Unless you’re the kind of avid indie game fan who never misses a Nintendo Indie World Showcase and keeps a record of every title that goes live, it’s just possible that you missed Howl when it arrived on PC and consoles earlier this year.
Don’t worry, you’re here now—and just in time for the arrival of Howl on iOS and Android.
Here’s everything you need to know about one of the most interesting and acclaimed indie titles of 2024.
Mobile Release Trailer
Howl is developed by Mi’pu’mi Games, whose credits include input on several Hitman games, Control, Anno 1800, and more. Publishing duties are handled by Astragon Entertainment, purveyor of countless oddly compelling Simulator games.
Howl Setting
Tactical Folktale
Described by its marketers as a “tactical folktale”, Howl is a turn-based strategy game with a healthy dose of puzzle game mechanics.
Howl is set in a dark fairytale universe in which a horrific “howling plague” has taken hold. Not only does this disease transform its victims into slavering bloodthirsty wolves, but it spreads through their bloodcurdling howls, making it outrageously contagious.
Fortunately for you, you’re playing as a deaf heroine who cannot contract the plague. That means it’s up to you to hunt for a cure and rescue the uninfected villagers—all while avoiding becoming lunch for a pack of wolves.
Gameplay Overview
Game Stages
Howl’s 60 stages take place across four chapters, and you’re at liberty to plot your own route through these stages. In the process you’ll uncover secret paths and unlock new skills to use against your diseased lupine foes.
The goal in each stage is to reach the exit without being brutally savaged to death. You’ve got up to six moves per turn to accomplish this feat, consisting of movements in four possible directions and a variety of actions.
Character Skills and Abilities
At first, your actions are limited to firing arrows and blowing wolves back with the force, but over time you’ll acquire a battery of new skills. These include Shadow Step, Exploding Shot, Vault, Smoke Bomb, Piercing Shot, and more.
These actions, along with extra skill slots, help you stay ahead of an increasingly dangerous array of wolves, some small and quick, some big and powerful.
Enemy Behavior
Like you, wolves are effectively deaf in Howl. They won’t attack unless they can see you, but as soon as you wander into their line of sight they’ll move one square in your direction for every one of your actions.
Getting through a stage means carefully plotting your path, calculating whether you’ll have time to unleash an arrow or reach safety before your attackers can reach you.
That’s where the puzzle game mechanics come in. While Howl is technically a turn-based strategy game, it requires a lot of careful planning and diligent calculation to find the right solution.
Art Style
Howl’s refined, challenging gameplay has earned a lot of praise from critics, but presentation is arguably the game’s standout feature.
Presented in visually arresting “living ink” style, Howl feels like a narrative mural that you’re creating with every move that you make, thanks to a primitive hand-drawn aesthetic with elements that are constantly in motion.
Conclusion
It won’t cost you anything to see Howl for yourself. The base game is free to download on iOS and Android, with an IAP letting you unlock the whole thing.
Head to the Google Play Store or the App Store right now to check it out.
This article was sponsored by Howl.
