game needs a Harano and Hauglosk system. Being a Werewolf in WoD is to walk the line between paralysing depression and all-destroying zealotry, which is one of the few things that define W5's rocky identity. I can accept however that this may be just another system in a game that makes you track a lot.
And about the clash between W5 and old WoD... I'll put my cards on the table and say that I'm not old enough to have grown up with WoD. Vampire: the Masquerade Bloodlines is only a few years younger. I'm not nostalgic about the old system, but I get people have their grievances. The Get of Fenris have fallen in W5 and here they reach a new low. And a lot of people will miss the game that was *the* game for combat in WoD.
Before I wrap up, I will mention the discussion that sadly does tie into the 'culture war'. WoD has had some trouble over the years with its sensitivities. Both old WoD and the new edition have been accused of simplifying certain groups and excluding others. Then when they try to counteract this others accuse them of being woke. The game does lean one way. I do not think this is a reason to avoid it, but be aware the game is dealing with topics relating to today's politics.
Pros? Good story, believable characters with varied worldviews and approaches. My playthrough lasted 17.3 hours, and I plan to replay at some point. Also longer than Heart of the Forest. The game is priced at £16.75 at time of writing, about the same as other game's DLC, but I'd still recommend waiting for a sale. I'd recommend this for someone familiar with WtA lore.
Cons? The ending can be a little confused. And while it is an interactive novel, I wouldn't play this without some WtA tracks in the background to add some tone. Heart of the Forest does this very, very well, and makes for a better introduction to WtA.

This is one of the few text adventures that made me slow down and think to the point where I need to put it down and come back to it later. It also introduced me to the concepts of Werewolf: The Apocalypse in a concise, piecemeal fashion, which has let me understand everything much better than reading a wall of text in a book. Highly recommend.

Setting the scene, introducing the characters, the way you build your indentity. The places, the events, the creeping anxiety that builds as you learn more and more about what you are facing. How is it I'm a 10 foot tall killing machine, that's constantly worrying and looking over my shoulder?
5/5

solid 6/10, buy it on sale for like 60+% off.

I went in with only cursory knowledge of the setting and was interested enough to play until completion. I didn't really feel like an unstoppable werewolf, what with all the silver themed everything seemingly everywhere.

There was also a lot of unnecessary bloat with the writing that had me glazing over at times. I didn't feel enough characters had good character development, though what was present was ok. The romances felt inadequate in terms of content, but what was there was good as well.

I didn't like the game hocking the different dlcs at me and I didn't realize there was an option to change text sizes and have a black background until almost the end of the game. The storyteller mode felt like it should be the default mode for the game, and I wish there was a dice system instead of a skill check system. I also wish there was a way to use the screen real estate to have my character sheet be present on the main story screen and have a button to hide or show my character sheet on a new popup window without navigating to new page. I ended up screenshotting my character sheet to mitigate this annoying part, but it updated a lot so that didn't help much.

The big bad felt eh. I did feel kind of op with the amount of skills I could train. Near the end I felt invincible, not in the fun werewolf tank way. I hope next time the dlc is about the stories that come after the main game because I don't like replaying games too much and try to stick to the ending I got the first time through, for better or for worse.