Yesterday, one of NAGs other writers decided to do some work (don’t hate me, Cody) and covered all the games that were announced at Nintendo’s Indie World Showcase, and the one game from the list that immediately stood out was a turn-based puzzle game called Howl.
For those who haven’t already seen it, Howl is a game that instantly stands out with its dark and almost ink-like storybook aesthetic. It was released on Steam and Nintendo Switch yesterday and has a free demo on both platforms for gamers to download and try.
The biggest draw to Howl, outside of its art, is its unique take on turn-based strategy that requires gamers always to be several moves ahead if they want to succeed.
We’re all used to the usual system turn-based system where you move, perform an action, and then the enemies do the same. However, in Howl, players must create and plan for an entire sequence of steps, for example, moving to the left, shooting, moving back, etc.
Across the game’s 60 stages, the foes players face will take their turns simultaneously, and for each move you make, they will instantly react.
This creates an almost chess-like gameplay flow that requires you always to be focusing and planning while also working out where you went wrong and how to improve,
The game also utilises a pretty smart confidence system that rewards players for complete stages in as few moves as possible to get a better rating and more resources to upgrade abilities.
It’s a great little game, and anyone who finds themselves interested should definitely give it a go.