208: Death Howl (with Bryan Skursha - Pixelated Playgrounds)

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog 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