Gloomhaven Digital Version Review – A Wonderful Turn-Based Tactical RPG

Gloomhaven It is no longer just a popular board game. It is a franchise. Designed and published by Isaac Childres, this cooperative dungeon crawler achieved massive success in three separate Kickstarters, including the $ 13 million sequel. Frosthaven. Now, after several years of early access, the full digital game is ready for its final release on PC. The end result is wonderful.

Like a board game Gloomhaven it is novel for several reasons. The first is a rich, diceless combat system. Players choose from several classes, each of which has a discrete deck of action cards. These include the typical options of moving through the dungeon and attacking an enemy, but also special abilities like Cragheart’s talent for destroying the terrain or Tinkerer’s arsenal of traps.

The depth and quality of that card-based combat system is beautifully drawn from the digital version. This is most evident when the game is approached as a solitaire experience. While you can also play the board game on your own, it is a cumbersome process to manage multiple characters and enemies. The PC port, however, reduces the process of organizing decks, tiles, and tiles to a quiet loading time. Digital adaptation eliminates all work and preserves essential assets.

No time is wasted once the journey has begun. Controlling multiple characters is greatly simplified: you can switch between party members and browse through their many action cards with ease. Time is also saved, as players no longer need to assess enemy priorities or adjudicate some of the more difficult situations where the objective is unclear. Antagonist activations are completely handled by the game in the background. All of this saves an enormous amount of time and energy, maintaining momentum as you go through the wave of content on offer.

Another notable feature of the board game is its reach. Physically, he’s a beast, packed with sealed content for a group of friends to discover during his roughly 40-hour campaign. While the popularity of campaign-based board games has certainly risen in recent years, Gloomhaven It was a bit of a pioneer in its genre. Synthesized influences from both Pandemic legacy and Dungeons and Dragons to create a new and unified vision. By adopting “legacy” elements, such as permanent card modification through the application of stickers, it opened up a new wealth of possibilities to support long-term progression. All of that original material is now included in this digital version and is astonishingly effective.

There is a surprising amount of mental anxiety when breaking an event card or pasting an ability card, permanently altering and in a sense damaging this expensive board game. While this heartbreak cannot be captured on the PC version, almost everything else can. You can still modify cards through upgrades, unlock all classes, and achieve achievements that practically stick on the digital board.

The ongoing story itself is given a new life in the PC version. The soundtrack is taut and surprisingly vibrant with mesmerizing beats. I especially like the voice acting that narrates introductions to all the stages. Organizing missions on the world map is also efficient, even allowing you to assess which enemies you are likely to encounter on each outing. One of the most inconvenient qualities of the board game is that it can be difficult to keep track of the various narrative lines when evaluating side missions alongside the main story. This is particularly a problem when you meet up with your real-world playgroup infrequently. But again, in the digital version, this is all trivial; Each dungeon has a useful descriptor, allowing you to dive even if days have passed since you played.

Speaking of which: the dungeons themselves are splendid. His images are not particularly flashy, but they create an oppressive atmosphere. This state of mind is wonderfully combined with an increased focus on exploration. New rooms and enemies are slowly revealed as you find them, unlike the board game, which requires you to uncomfortably ignore unexplored areas on the dungeon setting map. This is a fundamental change in the way we interact with the environment and injects a greater sense of tension. It doesn’t hurt that these dungeons, with their atmosphere and superb design, are all the more enjoyable because the digital version takes much of the hectic work out of the board game. It’s so much easier to be wrapped up in everything.

One of Asmodee Digital’s greatest achievements with GloomhavenThe digital version is its clear and optimized user interface. Every now and then you’ll find yourself looking for an item that feels buried, such as character-specific battle objectives for each dungeon, but the search is never tedious or long. Gloomhaven it is, after all, an extremely dense game. But it seems that digital developers fundamentally understand the board game and have strived to make it as easy to analyze as possible.

Gloomhaven Digital is impressive in the way it facilitates solo play, yet it is also capable of providing a satisfying experience for a group of friends. It’s an allure contrary to the physical version, as it’s much easier to schedule a time for everyone to connect to the PC, particularly with COVID still causing concern. You can tackle the entire campaign or investigate the Guildmaster roguelike mode. The latter offers escalating encounters without any strong narrative ties, but allows you to experience character growth and signature card-based combat. However, when compared to the campaign, this mode lacks the long-term payoff and strength of the story.

In its state of complete release, I am very impressed with Gloomhaven digital. Despite being extremely dense and demanding, the original title is a remarkable board game experience. That experience has been masterfully translated into the PC by removing all obstacles and focusing on the core mechanisms. The final product is one of the most satisfying turn-based dungeon crawlers of 2021.

GloomhavenDigital version It will be released on October 20 on Windows PCs, with a Mac release at a date to be determined. The game was reviewed on PC using a pre-launch download code provided by Asmodee Digital. Vox Media has affiliate associations. These do not influence editorial content, although Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased through affiliate links. You can find Additional information on Polygon’s ethics policy here.