Howl Review

Become One With the Legend

Howl is mesmerising. There, I said it. Rarely do I start with such a statement for my reviews, but this title did impress me. I do enjoy a good story that evolves with intricate details, but usually, even in a video game narrative, I am a mere viewer. I am not privy to the inner workings of the plot until they are revealed to me through the narrative. All of that changed as I explored Howl.

Howl is a turn based tactical puzzle game where you try to predict the action of your enemies and plan your turns several steps ahead. But here’s the thing, the gameplay is not complicated, which in this case is the best part.

Determine Your Fate

In Howl, you play a prophet who is trying to write a prophecy. The quest of the prophet is to rid the world off of a curse called The Howl. By clicking on the tiles that are your path, you can cue movement actions that you plan on executing. The goal is to reach the exit in every level to proceed further in the quest.

Players will encounter a number of enemies, and each enemy behaves differently. The baseline being that as soon as they spot you, they will move towards you, attack you by taking the shortest path. Their movement being deterministic, meaning they will always choose horizontal movement as opposed to vertical.

You can pre-plan your action, plan your attack mode (there are four options available) and then engage.

The players get skulls for killing the enemy. The two main resources that a player can collect are skulls and confidence, you accumulate both in order to increase strength, and you can also use them to gain skills. You gain confidence by completing the levels fast. There are between one and three confidence levels as well. This means if you complete a level within three rounds, you will get three confidences. If you complete with more than three rounds, you will get your confidence reduced by one for each round. It’s not mandatory to kill all the beasts. The mission, each time, is to reach the exit. You can return to previous levels to try to finish the beasts.

There will be strangers that you will encounter, who are in need of your help because they are affected by the curse. Saving them is very beneficial, as you can earn a confidence. Between levels, you can upgrade your skills, which will help you do more damage and push the enemy even further away. Skills are always associated with certain slots on the action queue. In order for you to use the skill, you have to unlock the slot first. You require them to finish bigger and more difficult levels, such as the Crescent Crossroads.

It’s the Game of Squares

The enemies created are smart, and the gameplay is very engaging. It calls forth the best of your planning and strategy. The aesthetically pleasing beauty of Howl lies in its captivating graphics, which reminds one of ancient Scandinavian art. Personally, I felt part of a quest as if it was being written in an already yellowing scroll (maybe because that is the whole vibe of the game’s visuals). The game does not feature music and this works in Howl’s favour, creating a very soothing atmosphere. The experience is exactly like inhabiting the persona of the prophet you play: silent, engaging and focussed.

I loved the duality of the attacks. You plan your movements going forward while judging your enemies’ movements and also set forth the attack. So, once decided, your movement sets forth a chain reaction which is honestly very satisfying and gratifying to witness. This domino effect in the gameplay kept me engaged and honestly, I had a lot of fun. Howl is interesting, winsome, and visually beautiful. It offers a fulfilling gameplay that is not over the top and yet lures your interest and maintains it.