A child who loses their parents is an orphan, but a parent losing a child is so taboo that we don’t even have a word in the English language to describe it. Despite the lack of verbiage for this situation, it is one that many people experience in their lives. A mother’s grief is unlike anything else in this world, and Death Howl — the latest game published by 11 bit studios and developed by The Outer Zone — beautifully crafts that experience into a heart-wrenching journey that will continue to haunt you long after you stop playing.
While games that focus on grief and loss are not uncommon, Death Howl stands out as a unique take, leaning into high difficulty and tactical grid-based combat with deck-building gameplay. Ro can freely explore the Spirit Realm, but her journey through grief itself is frequently blocked by strange, twisted animal spirits.
Combat begins when Ro steps onto the battle grid, and players can then select her starting position from the first row they interact with. Ro fights her battles with grief using a card deck stacked with unique abilities crafted from ingredients found in the spirit realm and forged into the playable deck with the literal death howls collected from fallen foes.
Cards have an action cost, and Ro has limited moves available per turn. Some cards are realm-specific and cost more for Ro to use when outside their home environment, but others are realmless and cost the same regardless of where Ro uses them.
Like any good deck builder, cards come with a variety of movements, but the tactical combat grid adds extra complexity to battles. The “Hurl a Rock” card, for example, is great at inflicting damage on enemies who are 2–3 squares away on the grid, but can not be used if the restless spirit is standing next to Ro. Alternatively, the “Quick Strike” card requires that the spirit being attacked is just one grid away, but it may have the effect of pushing that spirit back.
This is where strategy comes into play. You may want to strike a nearby foe with pushback and then hurl a rock to max out the damage possible with your active points without having to use them to move unnecessarily. Death Howl features over 160 cards to craft, providing opportunities for you to build a deck that synergizes with the way you want to play.
Just because there are plenty of cards to choose from doesn’t mean you can stack Ro’s deck. Death Howl limits the player to holding 20 cards in the deck at any time, which means you need to be thoughtful about your build. Focus on skills like poison to weaken enemies while you brace Ro for what spirits may inflict. Or build up Ro’s strength to make her capable of hard-hitting attacks. Maybe you prefer to sacrifice your least favorite cards to modify your favorites.
While Ro’s journey to reunite with her son is Death Howl’s main quest, she will encounter other events in the spirit realm, as well. These little breaks in the story of Ro’s grief provide opportunities for The Outer Zone to work in meaningful and equally emotionally charged parables that bolster the story.
In one early side quest, Ro encounters a flaming tree that explains how a fox stole the eggs of a friendly bluebird. In retaliation, the tree set itself alight to scare the fox away, but in doing so also scared off the bluebird. It's a masterfully crafted parable that shows how reacting out of anger or spite can cause harm to ourselves and those we hold dear, adding even more weight to Death Howl’s emotional heft.
Death Howl is available now on Xbox PC and compatible gaming handhelds for $19.99. The Outer Zone and 11 bit studios have plans to release the game on Xbox consoles in early 2026. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass members can play the game now as part of the subscription service.
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