Death Howl is a deck building tactical adventure game by The Outer Zone with more than a few elements from the soulslike genre. Contentious, overdrawn statement, I know. Let me explain.
Soul Anatomy
The criteria of soulslikes I tend to return to is perhaps boiled town to a few pillars, let’s say three: the minute to minute gameplay, the over-arching systems, and the mood:
1) Dodging, picking your moments to attack, and crowd control might fall under the first.
2) Respawning enemies, save points that are havens for growth and recovery (that often also cause enemies to respawn), substantial rewards for exploration, and perhaps currency that can be permanently lost if a corpse run is unsuccessful.
3) The mood… well, dour is unfair, I could argue Elden Ring’s grotesque heroism contrasts well with Dark Souls’ quiet, doomed despair, but there is a desperation to both.
It becomes a very “you’ll know it when you see it”. With the “you” in that equation being the biggest variable!
Turn-Based Souls??
Death Howl is a soulslike in my book, and does the improbable by making what is generally an action subgenre entirely turn-based. If you sample the exploration and combat, and soak in the mood and subtext a bit, you’ll see what I mean. You are trying to find your son in the spirit realm, his spirit manifesting as a skittish deer in a twisted woodland, and exploring that will lead to regions beyond. Between you and your child are hostile creatures and a sprinkling of stone circles acting as save points where you can upgrade, use as teleports, and recuperate (though using one recuperates these creatures, too).
Battle is done using a card system from a deck you build as you gain trophies from the slain. Each card is not just an ability, but a suggestion of what brought you to this spiritual crossroads and the lengths you’ll take to find your son again. The environments are surreal, too, with manifestations of your son and the womb that carried him, a tree protective of the bird that once made a home in its branches, and your guide through this land hinting that the nature of your quest isn’t what it seems. All reflect inner space as much as the external in an intriguing meld.
Ethereal Struggle
Death Howl has quite a variety of encounters and tools to fight them with. In the starting forest there are charging boars, heads of crows with deadly caws, owls that teach you to fear their stare and predatory talons, and poisonous giant snails, among others. Each demands different defensive strategies to avoid their stronger attacks, which activate automatically if you’re in a vulnerable spot. The points you spend to activate cards every round also function as movement points.
These frays are often tough, though usually not restrictively puzzly. Having played through the starting area twice now, it’s easier for me to see how you get better once you know how things work. Certain deck builds are extra helpful against certain enemies, but it can be a challenge; you may be retrying some combats using new tactics or cards. Thankfully you can retry immediately, with a chance to regain the currency you lost on death. Daunting, yes, but doable.
Reindeer Flotilla
There is a decent amount of environmental exploration, with hidden caves, puzzles, and items. The battles have interesting discoveries too, where you can figure out the strengths and weaknesses of creatures through positioning, attacks, defensive maneuvers, and delays. Some battlefields also have secret abilities to exploit and hazards to avoid. The dread mood, too, is pervasive, the drum beats and vocals adding an ancient feel, and the stark artstyle underlining the main character’s isolation.
The Verdict
Death Howl gives you several different environments you explore with new items, cards, enemies, and abilities, and tough boss encounters, as well as greater understanding for the nature of this otherworld. It’s a spiritual quest that feels as grounded as any dungeon delve might, and I’m happy to say, deserves positive comparisons to other Souls games. Souls comparisons aside, it’s a fascinating creature all on its own.
Words by ahoodedfigure.
Death Howl is out on PC, PlayStation, Switch and Xbox. I played via access kindly provided by the publisher and their loyal customers in PR.
