When a game labels itself as something, something, ‘soulslike’ it’s an immediate eyebrow-raiser. It grabs your attention, sure, but its use can diminish the value of a perfectly good game, as it immediately sets itself up for greater scrutiny and high expectations. In this case, however, this ‘soulslike deckbuilder’ isn’t unnecessarily using attention-grabbing marketing guff, as its captivating demo showcases a masterful blend of this unlikely pairing.
Set in Mesolithic era Scandinavia, protagonist Ro is grief-stricken at the loss of her son and engages in a ritual to cross over to the spirit world and bring him back. Death Howl’s crunchy pixel art is reminiscent of The Case of the Golden Idol and Hauntii, but is more gravelly and earthy, enveloping you in an etched world of Stone Age cave paintings. This rawness, along with the fluctuations and encroaching darkness around Ro, appropriately feeds into its overarching theme of grief; an uncomfortable emotion that can be both beautiful and devastating.
As someone who hasn’t had extensive experience with deck builders, I wondered if this would be a barrier in getting to grips with Death Howl, but it felt intuitive, readable, and provides a strong gateway into the genre. Ultimately, if you’ve played any soulslikes or tactical RPGs, you’ll naturally fill in the gaps of the gameplay loop and understand that discovery, trial and error, and strategy are key components in this isometric adventure.
First and foremost, Death Howl wants you to strategise. Taking a look at the map of the starter zone, Forest of Howling Shadows, everything is laid out like a battle plan - you can see the layout and the location of encounters and sacred groves (Death Howl’s version of bonfires), with no fog to lift. It’s a bit like looking at a map of a country park, if you were on a Bear Grylls-style survival adventure. You’ll need to plan out your exploration based on your chance of success with the cards you have available. This doesn’t mean that you’re not in for a few surprises and that aforementioned sense of discovery is prevalent in its world and combat encounters. The soulslike atmosphere is ubiquitous with breadcrumbs of world-building, regenerating enemies whenever you heal, and the ability to reframe your adventure and try a different approach.
Commencing battle is as simple as stepping onto the red grid surrounding enemies and choosing your starting point. Combat is turn-based and on each turn, you draw five cards and have five actions - known as mana - available to you. Your starter deck involves several draws of ‘Hurl Rock’, ‘Sprint’, ‘Block of Wood’, and a few other basic moves to attack and defend yourself. Mana isn’t solely for card use, mind, your movement across the grid also comes at a price and utilising this effectively can make or break an encounter.
Death Howl doesn’t explicitly explain everything that you, or your enemies, can do in combat, and you quickly learn the dangers of taking foes head-on. Sometimes you need to be charged by the boar to eventually avoid the boar. Signalled by an exclamation point, an enemy can do a special high-damage move if you’re in its line of sight. I paid the price, so you don’t have to. Thankfully, you’re not heavily penalised, as you respawn at the edge of the encounter exactly as you were, allowing you to refocus your strategy or choose an alternate route.
For now, you may be able to just about get past a singular ‘basic boar’ with your wits and starter deck, but it won’t get you far. You’ll need more cards. Upon defeating enemies you’ll receive the titular Death Howl’s, aka souls, along with enemy-specific resources to be used in card crafting. In the demo, you have the starter ‘Realmless’ deck and a second, more advanced deck to build and mix and match with that appears to be specifically for use in the ‘Realm of Distorted Hollows’. You can have up to 20 cards in your deck, and there are multiple strategic possibilities. From damage to endurance builds, there's plenty of flexibility.
Examining cards will reveal their effects, but experimentation will help you see them at their most effective with some seriously satisfying results. In battle, powerful single-use cards will often come at the price of high mana cost or an effect like randomly discarding a number of cards on your turn, so you’ll need to determine if it’s worth the sacrifice. Legendary cards can only be made once, such as ‘Growth’ which gives you a permanent damage buff for the duration of the encounter, while more common cards can be made at least twice.
As you build up your arsenal, your focus is on getting smarter rather than stronger, with more horizontal progression and ways to enhance your deck’s playstyle. It’s initially disheartening when your Howl’s ‘disappear’ upon healing, but, as it turns out, it all goes toward an advancement tree for the area. This means you’ll always be moving forward and gaining advantages such as totems (an equipable item that grants a permanent passive), area bonuses, or special cards.
If you want to challenge yourself further, there are side quests, elder spirit boss encounters, and hidden areas that are designed to keep you on your toes. If a burning tree of biblical proportions asks you to find its bird pal, take care. The bird is flighty and while it's with you it’ll randomly appear in your deck. This little critter must be played or discarded within your turn, otherwise it’ll partially restore a fallen enemy - creatively recontextualising existing encounters.
It’s a testament to Death Howl that when it came to writing this preview I had no notes, thanks to entering a trance-like state for several hours and losing myself in its embrace; compelled to keep testing my limits. It looks to be a refreshing and accessible deckbuilder with a smooth difficulty curve that encourages you to experiment, explore, and strike your own balance as you face greater challenges.
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