Werewolf: The Apocalypse is a tabletop RPG set in the semi-connected World of Darkness universe*, where classic monsters fight against greater evils than themselves. Because of its deep tabletop roots, I was surprised to find that Earthblood, the long-in-development adaptation of the W:TA License, is less an RPG and more of a combat-driven action game.But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.Earthblood tells the story of Cahal, a werewolf who’s lost his human family and is struggling to reconcile with his wolven self, as he struggles to protect Earth (yes, he's what the government would call an "eco-terrorist") in a centuries-long war against an ancient evil force hell-bent on bringing about the apocalypse (GET IT?).The ancient force, known as The Wyrm, is less a "big bad" it seems, and instead just an ever-present threat that must be kept at bay. The short(ish) is that it's corrupting power has infected countless unwitting humans, as well as a few willing ones like those in control of various oil companies, logging operations, arms manufacturers and the rest of the Evil Corporate Checklist. It can corrupt nearly anyone - even you. And this is where Earthblood's most intriguing concept comes into play.The corrupting influence of the Wyrm is strengthened by negativity - greed, arrogance, jealousy, and most importantly, violence. When he transforms to his werewolf form in combat - the design of which is appropriately both empowering and terrifying - Cahal has to fight to keep his bestial nature under control. Every hit you make on an enemy, every kill or brutal finisher you enact, increases his "Rage" meter. Heightening your Rage allows you to perform special moves, like area attacks or extra damage, but if it fills completely, the corruoption takes hold and it's game over.It's an interesting mechanic, one that adds a unique need for strategy in what would otherwise be a fairly generic arcade brawler. We didn't see Cahal's human form get into any scrapes, but we did see him sneak into an oil plant using his wolf form (just a normal wolf, not the giant raging monster kind) to sneak past security guards and cameras. There are apparently some social mechanics where Rage plays a part as well, though we weren't able to see them in action. If you choose negative options in conversations or interactions, you'll also gain Rage - though there are skills to unlock that can reduce the rate at which your Rage accumulates.With a release date slated for sometime in 2020, I'm curious to see more of what Werewolf has to offer. Its arcade-ey combat seems to be on-point - evoking memories of the surprisingly excellent X-Men Origins: Wolverine game - and if it can capitalize on its unique corruption mechanic to create some truly interesting encounters and story beats, it might have something special on its hands. Or, I paws, I guess.

JR is IGN's Senior Features Editor. You can follow him on Twitter @USofJR *No, there isn’t any crossover between this game and Paradox Interactive’s Bloodlines 2.