Howl Critic Reviews

If you like strategic puzzle games that require tight planning and careful use of a limited set of options, you’ll get a lot of out of Howl. It squanders its decent story set-up, but if you come for the gameplay you won’t likely be disappointed. The intriguing presentation pulls you in, tickling your imagination while you learn the ropes and get to the real meat of the game.

Howl is a simple blend of genres that offers a lot of fun. It is fast and easy to pick up, but can be pretty hard to master. The game can be on the shorter side, taking approximately 5 hours to reach 100% completion. And while I loved what I played, I still feel like there were a lot of really cool ideas that could be explored further, or enemy variety to improve. In the end, I think that Howl leaving me wanting more and making me think about it far after I finished it speaks more about the quality of the game than about what the game might be lacking. Fans of the puzzle genre and light tactics RPG are sure to have a great time with this one.

Despite initially relying a little too much on trial and error, Howl is an absolute delight once its mechanics click. What initially appears as a simplistic tactical RPG soon morphs into a devilishly difficult puzzle game that begs for repeated playthroughs as you gain a greater command of new mechanics and the core gameplay loops. Whether you’re after a tactical RPG that does things a little bit differently or a puzzle experience that gets increasingly rewarding the more you invest yourself in it, Howl is an easy recommendation.

I can’t say with certainty that I’ll keep returning to Howl, for me it feels like a one complete playthrough title. That being said, I implore anyone whose curiosity has been piqued by its trailer to try it out; with a demo available on both Steam and the Nintendo Switch, there’s no reason not to open your hearts to the dark whimsy of such a cunning game.

Howl combines challenging turn-based gameplay, creative visual effects, and a somber story to produce a unique strategy puzzle game. Built-in repetition and a lack of instruction do slow things down, but, taken in smaller doses, there’s enough here to compel most puzzle fans through to its resolution.

On the one hand, you essentially get three times as many puzzles as the game has levels. On the other, you’ll be spending a chunk of time with each level, which really breaks-up the narrative flow of the story. I think it might have been better to limit the puzzles to single goals, perhaps with some optional bonuses, and keep the game flowing. As things are, though, you’ll need to ask yourself if you’ll enjoy spending the extra time with each level. If you’re intrigued by the idea of cracking each puzzle three times with different goals, you’ll probably enjoy Howl. However, if the thought of spending so much time with each level sounds like a grind to you, or you’d prefer to have the freedom to experiment with different tactics, you’ll probably find the game to be frustrating. As such I can’t recommend the game to everyone, just those in the former group.

Howl's pace is a brisk whirlwind of quick turns and calculated moves. Its imagery is a charming blend of whimsy and violence, dancing across the screen with a playful ferocity. Yet, beneath this surface, a shallowness lurks. The challenge lies not in the depths of its strategy, but in the player's ability to exploit the predictable patterns of its adversaries. These creatures of the wilderness, though fierce in their appearance, are ultimately creatures of habit, their actions dictated by algorithms and predictable responses. Howl isn't a test of tactical prowess, but a puzzle of exploitation. A game of manipulation, where the gamers are mastermind puppeteers in the shadows, orchestrating the movements of their foes to their own ends.

Ultimately, while Howl doesn’t do anything new or groundbreaking, it’s a solid indie title that knows what it wants to be. Its aesthetics and challenge make it a compelling experience, especially for players looking for something to work into their daily puzzle rotations - a crossword or Wordle for fantasy fans.

Howl is an earnest effort with a strong aesthetic and creative vision. It’s easy to imagine that it’s going to find an audience among people who pick it up on a whim – because in screenshots and video, it does stand out – and then find themselves absorbed in the puzzles. Unfortunately, while it does get challenging, Howl outlives its welcome, and the strange decision to deliberately add repetition into something that should have focused on forward momentum really hurts it in the end. If it was half the game it would have been twice as impressive.

The game may look like a tactical RPG at first glance, but at its core it is a logic puzzle with one optimal path. It's a shame, because it would have been much more satisfying to master everything at once.