I’ve always appreciated the types of stories where you kill gods, or fight your way through hell–so Death Howl’s premise is something I definitely could get behind. Mix that with a folklore-steeped Scandinavian purgatory and you get a game that feels like a lost legend, one that balances the cosmic scale of defying the afterlife with the intimate, crushing weight of personal grief.

Screenshot: Scrabdackle Act 1 What do you get when you put together a bit of metroidvania, a pinch of soulslike, a dash of Terry Pratchett, a few cups of Zelda  and a whole bucket of charm? Apparently you get Scrabdackle , a hand drawn, top down adventure game developed by jakefriend. It looks like a game I would have come across in the corners of some early digital distribution storefront years ago, replete with hand drawn animation that looks like it was drawn in MS Paint.

Despite my admonitions, Concierge might be worth checking out if it ticks your boxes. It’s definitely a unique game, and for the gamer that’s seen everything, Concierge might just have something new for you. 

Every once and a while a game comes along that becomes my happy place. A safe space where time and objective hold no power; where you can...