Frosthaven, at its core, is a good game. That might be an understatement, as its original board game version provided a rich tactical experience that managed to live up toGloomhaven’s legacy. The video game, however, has its own set of challenges to overcome. Developed by Snapshot Games Inc. and published by Arc Games, this adaptation doesn’t come from the team behindGloomhaven’s digital port, so it’s not exactly a glorified reskin of the same framework.
If you’ve never playedGloomhavenorFrosthavenin any form, you might be intimidated at the start ofFrosthaven. While crawling through hexes and chipping away at enemies isn’t fundamentally complicated, understanding how to strategically utilize a roster of unique attacks and abilities provided by class-themed cards is.Frosthavenis full of fascinating trade-offs, but the toughest decision might be whether dealing with the shortcomings of the video game version is worth it.
Tough Strategic Choices Define Frosthaven
Every Battle Is A Brain-Teaser
PlayingFrosthavendigitallyhas its advantages.You have to deal with a lot less cardboard, for one, and it’s easier to learn the game when it can map out movements and attacks for you. Monsters conducting their own affairs is equally convenient, and even if the game’s AI isn’t always making optimal choices, it’s certainly capable of providing a challenge.
Staying on your feet for a while is easy enough, butthe grit ofFrosthavencomes from the race against time. As encounters drag on, you’ll have to burn cards to use powerful abilities, mitigate damage, or simply reset your hand, and you’ll start cycling through your remaining options faster and faster. Run out of cards, and your character goes down, making every turn an act of careful resource management.
If you strategize poorly, this mechanic can lead to battles limping to their sad conclusions, with characters dropping out ahead of time until the enemy wins by attrition. If you play wisely, it leads instead to potentially memorable climaxes.You might want to avoid burning cards for powerful abilities early on, but as you face off against powerful bosses or overwhelming hordes in the last area of a fight, letting everything fly can secure the victory.
Frosthaven’s Video Game Port Has Some Drawbacks
Pacing Can Be Everything
ToFrosthaven’s credit,most elements here are intuitive enoughto make learning the ropes seamless, although Snapshot Games still recommends you start on the lowest difficulty setting. The overall approach to layout and interaction carries over most basics from theGloomhavenvideo game, even if it’s not identical. One strange change deals with short rests, which require an extra step inFrosthaventhat can slow down the beginning of rounds for every player.
Frosthavencan also hang a bit between actions, although it doesn’t tend to be a substantial wait.
While that’s not a huge deal on its own, it does exemplify one of the drawbacks of playingFrosthavendigitally. Dead space in an online game just isn’t the same as dead space at a game table, even if you’re in a call with other players. It comes with the territory, but it’s unfortunate thatsmall hang-ups here and there makeFrosthavendrag a little more than necessary.
Frosthaven Needs To Squash Some Bugs In Early Access
A Great Game With Shaky Execution
The larger problems mostly deal withFrosthaven’s currently unfinished state, which may not be a surprise to veterans of early access titles. As it stands,the game’s lack of polish can cause real frustrations.
I tend to expect desync issues in online strategy games here and there — they’ve never stopped me fromlovingSid Meier’s Civilizationgames— but they cropped up a bit too frequently. They also weren’t the only thing forcing my group to restart online sessions, asUI bugs made it impossible to complete turns on a few occasions.
Other bugs are more minor, like incomplete text strings (although one screen full of lorem ipsum forced a restart of its own). I don’t like to harp too much on problems in an early build, andI don’t think it’s impossible to have a good time withFrosthavenas it stands. All the same, the issues I experienced were inconvenient enough to serve as a warning flag.
Jumping onFrosthaven’s early access will require some tolerance for hang-ups. If you haven’t yet played the board game or the digital version ofGloomhaven, you might encounter fewer problems prioritizing those. If you’re a veteran looking for satisfyingly complex tactics, however,Frosthavendelivers the challenge that it promises, warts and all.
Frosthaven
Screen Rantwas provided with digital PC codes for the purpose of this preview.
