Death Howl News

[p]Hello Spirits,
[/p][p]Today marks the console release of Death Howl, and to celebrate, we’re giving our Steam players an early look at something new. We’re opening access to an experimental playtest branch featuring an upcoming game mode called REBIRTH.
[/p][p]This is your chance to dive back into the Spirit Realm, face fresh challenges, and help us shape the mode with your feedback.
[/p][p][/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][h3]How to Enter the Open Playtests Branch
[/h3]

• [p]Right-click Death Howl in your Steam Library and select Properties.[/p]
• [p]Go to the Game Versions & Betas tab.[/p]
• [p]In the dropdown menu, select rebirth_testing to opt in.[/p]
• [p]Close the Properties window.[/p]
• [p]The game will update automatically, and you’ll be ready to play the new branch.[/p]
• [p]At any time, you can resume your previous save by going back to the same menu and selecting Default Public Version[/p]

[p]

[/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][h3]What Is REBIRTH?
[/h3][p]It is a mode designed for players who have already completed the game and are looking for a deeper, more demanding challenge.
[/p]

• [p]Ro will appear in a blue robe in this mode.[/p]
• [p]In normal circumstances, this mode unlocks after completing the game on Normal difficulty.[/p]
• [p]The overall difficulty is higher, but still designed to be fair and rewarding for experienced players.[/p]
• [p]All enemies have received new or enhanced abilities. Some are modifiers (like retaliate), while others introduce entirely new mechanics (for example, enemies multiplying themselves if you don’t deal with them quickly, or absorbing weaker enemies to gain their stats).[/p]
• [p]Realmless cards  now feature a snazzy new look  along with reworked stats and abilities, encouraging new strategies and deck builds.
  
  [/p]

[p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][p]An update with the new Rebirth Mode is planned for the first half of March.

We can’t wait to see how you adapt to the new rules of the Spirit Realm. Your feedback during these playtests will help us fine-tune REBIRTH before its full release, so jump in, experiment, and let us know what you think on our Discord, Reddit, and the in-game form when exiting your playthrough! [/p][p]See you beyond the veil!


~ The Outer Zone and 11 bit studios Teams[/p][p]
[/p]

[p]Hello Everyone,
[/p][p]We’re back with a small news between patches to tease what’s coming next to the Spirit Realm.
[/p][p]First of all, thank you so much for all your feedback on Discord, Reddit, and in the comments. It is incredibly valuable for us as we continue to improve the game’s balance and search for the perfect middle ground for you. What truly drives us forward and reassures us that we are on the right path are your reviews, which have been absolutely amazing. We are currently sitting at 92 percent positive reviews, and we are actively working to address your issues and concerns.

We also know that some players are struggling with enemy attack patterns and lack of the information about them in the game, which was mainly mentioned in the negative reviews. While we respect your point of view and understand the reasoning behind those negative reviews, making the game this way was a conscious decision on our side. From the very beginning, our goal was to include this layer of difficulty, encouraging players to learn enemy behaviors and rethink how to rebuild their decks after consecutive defeats, without any additional information.
[/p][p]But we do not want to leave you without support!
[/p][p]That is why we created a new “Before You Play” news post on Steam and released a Gameplay Showcase Trailer that offers more insight into how the game works:

[dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]In addition, we are constantly collaborating with the community to create guides and an official wiki. It will cover detailed game information, including enemy patterns and statistics, for those of you who want to dive deeper in the mechanics of the game from the very beginning.
[/p][p]At the end, We do not want to spoil too much, but we are preparing something interesting for you. Below, you can find a small glimpse of what we are working on :skull: :skull: :skull: :
[/p][carousel][/carousel][p]Don't forget to chat with other souls on our r/DeathHowl subbredit and Discord!

See you soon!
[/p][p]~ The Outer Zone and 11 bit studios Teams[/p]

[p]Hello Lost Souls,
[/p][p]We gathered all of your amazing feedback, and suggestions, shared across different platforms. Over the past weeks, we’ve been working on implementing them, and we hope these changes will make your playthrough smoother and even more enjoyable!
[/p][p]Check out the full changelog below.
[/p][hr][/hr][h3]
Patch Notes:
[/h3][p]BALANCE:[/p]

• [p]Totem buffs:[/p]
  • [p]‘Adder Stone’ has a new effect: each turn it transforms all curses into random cards.[/p]
  • [p]‘Engraved Antlers’ only discards one card now.[/p]
  • [p]‘Squirrel's Tail’ - increased from 3 to 4 extra health to Fylge.[/p]
  • [p]‘Thorns’ - increased damage from 1 to 2.[/p]
  • [p]‘Thick Fur’ keeps your current health when saving you from a fatal strike instead of setting your health to 1.[/p]
• [p]Totem nerfs:[/p]
  • [p]‘Red Rock’ gives 1 mana instead of 2.[/p]
  • [p]‘Skull Cap’ gives 1 card instead of 2.[/p]
  • [p]‘Ox Heart’: heals 2 instead of 3.[/p]
• [p]Card buffs:[/p]
  • [p]‘Bug’ Fylge occasionally bites for 1 dmg, nomnom[/p]
  • [p]‘Branch’ Fylge can now move 1 to get into position before firing.[/p]
  • [p]‘Bonfire’ gives a card instantly when spawned.[/p]
  • [p]‘Hatchling’ no longer has Exhaust.[/p]
• [p]Card nerfs[/p]
  • [p]‘Blood Sacrifice’ now gives only 1 mana and has Exhaust. [/p]
  • [p]‘Devour’ draws one card less.[/p]
  • [p]‘Tainted Memories’ can't be reduced to 0 mana anymore.[/p]
  • [p]‘A Sight to Behold’ costs 1 mana instead of 0.[/p]
  • [p]‘Shield of Torment’ no longer draws a card on Plague.[/p]
  • [p]‘Focus’ costs 3 mana now instead of 2, but gives one mana back if played First.[/p]
  • [p]‘Crushed from Above’ has no Echo effect, and the player loses half of their current Block. The range has been increased.[/p]
  • [p]‘Consume Spores’ no longer causes health loss and has Exhaust.[/p]
  • [p]‘Catch Prey’ costs one more mana but has increased damage.[/p]
  • [p]‘Extract Thoughts’ costs one more mana but has increased damage.[/p]
  • [p]‘Fearless’ buffs only next attack this round.[/p]
• [p]Enemy changes:[/p]
  • [p]Elite Sunless Hollow movement reduced from 5 to 4.[/p]
  • [p]Frost Growl’s bark now heals itself 2 instead of buffing damage.[/p]
  • [p]Burning Voids transform into Jellyfish more rarely than into other enemies and are safer to hug[/p]
  • [p]The Soother (mini boss) no longer gives you spirit cards.[/p]
• [p]Overwhelmed[/p]
  • [p]Overwhelmed level 3 in Realm of Gloomy Waters heals 9 instead of 10.[/p]

[hr][/hr][p]
COOL NEW STUFF AND POLISH:[/p]

• [p]Snazzy new animated border on craftable cards.[/p]
• [p]Added mouse scroll wheel support to the draw pile screen and discard pile screen.[/p]
• [p]Crawling Terror enters combat from above (like a ninja). Also when spawned by the elite Crawling Terror.[/p]
• [p]New animation for Frost Sling card.[/p]
• [p]Trunkrot’s X disappears from the map in Dead Roots if you remove the quest card.[/p]
• [p]Monolith Death howl symbol glows when you click the stone (miniboss cave entrance in The Hidden Vale).[/p]
• [p]New audio when getting chilled.[/p]
• [p]New event sounds in The Hidden Vale.[/p]
• [p]Improved the AI of the Night Leech.[/p]
• [p]New animation for branch style attacks. (Staff of Thorns card, Thorns totem, Blood card).[/p]
• [p]Added a passage in Dead Roots to make it easier to traverse the parts near the western grove and the nest below it. (There is one more path now to get to the nest).[/p]
• [p]UI background boxes have been polished. [/p]

[hr][/hr][p]
BUG FIXES:[/p]

• [p]Fixed soft lock bug related to Horned Menace reviving frozen enemies.[/p]
• [p]Fixed soft lock when fleeing character (Skull Fylge) dies in ooze.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a blocker that happened when you walked away from the Sorg arena after dying.[/p]
• [p]Cave Painter’s marker (X) is now correctly removed from the map upon completion.[/p]
• [p]The bridge to the Creek of Spectral Falls is now crumbled on the map after it collapsed.[/p]
• [p]Fixed bug with the visual effects from Shattering Ground / Infected Molar not disappearing after finishing combat.[/p]
• [p]Sorg's eyes no longer trigger “Kill” effects.[/p]
• [p]Fixed cases of crushed Chinese font.[/p]
• [p]Fixes to the mini boss puzzle in The Breathing Chasm.[/p]
• [p]Fixed bug resulting in overheal from Crystalized Ox Heart totem.[/p]
• [p]Fixed bug where the keyword info box had the wrong color in the card manager (when playing with a controller)[/p]
• [p]Fixed bug where Burning Void would fight against you even though you revived them with the Horned Menace spirit card (very safe to hug now)[/p]
• [p]Fixed bug where damage text was not updated with the correct damage buff number on the ‘Oppression’ card.[/p]
• [p]Removed loot drops from Soother and Trunkrot mini bosses.[/p]
• [p]Fixed Distorted Hollows great spirit memory sequence.[/p]
• [p]Added more Arrow Gill to the caves of Creek of Spectral Falls so all cards of the Realm of Distorted Hollows can be crafted.[/p]

[hr][/hr][p]
ONBOARDING AND COMMUNICATION:[/p]

• [p]Ro will now helpfully remind players to craft cards if that is something they have forgotten to do after a few battles in a new region. [/p]
• [p]Additionally, after dying in one of the elite battles before a Great Spirit, Ro might hint to players to git gud get stronger and return later if she senses they need to craft more region cards. Don’t worry, she will not nag.[/p]
• [p]The overworld map button is highlighted if not used.[/p]
• [p]Added a dedicated controller button to open the overworld map.[/p]
• [p]Added 'scary roar' events (ooOOoo) when entering a Great Spirit area \[to communicate increased danger/difficulty].[/p]
• [p]Added hover feedback and blinking on the 'new cards unlocked' pop-up notification.[/p]
• [p]Improved system for the fold-out menu[/p]
  • [p]When new cards or totems are unlocked, players will see an exclamation point (!) on their tabs and on the fold-out main tab. They disappear after opening the correct tab.[/p]
  • [p]Whenever there are any teardrops to spend, players will see an exclamation mark on the progression tab.[/p]

[hr][/hr][p] We encourage you to continuously share your feedback in the comments, reviews, and across our community channels. Your suggestions constantly help us improve your experience in the game.

Stay tuned for the upcoming updates!

~ The Outer Zone and 11 bit studios Teams [/p]

[p]Hello Everyone!
[/p][p]We’ve reached the end of the year, and honestly, we cannot wait for 2026! We’ve just released Death Howl, and we’re already preparing the console launch on February 19th, along with adjustments based on your feedback. Every day, we receive so many uplifting messages from you, and it truly means a lot to us. We also encourage you to leave the reviews if you haven’t done so yet!
[/p][p]Today, let’s take a moment to revisit where it all started, with our first Announcement Trailer at the beginning of the year and the debut of the demo in January:
[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]At that stage, the game was already in a playable state, with most of the writing and artwork completed. As we mentioned earlier, Death Howl was created by a small team of just three of us in Copenhagen. The growing number of wishlists motivated us to push forward and refine the game as much as possible before launch.

Below, you’ll find some of the earliest sketches of ours, which eventually transformed into the pixel art featured in the game. We still keep this notebook safe, and I’m sure it will remain with us for a long time as a reminder of this beautiful journey, haha!

[/p][carousel][/carousel][p]
Later, we participated in the 2025 edition of our friends’ 11 bit studios Hands-On Event, where we met wonderful people and shared more insights about the development process of our game. Journalists and creators had the opportunity to play Death Howl on both PC and Steam Deck, and gave us a lot of valuable feedback that made us excited to develop the game further. We also invited Darkher band, who made music for our Announcement Trailer, and wow, what a show they did!:

[/p][carousel][/carousel][p]@Darkher
[/p][p]Afterward, we continued refining the balance and improving the demo even further. We launched closed playtests and offered over 20 hours of content for players to explore. The amount of encouraging feedback we received made us incredibly happy, and it strengthened our determination to deliver the best possible experience at release.
[/p][p]And here we are now. Death Howl is out on Steam with an amazing 90% Positive rating and a growing number of reviews, I'm hoping you can help us out with! It is also verified on Steam Deck, and will be launching on consoles on February 19th.


[/p][p]If you haven’t tried Death Howl yet, you can grab it with a 10% launch discount until January 3rd on Steam. It’s a great chance to enjoy something new during the Holidays.
[/p][p]Thank you so much for everything. What keeps us working, improving, and growing is you, the players, and the entire community.
[/p][p]We wish you all the best in 2026.
[/p][p]Stay tuned and see you next year!
[/p][p]~ The Outer Zone and 11 bit studios Teams[/p][p]
[/p]

[p]Hello Souls!

Thank you so much for all the ongoing feedback shared here and on our Discord, and Reddit. Every voice matters to us, and we’re committed to improving your experience. What was originally planned as a small hotfix has grown into a full-scale patch, and we hope these changes make your adventures in the Spirit Realm even better.[/p][p]Also, if you haven’t done so yet, please consider leaving a review on Steam, it really helps us a lot!

Full patch notes:
[/p][h3]BUGFIXES[/h3][p]● Fixed all bugs related to soft locks caused by the Skull Fylge dying on its own.[/p][p]● Fixed bugs related to Fylge stepping in ooze without dying at 0 health.[/p][p]● The unattainable Worm Jaw material has been removed, and the materials required to craft the Stinger card have been updated accordingly.[/p][p]● Corrected an issue where encounters disappeared from the map when opening the map of a location from different realms.[/p][p]● Fixed the shortcut to the Mountain in the south of The Hidden Vale not being indicated on the map or in the environmental visuals.[/p][p]● Fixed some block cards not displaying the correct amount of block.[/p][p]● Fixed an issue where Ro's model could get stuck in spirit form after a fight, causing an incorrect outline to persist.[/p][p]● Fixed an issue where the player could interact with the trunk immediately after defeating Trunkrot to reacquire the Sinister Twig card.[/p][p]● Adjusted the Crumbler enemy AI and visuals; also removed the strong attack indicator (!) as it was incorrectly placed.[/p][p]● Frostgrowl will no longer cough up its heart if doing so would result in its own death, good boy!
[/p][hr][/hr][h3]BALANCE[/h3][p]● Some early-game arenas have been adjusted so you can get the ball rolling from the start slightly easier now.[/p][p]● Certain difficult caves have been eased when they were not located next to a sacred grove. We felt that too many caves were not only very hard but also difficult to reach, making them overly punishing.[/p][p]● More Nests with teardrops have been added to help players who don’t find the minibosses and therefore have too few tears to progress. Nests have been added in the following locations:[/p][p]○ Meadows of Delusion[/p][p]○ Shores of Darkness[/p][p]○ The Hidden Vale[/p][p]○ The Breathing Chasm[/p][p]○ Valley of Desolation[/p][p]○ The Wailing Marshes[/p][p]○ Cadaver Dunes[/p][p]● Some overpowered card combos from the Realm of Piercing Winds have been nerfed. Previously, it was too easy to create a combo deck from this realm that could beat The Howling Mountain directly without visiting other realms or defeating other bosses:[/p][p]○ Exploding Blocks: now removes all block instead of just 3[/p][p]○ Bracing for Battle: gives 1 mana instead of 2[/p][p]○ Double Block: costs 1 more mana[/p][p]○ Harden Soul: costs 1 more mana[/p][p]○ Overwhelmed mode: now requires 1 additional block to charge in the Realm of Piercing Winds[/p][p]● Other cards nerfs:[/p][p]○ Peak \[Realm of Hostile Plains]: now gives 1 mana instead of 2[/p][p]● Totems nerfs:[/p][p]○ Algae Bubble: loses 2 health instead of 1[/p][p]○ Petrified Cheernut: adds a -1 card penalty on top of the existing mana penalty
[/p][hr][/hr][h3]MISCELLANEOUS[/h3][p]● The location of Bird (from the Blue Bird quest in the Forest of Howling Shadows) has been moved to another location, but within the same Forest; the trees are nicer there.[/p][p]● Cards are no longer highlighted when craftable. Instead, a bright border now indicates which cards can be crafted, improving overall readability.[/p][p]● 'New Cards Unlocked' banner now blinks to improve readability.
[/p][hr][/hr][p]
See you in the next update!

~ The Outer Zone and 11 bit studios Teams [/p]