Grief will push us beyond our limits if we’re not careful. It can feel all-consuming and insurmountable, especially if that grief is focused on the loss of a loved one. Few losses feel as heavy as that of your own child, as they are not ‘supposed’ to go before you do. Accepting that it has happened can feel completely impossible, as is the case for the protagonist of Death Howl, Ro. We’re all aware of the lengths a mother will go to to protect their child, but Ro takes this to a whole different level: the Spirit World.
Death Howl takes place about 6,000 years ago and sees Ro, a hunter from a small tribe, unable to accept the loss of her son. Travelling through the afterlife, she meets all kinds of different spirits. Most of them will fight her, while others are there to help or to be helped in exchange for something else. But can Ro really trust everyone she meets on her quest that betrays the laws of nature?
To do battle in the Spirit World, Ro possesses a deck of cards that she will use in grid-based battles, pretty similar to those seen in games like Into the Breach. These battles, dear reader, are brutal. You start with only 20 health points, and these enemies will drain these from you rather quickly. There’s a reason why the game is labelled as a Soulslike deckbuilder: you will die, over and over and over again. But as in most games from the genre, there are patterns to be studied and ways to overcome even the hardest challenges.
I’ll be upfront though: these challenges were too much for me. So just for the sake of honesty: I did not manage to complete the game. I did not even manage to get to the boss fights of any of the game’s four main zones. So be warned: this game is not for those expecting an easy time.
What I have played has been highly impressive, though. Me dying over and over never felt unfair: I’m just bad at Soulslike games. If I had any more mental energy, I might have gotten better and been able to discover more of Ro’s story, as that tale of sorrow and grief is one that speaks to me a whole lot. But at the end of a year full of work and plenty of other games, my energy levels have deserted me; therefore, I just couldn’t muster up the courage to keep going.
That doesn’t mean I might not return to the game on a later date, though, when my energy has been restored somewhat. Because despite my struggles, I really did enjoy my time with it, even despite the frustrations. The card play and grid-based combat work really well, and the choice to make this game a Soulslike feels like an inspired one. It creates stakes for Ro, as her quest feels nigh on impossible to complete. As it should: travelling to the Spirit World and trying to revive your dead son shouldn’t be taken lightly.
The card play especially is top-notch here. You start out with barely any power or weapons, but as you progress through the story, you’ll be able to forge more cards to become more powerful through loot that you find on the ground or after enemies have fallen. The cost of your cards will vary depending on which zone you’re currently travelling through, impacting the constitution of your deck at all times. Luckily, you can edit your deck whenever you want to, even after you lose a battle and before you take on the same enemies again.
These enemies are varied and offer all kinds of different obstacles. Some will be focused on poisoning you, while others will spawn more enemies onto the battlefield. And of course, some will just hurt you a whole lot. Well, all of them do, really. While other deckbuilders will show you an enemy’s next move, Death Howl only allows you to see where an enemy could possibly move on their turn. Considering you’re always fighting multiple creatures, you’ll have to figure out your own dance around them if you want to survive.
There are restoration points to be found all over the game’s world, but healing yourself comes with its own risk: all creatures within the same area will come back to life as well, meaning the enemies you’ve just slain will return too. These points do make fast travel possible, though, so you won’t be fighting the same enemies without any respite.
The game is non-linear as well, meaning you can explore the game’s zones in any order you wish, although the difficulty will make it clear quite quickly which area is actually available to you. Travelling through the Spirit World is a joy to behold, as I adore the minimal but very soulful visuals. The music in the background sets a perfectly moody atmosphere, making this game feel reminiscent of Senua’s journey in the first Hellblade game.
I really wish I could find the energy to return to this game sometime soon, as I want to learn more about Ro and discover whether her quest could ever be successful and what it would cost her in the end. I feel there’s a really good story hiding underneath the brutal combat, and in all honesty, I just want to get better at the deckbuilding too. Death Howl is not going to be a game for everybody, but for those who are up to the challenge, it will deliver, without a doubt.
