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Werewolves have long since been in the zeitgeist of video games, television series, and films, but what creates our fright of werewolves exactly? Is it the unknown mixed with their unhinged rage?
In the video game “Werewolf The Apocalypse: Heart Of The Forest” (Walkabout Games; 2020), we are shown that at the core of these characters is rage, and through that rage, we can see humanity. As the game employs anger and separation to reveal this, we see that subsequent rage can be used as a narrative tool to reveal the character as well as who we are.
“Werewolf The Apocalypse: Heart Of The Forest” (Walkabout Games; 2020)
“Werewolf the Apocalypse: Heart of the Forest” ((“Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Heart of the Forest.” (2020) Different Tales. Accessed May 23, 2023.)) tells the story of Maia Boroditch, a human-born werewolf who travels to her ancestral land of Poland to discover herself. This game belongs to the “World of Darkness” franchise which uses a variety of media, including tabletop role-playing systems, video games, and more to answer the question of
“How do the Supernatural survive the night?”
“Werewolf The Apocalypse” is a visual novel that introduces and is based on the storytelling (( Wikipedia Contributors. (2023, March 30). Storytelling game. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. )) tabletop role-playing game “Werewolf: The Apocalypse,” which places us in a world where the earth is dying and Garou (werewolves) are fighting to protect it. Immersing us in the story through text, sound design, and art, “Werewolf The Apocalypse” chooses instead to focus on character development and the plot rather than gameplay mechanics, giving us time to decide “How do we wish this story to end?”
Throughout “Werewolf The Apocalypse,” it is not just about the main character, Maia, but furthermore about an exploration of the player of Maia and how she, in turn, us, feels about rage, aggression, protest, and the legacy we leave. We explore this in multiple ways; the most symbolic and most divisive choice being how you handle deforestation.
Do we choose to form peace between humans and that which they cannot know, or meet their aggression with an equal and opposing force?
How Rage Connects With “Werewolf The Apocalypse: Heart Of The Forest”
Throughout “Werewolf The Apocalypse,” rage is a tool we can utilize, it is not overridden by logic; instead, it “helps us to do things that need to be done as well as things we later regret.” (( “Werewolf the Apocalypse: Heart of the Forest,” Different Tales, Walkabout Games. 2020. ))
Pairing rage and willpower, the game allows us to go past the initial call to action to drive us to think critically and analyze the situation to uncover the best response, but before rage lies anger, the root of rage. All paths we can take are based on our response to our anger, our community, our method of protecting the earth, and our legacy are all tied to our decisions.
Anger
Anger is our most instinctual and as such natural method of dealing with threats (( “Control Anger before It Controls You,” American Psychological Association. March 3, 2022. )); anger is an internal response rather than an external response to a scenario, and aggression, commonly paired with it, can occur without anger.
Dr. Howard Kassinove uses the example of a hunter causing harm to prey to illustrate anger. After all, a hunter does not usually feel anger toward prey; it is simply an action of the day to hunt. (( “How to Keep Anger from Getting the Best of You, with Howard Kassinove, Phd, and Raymond ‘Chip’ Tafrate, Phd,” American Psychological Association. March 2022. ))
The humanistic act of deforestation in “Werewolf The Apocalypse” illustrates this point; while werewolves engage in plenty of aggressive behavior, humans turned an act of protection into one of greed, destroying a UNESCO-protected forest.
Rage
Rage is unrestrained anger, our internal emotion’s outward response. In humans and animals alike this is when aggression typically presents such as a dog growling or biting at someone taking their food away or yelling at someone who cut you off on the freeway. While expressing our anger in this way can seem cathartic or maybe even necessary, it can be destructive.
By choosing to give up some control of our anger or utilizing our ability to keep it in we take different paths in our life and our roles in the lives of those around us. The person who cut us off could be going to the hospital, and the dog just wants to eat and needs to be taught that food being taken away doesn’t mean that the food will be taken away forever.
The rage meter the game treats as the level of control over the outward response to anger, determining the initial response to a scenario, and while that may be our initial response, it is not the only one we can pick. The humans are destroying a primeval forest, and we, as Maia, must put an end to it one way or another.
The Main Character: “Maia” In “Werewolf The Apocalypse: Heart Of The Forest”
Maia is a fascinating individual; shaped by the player, she is our introduction to the setting and the world of the Garou; Garou meaning not just werewolves, but their culture and identity. At twenty-four years old, she is a young Polish-American woman coming into herself taking her free time to go on a journey to her homeland — the town of Białowieża.
While we, as the player, decide the exact reason she goes, we learn how she was separated from her grandfather who told her about the Puszcza Białowieska. Her whole life she has had dreams and visions of this place; a connection which she could not understand. So, now, all Maia wants to do is figure out these dreams and work through these complex emotions.
Basically, at the end of the day, she wants to learn who she is, and “The Premonition” is the start of that journey. “The Premonition” is one such dream she has had since she was young, it is where we decide the beginning of Maia’s path and most importantly, her rage.
How Rage And Anger Showcase Themselves In Maia
As we play the prologue, “Premonition,” we are able to choose both Maia’s level of anger and her ability to control her outward reaction to anger. Maia’s thoughts are equated to our thoughts before we meet her. “Werewolf The Apocalypse” makes clear it doesn’t matter what the protagonist looks like, but who they are. The game refers to “you,” referring to us (as the player).
While most games place greater importance on the aesthetics of the protagonist, this game focuses more on bonds and the reason for being there. This style of character development is exactly like a tabletop role-playing game in which aesthetics are made secondary and personality traits such as bonds, flaws, or sanity are made primary, showing us the internal thought process of our protagonist.
Keeping in mind how anger is an internal response, this style of gameplay utilizes that so Maia’s actions are not shocking or unwarranted, but something we grow to understand and influence. In turn, all the routes we can choose as Maia feel connected and all stem from this girl trying to learn more about her hometown and her ancestors.
In our journey while there are many possible variations of the story, two well-defined paths emerge. We choose a method to go about saving the forest, symbolized by the characters of Olga or Kornel. Olga is a fierce feminist who believes that men in society can very much protect themselves and who feels that destroying the loggers will bring the most certain peace. Kornel is an advocate for peace and believes in using all the humanity given to come to a peaceful solution, not wanting to face violence with more violence. The decision for the player is, should we protest with violence or peace?
High Rage
In the high rage, or violent, playthrough, the player sees the issues with rage. As “Werewolf The Apocalypse” states, it causes us to do things we regret. If you are a player that is not accustomed to anger, this might be hard to do and to some of us, this playthrough may be the most negative due to losing Maia. However, participating in the destruction of the loggers and the police with our claws was cathartic for her. Staring up at the stars and seeing a wolf, the moon between her eyes we see her happy, with no regrets for the choices she made.
While she killed many people, quite a few of whom were likely innocent she completed her goal and fulfilled her mission as an Ahroun (Warrior) of the Garou, to die for Gaia’s (earth’s) cause. By using explosives and choosing this path with Olga the Garou were pushed to the edge, their already dwindling numbers lessening even more so but it brings a sure peace.
In the Epilogue, we read a very grand statement: Maia died a martyr, that her death was not in vain, that songs will be sung about her and her legend will live on as a true warrior. We don’t hear more about the Garou that lived, and we are unable to live on as defenders of Gaia, beginning and ending as forces of nature.
We choose the ultimate sacrifice in return for the most immediate peace. We don’t get the opportunity to learn more about other some of the other characters around her, and to some Maia is more alone than before. Her anger drives her to complete her goal but blocks out other voices that provide words of wisdom and other methods to go about it. She is consumed by her rage and many innocents die because of it.
Low Rage
In the low rage or more peaceful playthrough, we unlocked the spiritual side of Maia, allowing her to be a Theurge or a seer. Maia developed a different but just as deep connection to the forest. While humans did not understand it, other Garou and the forest itself did.
With the help of Kornel, she developed a tentative peace between the loggers and the activist, and there was very little bloodshed. While werewolves were often thought of as rage-filled murder machines, they are also deeply bound to nature, the earth, and life. They are a mix of animal nature and humanity’s intelligence. She was happy and honored. She used her logic, still fueled by her anger to complete her mission to save the forest and be its protector.
On the peaceful playthrough, police are reluctant to be there and don’t wish to be involved in the protest. We, as a theurge, (seer) use our connection to the forest and the spirits to find a path that leaves the least amount of death on either side. It’s all very spiritual and demonstrates our connection as one with nature. In this world, there is more than what we just see and they influence us.
We follow Kornel and talk down the loggers, we are simply the peaceful protesters, and the news and the police hear our plea. While the peace we form here is a bit tentative, we stay here, to continue on with our connection to the spirits and keep the will of the forest running through us. We live on as a vessel to the spirits and can face new issues that may arise. Unlike a flash of light, we are a lantern, guiding those to find new paths and use both sides of themselves to face society’s problems.
We directed our anger toward construction. Instead of destroying the issue, we build defenses around the forest and help ensure this doesn’t occur in the future.
“Werewolf The Apocalypse: Heart Of The Forest:” We Are More Than Our Emotions
Looking behind the curtain, some options were the same. The only difference being a calm response cost you nothing at a low or balanced rage while it required willpower to choose the same at a high rage. This game doesn’t lock options based on what level of rage a person may have had, instead basing it on the path you’re walking, and it always gives you an option of aggression or peace, only requiring willpower from you to overcome your rage.
It showed how we are always more than just our emotions. While what we feel is valid and crucial to who we are, it is not all we are. Rage, anger, and aggression are all feelings and actions we can take steps to change and are tangible items we can utilize and overcome if need be. This simple game demonstrated all of these feelings and actions better than any I had played before, and it allowed for a space to process emotions through Maia and her journey of self-discovery. In her journey, hopefully, we too can discover ourselves and challenge ourselves to be the version of ourselves we wish to be.