10 Games That Let You Play As A Werewolf

It’s time to go feral – in these games, you can carry out all your deeds with lycanthropy.

Werewolves in video games get a bad rap. You often see them, when compared to their vampire rivals, as brutish, stinky, and lacking in grace. But make no mistake about it: werewolves are rad as hell, and, when dropped into a game that understands this, can transform it into something with teeth and claws.

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If you’ve ever wanted to follow the way of the Lycanthrope, but felt that the whole transforming every month to go on an unstoppable rampage thing seemed inconvenient, these games have got you covered. Get ready to sink your teeth into some transformational tales.

10

Castlevania: Legacy Of Darkness

Vampires and Werewolves are natural enemies, so why didn’t anyone think of recruiting a lycanthrope to fight perennial Casltevania villain Dracula before? At least, that’s what Konami was probably doing when it released Legacy of Darkness in 1999 for the N64. The Bellmonts are cool and everything, but Cornell is a sexy, white wolf-man who can shoot energy bolts. Sorry, Simon, your whip and boomerang cross just isn’t going to cut it anymore.

Unfortunately, while Cornell is a good character, Legacy of Darkness was not a great game. You could forgive Konami for making a dud, seeing as this was only its second attempt to adapt the series for 3D, but not for ruining such a good idea. The only other game he’s appeared in, Castlevania Judgement, was even worse – and while he sort of appears in the reboot, Legacy of Shadow, we’ll probably never get the dreamy version again. Sigh.

9

Baldur’s Gate Series

Baldur’s Gate has more class options than you can shake a stick at, but there’s one obvious option if you want to sprout fur and fangs: The Shapeshifter. Sure you won’t be able to change into a bear or a normal wolf, like other Druids. On the other hand, who cares? The werewolf form is stronger, tougher, and resistant to magic. You might not be able to move quite as fast, but that seems like a fairly decent trade-off, considering how rad you look.

Add all this to the fact that you’ll be able to shapeshift at first level instead of seventh, and you’ll see why the shapeshifter is one of the better choices in the game. Lycanthropy isn’t a curse, it’s a gift, one that allows you to maul your enemies to death in the coolest way possible.

8

Darkstalkers

Darkstalkers is a game about supernatural creatures duking it out with the fate of the world hanging in the balance. You’d be disappointed if it didn’t have a werewolf filling the ranks.

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Fortunately, Darkstalkers does have a werewolf, the illustrious Jon Talbain, and he’s one of the most iconic in gaming. A nunchuck-wielding Englishman with the ability to conjure mirages and dart across the screen with lightning speed, Talbain might not have the fans of Morrigan or Felicia, but that doesn’t make him any less intimidating. He might even give Street Fighter’s Ryu a run for his money if they’d only give him a crossover.

7

Contra Hard Corps

Quick: What’s cooler than a werewolf with two mechanical arms, a hand-mounted flamethrower, and a pair of sick shades? Nothing, that’s what. Probably the most powerful character in Contra Hard Corps if you can use him right, Brad Fang has an aesthetic straight out of Top Gun, if Tom Cruise were also playing a genetically modified supersoldier with psychic abilities. Quick, someone pitch that to Paramount.

Sure, you don’t have to play as Brad Fang in Hard Corps, but why wouldn’t you? He’s one of the coolest creatures ever conceived and will have you wondering why developers don’t just put him into every game as a default.

6

Wolf Team

So, you liked Counterstrike but felt like something was missing? Was it the ability to transform into a wolf-human hybrid, or dress as an off-brand Care Bear? Well, you’re in luck. Wolf Team exists and allows you to do both those things. Whether it’s an improvement or not is up for debate, but if all you’re looking for is a good old-fashioned lycanthropy-themed shooter, look no further.

Originally released in 2000, you can technically still play Wolf Team. It’s also free, excluding microtransactions. Hopefully, someone’s brought the silver bullets.

5

Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Heart Of The Forest

Not every werewolf game is about guts, gore, and howling at the moon. At least, Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Heart of the Forest isn’t. Instead, you play a young werewolf exploring her family history in Poland while trying to preserve an ancient forest. A visual novel, the story is surprisingly nuanced and offers you dozens of different choices to affect the events of the game.

Heart of the Forest’s sister game, Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood was a disappointment to pretty much everyone that played it. While not a success in itself, Heart of the Forest justifies that the Werewolf side of the World of Darkness is worth looking into, with a much more ecological feel than the metropolitan Vampire: The Masquerade.

4

Werewolf: The Last Warrior

The main character in Werewolf: The Last Warrior is called Warwolf. It’s kind of difficult to know what to write, after that. Warwolf. The game’s also set on Red Earth (IE Mars), where you’ll fight through hordes of mutants attempting to enslave humanity, which technically makes Warwolf an alien as well as a lycanthrope.

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Released in 1990 for the NES, Werewolf: The Last Warrior gets the award for being one of the most ’90s games ever. It also happens to be a very solid platformer, equal parts Mega Man and Altered Beast, a combination that will make most fans of the genre howl at the moon. There are also ninjas, because of course there are.

3

Altered Beast

The original transformation-themed side-scrolling beat ’em up, Altered Beast takes a very loose approach to Greek Myth. You play as an extremely well-muscled, small-headed Greek hero chosen by Zeus to rescue Athena from the god of the Underworld, whose name is… Neff? Was Hades on vacation? Maybe he was too busy dealing with Zagreus, and this guy stepped in?

You’ll soon forget about the wonky setting though because Zeus will give you the ability to change into a werewolf to help you rescue his daughter. Technically, you’ll be able to transform into a lot of werecreatures, but when you finally get your Golden Werewolf form, you’ll forget you ever had them. You’ll also gain the ability to shoot fireballs out of your hands, for some reason.

2

Skyrim

Why can’t the savior of the world also be a lycanthrope? That’s the kind of question The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim asks if you choose to gain favor with the Companions of Whiterun. Progress far enough in their questline, and you’ll get access to The Circle, an inner faction of Werewolves that would like to make you one of their own.

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The werewolf transformation ability is extremely powerful early on in the game, letting you go toe to toe with even the most ferocious frost troll and come out the other side. And, while you won’t gain the benefits of advanced weapons or armor, the Dawngaurd expansion makes it so that hardly even matters. With Dawngaurd, you can now level up your werewolf skills with the ability to do even more damage and summon other werewolves to join in on the hunt. Watch out, Alduin. You’re in for a world of pain.

1

The Wolf Among Us

Take Dirty Harry, add a dash of the supernatural, and one large spoonful of lupine aggression, and you’ll get Bigby Wolf, the protagonist of The Wolf Among Us. He’s gruff, he’s dashing, and, as the sheriff of Fabletown, he’ll solve every crime that comes to light, or die trying.

An episodic adventure game released from 2013 to 2014, The Wolf Among Us gives you free rein to explore a world inspired by Vertigo’s award-winning series, Fables. You’ll match wits with iconic villains like Bloody Mary and the Crooked Man, and uncover the seedier side of a fairy tale world corrupted by vice. You won’t transform a lot, but that hardly matters. Bigby Wolf’s story is as intriguing as it is mysterious, enough to make the fact that he can transform into a bloodthirsty creature almost incidental.

NEXT: Skyrim: Vampire Vs. Werewolf – Which Is Better?