Death Howl review: a punishing tactics game lands on consoles

Death Howl follows Ro, a grieving mother who wanders a Scandinavian spirit world to find a way to resurrect her dead son, Olvi. The game first arrived for Windows PC in December 2025 and is available Feb. 19 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X.

Its story leans on the language of Soulslikes to turn loss into a series of turn-based trials. Exploration is open-ended: you collect Death Howls from defeated spirits, bring them to Sacred Groves that restore health but also respawn enemies, and craft region-specific cards.

Combat plays out on a grid using a deck of attack and movement cards, with only a few action points per turn and no undo option. Every encounter feels like a puzzle that asks you to use the cards you’ve been dealt in the best possible order. The difficulty is central to the design and often unforgiving.

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