RED CARDS

DEATH HOWL is the most brutal deckbuilder in ages

- By Abbie Stone

Deckbuilders meet Dark Souls!' is the kind of ironically-soulless pitch that makes me want to go back in time and drown a young Miyazaki in a poisonous swamp. Fortunately, Death Howl hasn't been made by evil money men, but slightly-less evil developers who clearly understand what makes good deckbuilders and Soulslikes tick.

I thought all deckbuilders had to be roguelikes by law, so it's paradoxically refreshing to play one that follows a more traditional game structure. You play a grieving mother who's in denial about her son's death and who's chased him into the spirit realm in the hopes of getting him back.

Turn-based battles play out on isometric grids reminiscent of the excellent Into the Breach. Each turn you draw five cards and then have five mana to play them with. Ah, but you also need that mana to move around, creating a dilemma between hitting your foes or running away to hide in the corners.