Death Howl

 Switch
Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 5 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
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  1. Hey Poor Player
    Mar 2, 2026
    90
    Despite some issues that hold the game back, Death Howl is still a remarkable adventure. It stands apart from other examples of the genre, boldly mixing deckbuilder, tactics and Souls-like seamlessly. It’s a story with a heroine you’ll root for, set in a fanciful world full of strange creatures. The game will grab you emotionally, and force you to push past your uncertainty to reach the end. Just don’t expect this to be a simple or relaxing journey, since it will demand everything to reunite Ro with Olvi.
  2. Noisy Pixel
    Mar 2, 2026
    85
    Death Howl is a haunting and demanding Soulslike deckbuilder that rewards patience, adaptability, and strategic thinking across a 26-hour journey on Switch. Blending cryptic storytelling with tactical grid-based combat, it challenges players to refine their decks, weigh risk versus reward, and embrace failure as part of progression. While its melancholic tone and layered systems create a memorable adventure, some UI frustrations and reliance on card draw luck hold it back from true greatness.
  3. NintendoWorldReport
    Feb 25, 2026
    80
    In between fights, you slowly walk around the world, occasionally running into spirits that offer up quests, Scandinavian folklore, and really sweet-looking pixelized animations. It’s a dark quest that definitely tugged at some parent heartstrings as I played it, but the blending of all the different inspirations and styles coalesces nicely. The genre blend bingo has a nice prize at the end of it, even if it’s a little depressing and difficult.
  5. ComicBook
    Feb 19, 2026
    80
    Death Howl comes from small indie developer The Outer Zone and publisher 11-bit studios. It uses a unique color palette to bring its dark spirit world to life in stunning pixel art form. With a combination of deck-building and tactical grid-based combat, Death Howl will challenge your strategic skills as you explore 4 different realms of the spirit world on Ro’s quest to save her son. Though the grind can admittedly get a bit frustrating, Death Howl is an engaging blend of strategic gameplay and emotional storytelling. It feels right at home on Nintendo Switch.
  6. Nindie Spotlight
    Apr 1, 2026
    71
    An attractive and challenging deckbuilder featuring interesting strategic challenges, but that also feel very grindy and overly brutal.