Info about Howl:

Official game description:
Howl is a turn-based puzzle/tactical folktale set in the Middle Ages, where a mysterious "howling plague" ravages the land. Any who hear the beasts’ howls turn into feral, hungering beasts themselves – further spreading the curse through their own howls. The Heroine of this tale was born deaf, giving her a unique protection against this curse.
Play as a daring combat Prophet with the ability to foretell your enemies’ moves. Plan up to six steps ahead to outmaneuver your enemies. Fire a variety of arrows, such as exploding, lightning, or piercing shots, and use skills like Smoke Bombs and Shadow Step’s Invisibility to kill any beasts who stand in your way. Each type of beast offers its own challenges, with some approaching fast, while others taking more powerful hits or attacking from afar.
Howl's visuals are created through "living ink", a flowing art style that paints the story as you play. Carve your way through a dark, fairy-tale world made up of obscure yet magical places where you fight to rid the lands of the howling plague.
Howl features a total of 5 chapters, including the free Heart of Rot update, each with a distinct visual atmosphere scored by soothing music.
Heart of Rot – Free Update Chapter
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Embark on this side-story to the Capital, a city that long stood as a bastion of hope in a world overrun by howling beasts. The Prophet has heard rumors that the alchemists there have found a cure for the Howl. When she arrives, she finds a city consumed by rot ...
Access to this update is FREE for anyone who has bought the Howl base game. You can access this update chapter from the Chapter 3 map at any point after reaching Chapter 3 of the main story. Heart of Rot follows its own storyline, and can be completed either before or after the main Howl story.
This update features its own chapter map, new enemies, a new boss level, new environment mechanics, the new Lightning Shot skill (which, once unlocked, can be used in the main game!), and an NPC who fights by your side in later levels.
You only need the base game to play the Heart of Rot chapter!
Foretell the actions of your enemies in turn-based puzzle/tactics combat.
Play through 60 levels across 4 chapters, plus 18 new levels in the free update chapter!
Beautifully illustrated in a unique, living ink art style.
Outsmart the different wolf species, from fast predators to enormous pack leaders.
Unlock and upgrade new skills like Shadow Step, Exploding Shot, and more.
Save villagers from the claws – and howls – of the wolves.
Plot your route on the world map to uncover new skills and secret paths.

Release date: Nov 14, 2023

Categories: Turn-based Tactical, Puzzle Solving, Story-driven Gameplay, Character Progression, Grid-based Combat, Single-player, Fantasy, Medieval Themes


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 10.3h
  - Story completion: 3.3h
  - Session length: N/A
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: The evidence provides several data points regarding playtime. The first quote suggests that the base campaign can be completed in around 3 hours. The second quote supports this with a similar completion time of 3.5 hours. The third and fourth quotes indicate that fully completing the game, including all achievements and missions, can take around 10.3 and 5.5 hours respectively. These data points help to estimate the typical playtime for both the main story and full game completion.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: The game is initially fun and engaging, with a good learning curve and challenging puzzles, but may become repetitive after a few hours of play.
  - Stance: Fun then drops
  - Anchor: Unlocking the first couple of skills
  - Time to anchor: 0h 30m
  - Friction: repetitive gameplay
  - Unlock drivers: unlocking new skills
  - Conditions: aesthetic appeal; challenging gameplay; puzzle enthusiasts
- Player Archetypes:
  - Relaxed Puzzle Enthusiast (buy)
    - Motivation: Enjoyment of puzzle-solving and relaxing gameplay.
    - Playstyle: Casual and strategic, focusing on puzzle-solving and enjoying the game's aesthetics.
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: puzzle game fan
    - Reference games: Fire Emblem
  - Tactical Nostalgic (sale)
    - Motivation: Nostalgia and appreciation for tactical gameplay.
    - Playstyle: Strategic and experienced, enjoying the game's tactical elements and simplicity.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: experienced player; tactical game fan
    - Reference games: SNES-era games; Fire Emblem


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Engaging puzzle gameplay (weight 0.97): The game features compelling and challenging puzzle mechanics that are both fun and engaging. Players appreciate the puzzle-like strategy elements and the satisfying difficulty of the puzzles.
- Beautiful art style (weight 0.86): The game is praised for its gorgeous and distinctive visual style, which includes a beautiful 'living ink' art style and a charming storybook atmosphere. The aesthetic and design are well-received.
- Great soundtrack and narration (weight 0.52): The game features a beautiful and enjoyable soundtrack, along with wonderful narration that keeps players interested. The acoustic background music is also highlighted.
- Relaxing and enjoyable experience (weight 0.49): Players find the game to be a relaxing experience with enjoyable gameplay mechanics. The game doesn't overstay its welcome and provides a pleasant vibe.
- Well-balanced difficulty (weight 0.39): The game offers well-crafted and challenging levels with a balanced difficulty. Players find the puzzles to be of the right difficulty and satisfying to complete.
- Enjoyable story and premise (weight 0.38): The game has a simple yet engaging story with an intriguing and captivating premise. The narrative is well-received and adds to the overall enjoyment.
- Flexible gameplay options (weight 0.14): The game offers flexible gameplay options, including an assist mode and the ability to restart quickly after mistakes. This adds to the game's accessibility and enjoyment.

Common complaints:
- Underdeveloped story (weight 0.52): The narrative is often criticized for being cliche, unimpressive, and sparsely delivered, leaving players wanting more depth and engagement.
- Limited replay value (weight 0.41): The game becomes repetitive quickly and lacks significant replay value, making it less appealing for those seeking long-term engagement.
- Lack of depth and content (weight 0.38): The game is criticized for its lack of depth, minimalistic design, and short duration, which may not justify the price for some players.
- Difficulty and mechanics issues (weight 0.35): The game has been noted for its difficulty spikes, frustrating segments, and lack of clear explanations for enemy mechanics, making it challenging and sometimes unfair.
- Bugs and crashes (weight 0.26): Players have reported random crashes during levels and various bugs, including issues with achievements, which detract from the overall experience.
- Non-intuitive controls and unclear upgrades (weight 0.15): Players have found the controls to be non-intuitive and the upgrade system unclear, which can hinder the overall gameplay experience.
- Lack of multiplayer and community (weight 0.14): The absence of multiplayer elements and a visible community can make the game feel isolated and less engaging.
- Localization and voice-over issues (weight 0.08): The game lacks certain language support, such as German voice-over, which can be a drawback for non-English speaking players.
- Map readability issues (weight 0.07): Some players have difficulties reading the layout of certain parts of the maps, which can affect navigation and gameplay.
- Lack of New Game+ mode (weight 0.07): The absence of a New Game+ mode limits the replayability and long-term engagement for players who enjoy additional challenges and content.
- Unused points at the end (weight 0.07): There are issues with unused points at the end of the game, which can feel like a waste of effort for completionist players.
- Esoteric happy ending (weight 0.06): The game's happy ending is considered esoteric, which might not resonate well with all players.

Gameplay feedback:
- Puzzle and strategy gameplay blend (weight 0.5): The game combines puzzle-solving with strategic elements, creating a unique gameplay experience that requires both logical thinking and tactical planning.
- Turn-based combat mechanics (weight 0.31): The game features turn-based combat where players and enemies take simultaneous actions, adding a layer of strategy to the puzzle-solving aspects.
- Complexity increases with abilities (weight 0.25): As players unlock new abilities, the game becomes more complex, offering deeper strategic options and challenging players to adapt their tactics.
- Tactical gameplay elements (weight 0.21): The game includes tactical elements similar to XCOM, requiring players to plan their moves carefully and consider the consequences of their actions.
- Multiple level completion strategies (weight 0.15): Players can approach levels in various ways, using different skills and strategies to achieve their goals, enhancing the game's replayability.
- Predictable enemy movements (weight 0.14): Enemies follow deterministic rules, allowing players to predict their movements and plan their strategies accordingly.
- Minimalistic and efficient gameplay (weight 0.14): The game is designed to be fast-paced and efficient, not wasting the player's time with unnecessary mechanics or overly complex systems.
- Rescue missions and tactical planning (weight 0.13): The game features rescue missions that require strategic planning and careful execution, adding a layer of depth to the gameplay.

Performance notes:
- Random crashes during levels (weight 0.09): Players have reported experiencing random crashes while playing through levels. This issue disrupts gameplay and needs to be addressed for a smoother experience.

Recommendations:
- Positive Recommendations (weight 0.15): Many players recommend the game and suggest others to try it out.
- Price Suggestion (weight 0.07): Some players feel that the game is more appropriately priced at 20.

Other player notes:
- DLC mentioned (weight 0.06): A reviewer mentioned the DLC. No further details were provided.

Emotions:
- Joy (weight 0.22): Players experience joy due to the game's beautiful art, lovely soundtrack, and engaging puzzle mechanics. The fun narration, interesting story premise, and well-designed tactical gameplay also contribute significantly to this positive emotion.
- Positive (weight 0.2): The overall experience is enhanced by the game's mechanics, challenge, and atmosphere. Players also appreciate the combination of strategy, music, combat, and the game's beauty and story.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.17): Enjoyment stems from the game's artistic direction, music, and gameplay mechanics. The cute style, fairy tale presentation, and the game's setting and mechanics are also highlighted as key factors.
- Frustration (weight 0.1): Frustration is caused by broken achievements, non-intuitive controls, and unclear upgrades. Difficulty spikes and lack of community resources also contribute to this emotion.
- Disappointment (weight 0.1): Disappointment arises from the game's lack of narration and underwhelming story and ending. Bugginess and the feeling that the game was not worth the time invested also play a role.
- Admiration (weight 0.07): Players admire the game's concept and design, as well as its positive representation of a deaf woman in the story. The overall positive description of the game contributes to this feeling.
- Love (weight 0.05): Love for the game is driven by its enjoyable atmosphere and various aspects that players find appealing. The overall experience and different elements of the game are highly appreciated.
- Mixed (weight 0.05): Mixed feelings come from enjoying the puzzle and strategic aspects while finding the overall content lacking. Players appreciate certain elements but feel that additional features or content are missing.
- Boredom (weight 0.02): Boredom sets in for completionists who find the game becomes tedious over time. The lack of engaging content for extended play contributes to this emotion.
- Hope (weight 0.02): Hope is inspired by the potential for future improvements. Players look forward to possible enhancements and updates that could improve the game.
- Relaxation (weight 0.02): Relaxation is facilitated by the game's soothing music and calming atmosphere. The overall ambiance helps players unwind and enjoy a peaceful experience.
- Interest (weight 0.02): Interest is piqued by the game's aesthetic and setting. The unique visual style and intriguing world draw players in.
- Intrigued (weight 0.02): Players are intrigued by the promise of challenging tactical gameplay. The potential for deep and engaging strategic elements captures their interest.
- Appreciative (weight 0.02): Appreciation is shown for the comprehensive demo. Players value the thorough and well-presented preview of the game.
- Appreciation (weight 0.02): Appreciation stems from the original and logical gameplay. Players enjoy the unique and well-thought-out mechanics.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.02): Satisfaction comes from the good visuals and music. The pleasing aesthetics and soundtrack contribute to a fulfilling experience.}