Gloomhaven (Digital Edition) - RFY / WFY
Since digital board games are getting bigger, maybe it’s time to look at one of the biggest board games—Gloomhaven from designer Isaac Childres and currently the top game overall on BGG. It’s both the highest-ranked strategy game and the top thematic game on the popular tabletop website, with over 40,000 ratings waxing eloquently as to the merits of this behemoth box.
But it doesn’t have to be a big box anymore! It doesn’t even need to be a box. Because developer Flaming Fowl Studios and publisher Asmodee Digital have teamed up to create a sprawling digital adaptation for this beloved strategy game. That’s right, you can try out the board game that is typically more than $100 for a fraction of the cost. Who knows, maybe you’ll like this version of the game more?
Technically, the game is still in Early Access on Steam, so the full campaign isn’t available, but there is still a lot of content that players can explore and enjoy, which is why I’m taking a look at it. It’s come along way from the super buggy and crash-prone iteration that I played months ago. I’ve now sunk more than 17 hours into the game and still not touched a lot of what’s there, which is pretty impressive for an early-access game.
Without further ado, let’s jump into Gloomhaven and see what kind of memorable experiences await.
Overview
Review copy provided by the publisher
What is Gloomhaven? It may be a tabletop phenomenon that, along with its sequel Frosthaven, has raised over $17 million on Kickstarter—that’s a mind-boggling sum to type out. It may also be the highest-ranked game on BGG. It is still one of the most popular strategy games out there. It’s a tabletop RPG stuffed into a legacy campaign litter of boxes.
But what is it?!
It’s a tactical combat game simulating the dungeon-crawling and open-world exploration of a roleplaying game, using tactical combat with tightly-wound card management and asymmetric character abilities to depict a world of conflict and struggle.
Each scenario is primed to offer a different challenge and players will improve the cards, abilities, and efficiency of their adventurers over the course of the long campaign. It’s something that takes hours upon hours to finish. And, depending on whether you bought the sticker set and other accessories, it may be a game that you can’t replay after you finish… dozens of hours later.
And, yet, this isn’t Gloomhaven. It’s a digital adaptation of the award-winning physical game. So, there are some differences that must be acknowledged, which I will try to do as accurately and informatively as possible!
Theme
Whether you are drawn to the lands of Gloomhaven by the call of adventure or by an avid desire for gold glimmering in the dark, your fate will surely be the same.
The region is in strife, the wilderness has become overrun with Bandits, Demons, Undead, or worse and people are afraid to leave the safety of their towns. Trade has come to a halt, and the world needs re-connecting.
As a Guildmaster, you see an opportunity to make a lot of money by reopening trade routes across the lands while everyone else is too afraid to do it.
Bring your fellow mercenaries along for shared challenges with the online multiplayer cooperative mode, up to four players.
There is some flavor text for you!
The narrative underpinnings of Gloomhaven are both a strength and a weakness. There is a reason why fantasy stories rely on the theme of determined underdog adventurers rising to take on a growing evil. It works. People like it. And maybe even the readers or players envision themselves as these sometimes bland characters, inserting themselves into the story. For roleplaying purposes, players definitely have to do this. It’s part of the draw of the game.
But it’s also been done before. It may be effective, but it’s somewhat old hat as well. If you’re looking for a more innovative story, then you may not be impressed by the eventual plot that connects together from scenario to scenario.
I will say this, though. There are elements (specifically characters) of Gloomhaven that I haven’t really seen before and much appreciated their inclusion. Yes, there is a brutish warrior, a dangerous magic-wielder, and a sneaky scoundrel. Those are to be expected. But there is also a Cragheart, a Tinkerer, and a Mindthief. These are individuals shrouded in mystery and steeped in lore that I want to unpack. They are not your typical adventurers from a fantasy story and I love how outside of the box they feel. Not many people typically fantasize about being a trap-setting, projectile-launching brain with a bulbous and swollen head. But, goodness, do I love playing the Tinkerer. Same goes for the I-am-Groot rock creature known as Cragheart. If Groot and the Iron Giant had a baby, he’s that wunderkind.
Gloomhaven isn’t groundbreaking. Not like The Fifth Season or anything. But it’s got enough narrative flair and innovative world-building that you’ll still be immersed.
Accessibility
The screenshot above can help show everything that makes the digital edition more accessible to gamers. An action log in the bottom right helps keep track of everything in the round-based combat scenarios. Hovering over enemies on the battlefield displays all of their base stats, active turn action, and ongoing conditions or effects that influence them. The thumbnail images centered at the top denote the initiative order and give you a clear understanding of when allies and enemies will attack.
Holding down Tab allows you to more easily distinguish obstacles, traps, doors, and enemies on what can sometimes be a visually-cluttered battlefield.
Health markers above each character, friend or foe, gives an immediate sense of the state of the conflict.
There are many more examples, but there is no need to exhaust the point.
And while all of these gameplay elements are visible and integrated into the physical game, they are visually better oriented in the digital game. There is no need to check a reference sheet. Tracking health or initiative is at a glance here.
Digital games, when designed well, can reignite interest in a world by building a three-dimensional space with eye-catching art and graphic design. They can also streamline complex mechanics and hide a lot of the messy work and management that comes with bigger games, instead portraying a more refined and legible game state. Gloomhaven works on both accounts.
Gameplay
Gloomhaven is a tactical roleplaying game that mixes the scenario-hopping world of dungeon crawling with the tight parameters of an exhaustible ability deck. It’s card management suffused with the splotchy red of violent combat.
There are conditions, positive and negative. There are elemental powers to create and to consume. There is ranged and melee combat. There are combat modifiers, character perks, items, and other small mechanics.
But at the center of it all is a system where you draw two cards each turn. Each card is split into two halves, the upper one typically associated with attack, either melee or ranged, and the lower one usually focused on movement. Players can choose a basic version of both attack and movement, but each mercenary has their own unique deck which is comprised of special cards that have unique abilities on the upper and lower halves. Of the two cards drawn each round, players pick the top action on one and the bottom action on another. So you can’t ever get the benefit of two top halves or two bottom halves. It’s a puzzly little card game that you’re playing, and how effectively you decide on your cards will determine your efficacy in combat and the likelihood of you beating the scenario.
Certain cards are burned when you use one of the halves, which means that these cards cannot be recovered for the rest of the scenario. Frequently, cards are only exhausted, and you have the chance to reclaim them from a short or long rest.
If you ever have to draw two cards and cannot, your mercenary is exhausted, which might result in losing the scenario. If you ever drop to 0 health, then you are unable to continue as well.
So there are things to weigh and balance every turn, but Gloomhaven revolves around the use of the mercenary cards. And over time, more cards can be added to the deck, making a stable rotation of 11 cards and also turning the game into a slow-burning deck-builder.
The digital adaptation of the game effectively highlights these mechanics in the visual interface that players use, with the mercenary decks positioned on the left side of the screen and the chosen cards for each round brought out and the sections highlighted whenever players activate a certain ability or action.
Looking at the physical box of Gloomhaven, you might not immediately think of a card game, but the digital version of the game puts those cards front and center while playing each scenario.
Modes of Play
The campaign is currently locked, but the Guildmaster mode allows players to experiment with different mercenaries, test their mettle against the enemies of Gloomhaven, and even explore the modding community.
The different ways to access the game make it a more varied experience, though it’s still limited in its capabilities while in Early Access.
If you prefer a more modular experience in consuming Gloomhaven content, then the digital edition offers multiple ways to check out the game.
Innovation
As I mentioned in the review of Terraforming Mars, digital board games do such a good job of removing the headache from games. And Gloomhaven continues that trend. You don’t have to worry about an arduous setup and breakdown. You don’t have to worry about the physical manipulation of your hand as you use, discard, and burn cards. You can explore the world at a slow pace or a ravenous one. And you can peruse the rulebook a chunk at a time rather than in the intimidating fashion of holding a rather thick tome.
Gloomhaven was an innovative board game. It’s an RPG in a box. And it’s quite good at what it does. The digital edition, however, goes a step further. It condenses the box into a flat-screen and still retains most of the magic. You don’t get the atmospheric setting of playing with friends around a table, but you do get most everything else.
While I can’t speak for the campaign, which may very well emulate the gameplay of the physical game, the Guildmaster mode does something especially interesting, namely being able to switch out mercenaries at a moment’s notice and use them for different scenarios. Why that’s important is that it immediately expands the realm of what’s possible with replayability.
As I’ve said before, I have over 17 hours into the digital game but almost all of that has been spent advancing the levels and storylines of the Tinkerer and Cragheart. That’s easily more than 12 hours spent just getting two of the mercenaries past Level 5. I haven’t explored using three or four mercenaries at a time. I haven’t discovered anything new about the other characters’ backgrounds. And I definitely haven’t explored the full map of locations. I could easily see myself putting another 30+ hours into the game without even beating what the Guildmaster mode has to offer. The physical game encourages players to grow certain characters over the course of the campaign. This mode, though, throws you into the RPG sandbox and tells you to figure out how you want the game to play. Which characters? Maybe all the characters. Maybe one. It’s up to you and that’s pretty damn innovative.
Pricing
The Early Access price of Gloomhaven on Steam is $24.99. That will likely increase once the 1.0 version of the game releases—whenever that happens. For now, though, that’s less than a fourth of the regular retail price of the physical copy.
If that doesn’t at least tease or entice you, then I don’t know what will. It’s a huge disparity in price between versions of the game and the digital edition offers a lot of advantages that most players will appreciate.
Space and time are always issues or considerations for tabletop gamers and this game saves on both. While some people might be waiting for the full release, I think this is currently one the most compelling digital board game adaptations for what you get at the price.
It makes me want to bust out the box and start playing, which is commendable for a digital game. As usual, though, you’ll need to weigh the advantages or draw of a physical gaming experience with friends and family because that is a drawback of an adaptation like this.