The Howler

In "The Howler," pilot a hot air balloon through challenging levels, using gravity, tension, and wind currents to your advantage. The game features beautiful hand-drawn art inspired by Vilnius, Lithuania, with real-life locations and architecture. Your goal is to deliver cargo and reach your destination while testing your skill, wit, and reflexes.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

73%

Audience ScoreBased on 539 reviews

graphics83 positive mentions

grinding8 negative mentions

The art style is beautiful and hand-drawn, creating a visually appealing experience.
The game offers a unique mechanic of controlling the balloon with voice commands, adding an interesting twist to gameplay.
For a free game, it provides a decent amount of entertainment and can be enjoyable for a short play session.

The gameplay is simplistic and can become repetitive quickly, lacking depth and challenge.
The game is very short, with only 16 levels, which may leave players wanting more content.
Controls can be frustrating, especially with the balloon's sensitivity to obstacles, leading to frequent restarts.

graphics
122 mentions
68 % positive mentions
29 % neutral mentions
3 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their stunning, hand-painted visuals and unique art style, often described as beautiful and reminiscent of steampunk aesthetics. However, many reviewers note that while the artwork is impressive, it does not compensate for the game's shallow gameplay and frustrating controls, leading to a mixed overall impression. Despite the aesthetic appeal, some players feel the graphics alone are not enough to elevate the experience, resulting in a sense of emptiness in the gameplay.
- “The artwork of this game is what sells it for me, absolutely amazing, I love the steampunk vibe to it all.”
- “A lovely and aesthetically beautiful game to play!”
- “The art style for Howler is absolutely gorgeous.”
- “Graphics are simple, almost drawn as if on paper.”
- “I presume it's supposed to fit into a certain art style given that (quote from the game's store page) "all art used in the howler was meticulously created by classically-trained experienced painters." but this art style is not meant for games, it just doesn't work and looks like a scanned colored pencil piece of drawing.”
- “The graphics are as simple as it can be, all hand drawing.”
gameplay
90 mentions
26 % positive mentions
59 % neutral mentions
16 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is characterized by its unique mechanics, such as voice control for navigating a hot air balloon, but it often feels simplistic and repetitive, leading to a lack of engagement. While some players appreciate the art style and the initial novelty of the mechanics, many find the gameplay tedious, shallow, and frustrating, with a short duration that leaves little room for deeper exploration. Overall, the game struggles to balance its artistic elements with satisfying gameplay, resulting in mixed reviews.
- “The gameplay is good and the background is amazing.”
- “A couple of challenging levels, but overall the game was fun getting to the end and unlocking the bonus level which switched up the gameplay for one last hurrah.”
- “The howler has a pretty unique physics-based game mechanic as you navigate your hot air balloon over Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.”
- “The gameplay is kinda boring.”
- “The art is not bad but... the gameplay is awful.”
- “But at the end of the day all the frosting is great, but the cake, the actual gameplay, is pretty bad and not fun.”
story
45 mentions
29 % positive mentions
64 % neutral mentions
7 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally considered minimal and straightforward, presented through brief snippets before missions, with many players noting its simplicity and lack of depth. While some appreciate the aesthetic and find the narrative interesting, others feel it lacks engagement and fails to provide a compelling experience, often describing the overall campaign as short and lacking in substantial storytelling. Despite these criticisms, a few players express enjoyment of the game's artistic style and the light narrative it offers.
- “A beautiful traditionally drawn game with an interesting story behind it.”
- “I am absolutely enthralled by the story now due to this game!”
- “However, for a little puzzle game, one must recognize there is a beautiful aesthetic and a clever storyline.”
- “The story is honestly barely there, but there is a story happening.”
- “The world of the howler feels very empty and lifeless, rather than tense and on the brink of destruction, like the so-called 'story' would imply.”
- “In conclusion, it is a short game, with not that much of a story, that you might like to play for about an hour.”
music
30 mentions
57 % positive mentions
33 % neutral mentions
10 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising its soothing and immersive qualities that complement the artwork, while others find it average or lacking during gameplay. Many appreciate the minimalist soundtrack and its ability to enhance the overall atmosphere, though some suggest that the absence of music during certain moments detracts from the experience. Overall, the soundtrack is seen as a significant aspect, with opinions varying from excellent to needing improvement.
- “The music choice was splendid, and the wonderfully drawn details throughout.”
- “Hand drawn sprites and backgrounds combined with soothing music are the perfect way to start a short break.”
- “The soundtrack is pleasant, blends in well with the art style and gameplay.”
- “The sounds in the game are okay, but still the soundtrack is the biggest minus of the game.”
- “The music and sound effects inside are rather better if not existed.”
- “Some music during gameplay would be nice.”
humor
15 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is widely praised, with players finding it hilarious, especially when played with friends, as it encourages funny sounds and interactions. While some note technical issues, the overall experience is described as a fun and entertaining time-waster, making it enjoyable for both solo and group play. The game's voice control feature adds to the comedic experience, despite some bugs.
- “It has been a hilarious little time waster with my family and friends.”
- “Sing, scream or make funny noises to do the objectives and it'll be a funny experience.”
- “How would you know that your friends could make such funny sounds.”
atmosphere
10 mentions
60 % positive mentions
10 % neutral mentions
30 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is generally praised for its artistic quality and immersive sound design, contributing to a calm and engaging experience, particularly with its steampunk elements. However, some players feel that despite the appealing visuals, the overall atmosphere falls short in creating a lasting impact.
- “A good, cheap, and well-painted game; I like the calm, floating atmosphere before the crucial drops.”
- “The art is quite nice and adds to the steampunk-ish atmosphere.”
- “The handmade art and engaging atmosphere are wonderful.”
- “But despite the great art, it didn't manage to create any atmosphere for me.”
- “The sound of the game brings a bit of atmosphere to the experience.”
- “I tried to take in as much of the atmosphere from this game.”
grinding
8 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious and slow, often testing their patience. While some levels may offer a bit of enjoyment, the overall pace and mechanics, particularly the sound-based controls, contribute to a frustrating experience, especially when playing solo.
- “Tl;dr: The Howler is a slow, extremely tedious game that will test your patience and relies on an art style that doesn't complement nor is complemented by either the gameplay or the sound design, causing frustration (did I mention that you have to wait for everything, even bringing up the pause menu is slow), especially when using the gimmick, sound-based control feature.”
- “Look, I knew what this game was before going into it and, as such, I wasn’t expecting an epic storyline or smooth, ultra-realistic graphics; however, this game is just tedious.”
- “The game's pace is tear-jerkingly tediously slow - it takes forever for that balloon to inch its way forwards.”
replayability
5 mentions
40 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
60 % negative mentions
Overall, the game has limited replayability, with most players noting that it can be completed in under two hours and lacks additional challenges or goals to encourage repeated play. While some find slight replay value in improving scores, many agree that the experience is brief and best enjoyed on sale.
- “It's a quick game that has some replay value after letting it sit for a while.”
- “It's good while it lasts, but buy it on sale because you can beat it in under an hour, and there's not much replay value, besides improving your score.”
- “As for replay value...to me there is none.”
- “Another point I want to point out is that you can beat all of the levels in about two hours, and in my opinion, the game does not have a whole lot of replay value due to the fact that it only has fifteen levels (plus one more level if you know Morse code) with no goal times to challenge the player.”
- “It's good while it lasts, but buy it on sale because you can beat it in under an hour, and there isn't much replay value, besides improving your score.”
stability
4 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The game has been reported to have numerous bugs and glitches, particularly with the voice control feature, which users find amusing yet unreliable. Overall, while some players acknowledge the game's stability issues, they feel it is still playable.
- “There are apparently a lot of people who experience bugs and glitches with this game.”
- “The voice control is really funny; however, it's kind of buggy.”
- “I find the game somewhat buggy, but it gets by.”
emotional
4 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game evokes strong feelings, particularly through moments of realization and loss, as players experience the stakes involved. While the gameplay mechanics may seem simplistic, the reliance on external factors and the potential for personal engagement add layers to the emotional experience, despite some players' initial expectations for a different genre.
- “Tears welled up in his eyes when he realized what exactly was at stake.”
- “The only two controls are lifting your balloon and dropping parcels; you rely on the wind for everything else.”
- “Seeing that this game seemed to involve 'howling', 'touching', and 'screaming', I was hoping it'd be a dating simulator, but nope - it's Flappy Bird, but with a 'make noise in real life to flap' gimmick.”
optimization
1 mentions
200 % positive mentions
-400 % neutral mentions
300 % negative mentions
Reviewers note that the game's dynamics are well-optimized for mobile devices, enhancing the overall user experience on phones.
- “The performance is smooth, and the loading times are impressively short.”
- “I appreciate how the controls are fine-tuned for a seamless experience on mobile devices.”
- “The game dynamics seem to be optimized for phones.”
- “The performance on lower-end devices is frustratingly poor.”
- “There are frequent frame drops and stuttering, making the gameplay experience less enjoyable.”