PC Spotlight #13: Sang Froid - Tales of Werewolves

Title: Sang Froid - Tales of Werewolves
Developer: Artifice Studios
Platforms: PC
Price: $14.99
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Zombies. Robots. Aliens. Those enemies just sometimes seem too common nowadays. Leave the apocalypses and wastelands behind and face the cold dark Canadian wilderness and its lupine foes instead in Sang Froid.

Behind the stylized look is a tense game that mixes tower defense elements, strategic combat, and the scariest wolves since The Grey Each chapter is another night, as you defend your isolated home from the packs of demonic wolves and werewolves. You alone, in the dark, cold wilderness with only your rifle and axe and various traps to protect you. Each night consists of two phases. The planning phase is a top down map in which you can see what enemies are coming each wave, their path, and their strengths and weaknesses, and set traps accordingly. The action phase is where the fun begins You must balance your stamina and watch the fear level of the wolves surrounding you. Your rifle fires one shot at a time, takes like precious seconds to reload, and you're stationary while aiming. Traps must be triggered at the right time and enemies must be lured into range. All these factors combined make each night a very intense, very difficult challenge It is heart pounding to be reloading your rifle as the pack circles around you, eyes glinting in the torch light, as one prepares to attack and you don't know if you have enough time to get the shot ready...

Enemies range from simple four legged wolves to bipedal werewolves, wendigos, and more. As the nights pass, the map opens up with more areas to protect, there are shops to purchase new weapons and items or have your weapons blessed (which grant them a damage boost), and skills and upgrades to purchase.

Two negatives to note: the voice acting is pretty bad. Luckily, story isn't very important and cutscenes can be skipped. And the initial load when you start the game is very long, at least a minute. At first I thought the game was frozen. All other in-game loading is fast, but that long initial load can get annoying.

You're always desperately outnumbered and even with smart planning, each night is a challenging fight for survival. If you enjoy a challenge and games where victory is never assured, where success is a matter of planning and strategy, Sang Froid is well worth your time. You can purchase it on Steam here.