Howl of Iron Achievements Guide

Welcome to our Howl of Iron Achievements Guide. Guide explaining the achievement design of Howl of Iron from the perspective of one of its designers. You can also use it as an achievement guide.

Howl of Iron Achievements Guide

In this guide, I will explain the reasoning behind every achievement and the design in general. You can also use it to learn how to obtain any achievement you are missing. We know that there are people who have a hard time finishing the Howl Of Iron game. If you are one of those who find it difficult to finish the game, let’s take you to our Howl Of Iron guide.

General Guidelines

• The number of achievements is a reference to the name of the development team. The name 16 Gears was chosen to represent the original team of 16 master degree students that started Howl of Iron.
• I used the threefold repetition rule to determine which achievements to use. This means an average player should be able to get all achievements in 3 runs or less. In this case:
  1. Normal playthrough
  2. Non-exclusive achievements playthrough
  3. Speedrun playthrough

  This was not mandatory, as the vertical slice is short. I, however, decided to keep it like a standard game release and use the rule.

• I tried using all types of achievements for this design. These are:
  1. Type A Metric achievements (Story-related, unmissables)
  2. Type B Tutorial achievements (Tutorials, quick and easy)
  3. Type C Content achievements (Optional content + secrets, sidequests)
  4. Type D Challenge achievements (Additional challenges, metacontent)

  We ended up with 3/16 Type A, 2/16 Type B, 1/16 Type C and 10/16 Type D achievements.

• We tested that all achievements were possible and reasonable. The main one to look out for was the timer on the speedrun.

METRIC ACHIEVEMENTS

1. Industrial Threat

INDUSTRIAL THREAT

Complete Steelheart.

HOW TO GET:
Complete the first map.

DESIGN:
Classic stats achievement that lets everyone know how many people were able to finish the first level. No need to track player’s data on our own.

The game starts in the 2nd strata of the city, the industrial area (Steelheart). The name of the achievement is a nod to it. This sector was selected over the other two because we thought it best represents what Howl of Iron is all about.

2. Hunted the Hunter

HUNTED THE HUNTER

Kill Harman Fisher.

HOW TO GET:
Beat the game.

DESIGN:
Classic stats achievement that lets everyone know how many people were able to finish the vertical slice. No need to track player’s data on our own.

The name is a reference to an in-game dialogue. Not exactly the most profound use of the English language from our part.

3. Now I Hunt you from Behind

NOW I HUNT YOU FROM BEHIND

Activate Harman Fisher’s invincibility shield. Find a way to EXECUTE your vengeance.

HOW TO GET:
Remove the first chunk of health from the Boss and activate his shield.

DESIGN:
We had (and still have) a lot of trouble giving the player feedback on the Boss mechanics and how the fight works. The goal was to give players feedback without outright telling them the solution. We tried several techniques, but none proved to be 100% effective.

With this achievement, I aim to introduce another way of letting the players know what they are supposed to do next. The achievement description gives you a hint. Will anyone pause the game when it is unlocked, Alt +Tab, read description and understand what to do next? We will see.

This achievement could be considered a Tutorial (Type B). Since it is impossible to miss, I am putting it in the Metric category. The goal of the achievement also fits best to Type A achievements.

TUTORIAL ACHIEVEMENTS

4. Easy Prey

EASY PREY

Execute an enemy that is panicking during combat.

HOW TO GET:

1. Enemies have a fear system. Doing certain actions raises their fear meter.
2. If the fear meter of an enemy fills up, they lose their composure and become paralyzed/run away/shoot uncontrollably.
3. You can kill them instantly when they are in this state by pressing the execution button (you need to be somewhat close to them and looking at them with the player’s camera).

When an enemy panicks, he starts pulsing red (during Combat mode) and their health is surrounded by a purple aura.

Actions that increase their fear:

• Executing an enemy close to them
• Killing an enemy close to them
• Stunning them with your howl
• Hitting them

DESIGN:
One of the biggest issues we had in the Design department was tutorials. We simply did not have enough map to explain all mechanics in Howl of Iron. Originally, the current map known as Steelheart was only meant to be used for the tutorial, but we could not make more levels in time during the 9 months of development.

We had to compromise due to the lack of space. The tutorial for the fear system is one of those compromises. This achievement aims to let users know they can execute during combat using the fear system. Some players beat the whole game without doing so, which is a shame.

5. I Shall Kill a Mutton with Another Mutton

I SHALL KILL A MUTTON WITH ANOTHER MUTTON

Kill an enemy by throwing him another one.

HOW TO GET:

1. Execute an enemy that is panicking during combat (EASY PREY). This will make Vincent grab his dead body for a while.
2. After a few seconds/introducing an input, he will throw him.
3. If the player’s camera is looking at another enemy, Vincent will launch the corpse against him.
4. If the other enemy dies from the impact, you will get the achievement (the throw deals half of a Mutton’s health on impact).

DESIGN:
This one is just cool to perform, to be honest.

The name is a reference to the meme “I WILL BEAT A MOTHERF****R WITH ANOTHER MOTHERF****R!!!”.

Howl of Iron CONTENT ACHIEVEMENTS

6. I Want that Katana

I WANT THAT KATANA

[Redacted]

HOW TO GET:
This is a secret achievement, so I will keep it obfuscated on purpose. If you find it, do not forget to read the achievement description 😉

I wonder what is down there…

DESIGN:
Howl of Iron has no real side content, so this secret is the only Content-type achievement (Type C).

Ask yourself: What is better than a mechanical werewolf? This question kept us awake at night in 2022…

Howl of Iron CHALLENGE ACHIEVEMENTS

7. King of the Swamp

KING OF THE SWAMP

Oops! Fail the first jump in Steelheart.

HOW TO GET:
Instead of performing the first jump in the game, throw yourself to the canal.

DESIGN:
Suggested by the friend of a team member. We liked it because a lot of players are used to having a dedicated jump button and they would often miss the jump. The fact that Stray released the same year probably helped us quite a bit.

The goal of not having a dedicated jump button was to minimize the possibility of getting stuck somewhere and to simulate what the Batman Arkham series achieves (Batman can not jump, but you would not notice it thanks to the hook level design). Wall climbing is probably one of our biggest accomplishments through iteration (even if the claw marks used are rather non-diegetic).

8. NOX-like Screech

NOX-LIKE SCREECH

Activate your howl 5 times during one playthrough.

HOW TO GET:
Activate your howl 5 times without exiting the game. Switching levels is fine. You can recharge your howl by executing an enemy in Hunt mode (outside of combat).

You can use your howl when the circle is highlighted in purple.

DESIGN:
Some players forget about the howl or never use it. This achievement is here to promote activating it more.

The name of the achievement is a reference to one of the other two games produced alongside Howl of Iron by master degree students in U-tad university: NOX. You can play their vertical slice on Steam!

Link to their store page:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2228140/NOX_Chapter_1/

9. Wolves of Prey

WOLVES OF PREY

In Hunt mode, execute 3 Owlmen during one playthrough.

HOW TO GET:
Hunt mode is when you are outside of combat. Player’s camera placement and the music denote each mode. You need to execute from above or behind three Owlmen in the same playthrough.

Owlmen use sniper rifles by default, but will switch to magnum pistols if you get close to them.

These are the three best Owlmen to execute:
1. The enemy right after the first Green Mutton

2. Right in front of the previous Owlman, to the left

3. After the bridge cutscene, on top of the barricade near the center of the street

DESIGN:
The Owlman is infamous due to his ability to remove most of your health with just one shot. This achievement allows players to take revenge on them with a special kill condition.

The name of the achievement is a reference to birds of prey, hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates. Getting this achievement implies Vincent is now on top of the food chain.

10. Pissing the Level Owner Off

PISSING THE LEVEL OWNER OFF

Find a way to kill the first Owlman.

HOW TO GET:
As far as I know, there are 2 ways of killing the first Owlman:

1. (Recommended) – Do Light Attack + Light Attack + Heavy Attack close to the barricade. The 3rd attack should go through and hit the Owlman if he is close enough. If he moves too far away from the barricade: exit combat, return and try again.

   Kill all other close by enemies before trying to get him this way.

2. Execute enemies that are panicking close to the Owlman and throw them against him (check I SHALL KILL A MUTTON WITH ANOTHER MUTTON for more information on how the mechanic works). Hitting him twice this way should kill him.

DESIGN:
The owner of the Steelheart level did not want players to kill this Owlman. QA testers had other plans. This achievement commemorates his undying struggle as a game designer. If you find other ways to kill this Owlman, feel free to tell me in the comments below. I will let him know 🙂

11. Efficient Killing Machine

EFFICIENT KILLING MACHINE

Execute 3 enemies in less than 3 seconds.

HOW TO GET:
You need to do it in Combat mode, as executing an enemy in Hunt mode plays a long animation. A good place to get this achievement is during the first large fight, where the first Owlman is located. Do the following:

1. Wait until the Mutton patrol is close to the Mutton below.
2. Execute the Mutton below in Hunt mode. If the other Muttons are close, their fear meter will fill partially.
3. Quickly dash to their group and howl in the center.
4. Hit one of the Muttons until he panicks and starts flashing red.
5. Execute him then. He will become the 1st execution to chain.
6. The other Muttons should be panicking already. Quickly execute them while looking them with the player’s camera.

This should be close enough.

DESIGN:
While doing QA Testing, we figured out chain executions was one of the key elements that made Howl of Iron fun. It was not a planned feature, but rather came up as we were implementing combat. I decided to preserve the dynamic by not introducing an execution animation during combat.

Once again, the achievement is here to promote a feature. In this case, chain executing enemies.

12. Vincent Volk Killed the Radio Star

VINCENT VOLK KILLED THE RADIO STAR

After the cutscene, kill the White Mutton before he calls more reinforcements.

HOW TO GET:
The White Mutton is the one in the cutscene, at the end of Steelheart.

Very easy to do if you still have the howl. Simply dash next to him and howl. Then, hit him until he panicks and you can execute him.

DESIGN:
The White Mutton is another victim of the lack of map. Originally, he was supposed to be a more frequent enemy that could spawn reinforcements and become a target priority for the werewolf. It did not make sense to put him in the Boss (as he can already spawn enemies on his own), so he only appears once in the final release.

There was also an additional Mutton variant planned that could stun the werewolf with its attack. The Yellow Mutton was cut due to the lack of level, despite being 100% functional.

The name of the achievement is a reference to the song Video Killed the Radio Star.

13. DASH TOO OP. PLS NERF

DASH TOO OP. PLS NERF

Beat the whole game in less than 10 minutes.

HOW TO GET:
Strategy:

• On Steelheart, spam dash and reach the end as fast as possible. Cutscenes count for the timer, so skip them (B button on controller/B key on keyboard and mouse). You can easily beat the level in 2 minutes.
• Against the Hunter, activate his shield as fast as possible while dodging his attacks. Then, hide yourself in one of the steam vents and wait for him to approach you in order to execute him. Rinse and repeat two more times.

You should be able to beat the game in under 5 minutes. You have plenty of spare time to, for example, kill a Green Mutton if your health drops too much.

DESIGN:
Speedruns are quite popular, although not all games are “compatible” with them. Howl of Iron happens to be a good match, as there are several techniques and skips you can perform to beat it fast.

The name of the achievement is a reference to mid development, when some team members thought the dash spam was too strong and should receive a cooldown/downgrade. I was part of the Combat Design team at the time, so it was my call to change it. As junior designers, we were not entirely sure how to make a good combat system. I decided to keep anything that QA Testers thought felt good to perform. Dashing was one of those features.

The dash got downgraded from time to time for testing purposes, but it never felt superior to the current iteration in the game. Its distance is long enough to give the player mobility, but short enough so that you are not constantly hitting walls/enemies. It could still be improved, as it is not uncommon to get stuck in places from time to time.

14. Avoid the Maskerade

AVOID THE MASKERADE

Complete Steelheart without killing a single enemy.

HOW TO GET:
Spam the dash button and skip right to the end of the level. Don’t stop for anything. Trivial if you know Steelheart’s layout from a previous run.

Note: The achievement is unlocked on the staircase to the Boss arena.

DESIGN:
This achievement pairs well with the speedrun.

Beating the level without killing anyone is quite easy to do. Back in early-to-mid development, we were worried that players would skip the entire game when balancing all movement systems. This turned out not to be an issue in the end, as players like to interact with the content and look cool while they are doing it. This achievement honors those days.

The name of the achievement is a reference to one of the other two games produced alongside Howl of Iron by master degree students in U-tad university: Maskerade. This one, unfortunately, is not on Steam.

15. Selective Killing

SELECTIVE KILLING

Kill Harman Fisher without killing any of his reinforcements.

HOW TO GET:
Reinforcements appear when his shield activates and he becomes invulnerable. After the second activation, the arena becomes crowded with Muttons, so be careful.

Dash to the other side of the arena if you need health, as entering Hunt mode will regenerate up to 50% of your total health. You need to get away from enemies to do so. You can also hide in steam vents to recover.

There are several strategies for this achievement. You can use steam vents to conceal your presence and kill the Hunter fast, or you can take your time as you constantly move through the environment. The first option is riskier, but can be done alongside the speedrun. The second one is safer, but takes more time.

DESIGN:
This is easily the hardest achievement in the game, as it requires some strategy and maneuvering. It can be done alongside the speedrun, but it is not necessary (it IS the fastest killing method, however).

Achievements can increase the level of difficulty of a game, but you have to be sensible on how you implement it. I strongly believe this achievement will be well received, as it fits with the target audience and we are letting them decide on how to approach the challenge.

16. The True Howl of Iron Experience

THE TRUE HOWL OF IRON EXPERIENCE

Unlock all achievements in the game.

HOW TO GET:
Unlocking all other achievements will get you this one.

Note: If the achievement does not unlock immediately, follow this guide to fix it.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2922918630

DESIGN:
The classic “Platinum Trophy” achievement. It is not mandatory on Steam, but it is a nice symbolic way of finishing the achievement hunting task. Players can also display it on their profile to visually showcase all their feats.

The name of the achievement is the motto of Howl of Iron. We have used it countless times over the course of the years when pitching the game.