Join Dave and guest Bryan Skursha as they deep dive Death Howl (The Outer Zone, 11 Bit Studios, 2025) on their journey through the underworld to find out what the hell a soulslike deckbuilder even is. Brutal turn-based combat, a story about grieving and a mother's love, and all the fucked up guys a gamer could ask for. Listen in to find out more!

Guest info: Bryan Skursha (he/him)

• Check out Pixelated Playgrounds https://www.pixelatedplaygrounds.com/
• Follow on BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/bsushi.bsky.social

TIMESTAMPS

• 0:00 Title Card
• 0:18 Introductions
• 5:39 Our Histories with Death Howl
• 10:50 Top-Level Thoughts
• 15:42 Story Setup
• 23:58 Dreamy, Hazy Visuals and Sound
• 40:01 Combat Basics and Deckbuilding Strategy
• 54:58 Is It Soulslike?
• 1:05:00 Open-Ended Structure and Side Quests
• 1:10:22 Combat Depth
• 1:16:40 Who Should Play Death Howl?
• 1:19:00 Pixelated Playgrounds
• 1:22:55 Spoiler Wall & Patron Thank-Yous
• 1:24:58 Spoilers- Favorite Areas, Bosses, Decks
• 1:41:00 Spoilers- Final Area and Final Bosses
• 1:55:46 Spoilers- Story Discussion

Music used in the episode is credited to Chris Bjørumslet & Malte Burup. Tracks used: Death Howl, Olvi, Shadows of Rot, Cantharsis, Meadows of Delusion, Moon Eel, Ever Since Your Heart Stopped Beating

Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricatures

Support Tales from the Backlog