Death Howl First Impressions
Soulslike deck builder Death Howl shows promise in its demo.
Death Howl. Credit: The Outer Zone / 11 bit Studios
The Outer Zone and 11 bit Studios have released a demo for upcoming soulslike deck builder Death Howl. Its mysterious, ancient world and addicting card-based battle system make it worth trying out and keeping your eye on.
From the developer:
In forgotten lands shrouded by myth, Ro—a hunter from a small tribe—is overcome by grief following the death of her beloved son. Guided by voices from another world, she transcends into the realm of spirits, in hopes of bringing him back.
Death Howl weaves an atmospheric tale of grief, healing, and resilience. As Ro, you’ll face relentless spirits in turn-based battles that challenge your tactical sense and adaptability. To succeed, you must craft and master decks of powerful cards and use shamanic totems while unearthing forgotten tales and secrets that shape Ro’s path.
The short demo allows players to experience the beginning of the game’s story and explore the first area of its world. The zone is small, but it offers a perfect slice of what the game is about and what makes it special while providing a peek at the scale of the world by setting up the main quest.
The game is played in isometric 2D. Movement is free and real-time until you enter combat, where you’re restricted to turn-based movement on a grid. In soulslike fashion, enemies are revived and reset when you rest. Enemies drop materials you can use to create new cards for your deck when combined with enemy souls; resting will also deplete your supply of souls.
Death Howl. Credit: The Outer Zone / 11 bit Studios
The card-based combat shows a lot of promise in the demo. The mechanics will be familiar if you’ve played other deck builders, where you draw a hand of cards on your turn and must decide which cards to play using a fixed amount of energy. As I created new cards, I opened up strategies and synergies that made for rewarding rounds; finding combinations of cards to buff up your attacks, strategically applying discard effects to cards, and effectively using cards that give bonuses depending on their played sequence felt great when I was able to shut down enemies before they could do major damage.
Death Howl. Credit: The Outer Zone / 11 bit Studios
I’m looking forward to checking out the game again when it’s released by The Outer Zone and 11 bit Studios. Ro’s journey into the spirit lands looks like it’ll be on worth taking with her.
You can try the Death Howl demo on Steam now.
Played on: Steam Deck
