Gloomhaven Reviews
While you get a sense of the depth and excellence of the table-top game that it adapts, digitally Gloomhaven is a bit of a mess
Honestly, I would only recommend it for die-hard fans who are often on the go and have no other way to enjoy Gloomhaven. Does that mean it’s a bad game? Absolutely not, but the Switch version hides a fantastic game under layers of problems unique to Nintendo. It’s a genuine shame that Gloomhaven is plagued by so many technical challenges. The Switch release could have been a great opportunity to expose a wider audience to to an otherwise remarkable game. Now it’s likely to land in the eShop bargain bin.
Gloomhaven is a challenge for a specific niche of fans of high-difficulty strategy games. With over 120 scenarios and countless hours of dungeon exploration, it's a solid choice for those who want an immersive and challenging experience.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Gloomhaven's gameplay is deeply challenging and dense, and it almost always manages to provide a satisfying payoff in equal measure if you are able to look past its menus and control flaws (and can stomach its load times on Switch). It isn't for the faint of heart, but those who stick with its complex, card-centric tactical gameplay will find a great strategy game.
Gloomhaven as a video game is a faithful recreation of the board game into the digital world. This is both commendable and detrimental. It is a good game, but there is also a reason no one sits around a table and plays by themselves and this is pretty much it.
Gloomhaven was a tough one to review not because the game itself is bad, despite feeling clunky to navigate using a controller; no, it’s just after playing for many hours I realized that it’s just not for me. Its systems are deep and allow some great tactical plays to happen. The game allows for players to enjoy with four of their friends but much to my chagrin it doesn’t have a quickmatch function; so sadly, I was playing solo. I think with friends this would be more fun, just like playing a session of D&D is more of a blast with friends. I would recommend this version for those like me who were intrigued with the board game but just know that Gloomhaven is not for the timid.
The console release of Gloomhaven continues the trend of making it one of the best board game-to-video game adaptations out there, and there are a lot of deep combat mechanics for players to sink their teeth into. Inconsistencies in the interface and being balanced around multiplayer are the only real downsides to Gloomhaven on the PS5.
While I enjoyed Gloomhaven in the end, I found the tutorials and general usability to be lacking. I also found myself missing being around a table with friends and playing with board game components. Apart from that, Gloomhaven offers a massive sprawling campaign that is very moreish when it gets going and It will keep players entertained for hours upon hours. I just wish some of the sharp edges had been filed off and new players' hands had been held a bit tighter.
It’s a generally appealing game with decent graphics. Gloomhaven appears to be a fun turn-based adventure but requires a significantly higher amount of strategy than expected. Assigning unique quests to heroes, and having an ever-changing party when they finish their tasks, those are the ideas that make Gloomhaven stand out in a fun and engaging way. The actual mechanical experience feels like being asked to solve a Rubik’s cube every five minutes rather than immerse yourself in a fantasy world. For some, this might be exactly the tactical experience you want. For most, it’s more of an exercise in exasperation than imagination.
undefined.The common Gloomhaven community standard is to keep things secret - particularly the per-map side quests, which the game only reveals at the end of the map - so the Switch is fundamentally a great platform to play the digital version on. It can kill a lot of time; each map takes about 45 minutes to an hour, even with or perhaps because I was playing with someone who knew how to manipulate the AI. But I never felt the game dragged at all, and would vastly prefer this digital copy to having to schlep around something bigger than every game console I've ever owned.
By all accounts Gloomhaven does a solid job of translating what's apparently a very deep and complex TTRPG to video game format.
The conversion from tabletop to video game seems somewhat successful, and I can see how the board game has been broken down and reconfigured as a successful interactive gaming package. While it was repetitive in places I could undoubtedly see teams of four cooperating and having a joyfully fun experience throughout the realms of Gloomhaven.
As true as those things may be, my last word on Gloomhaven is that it was an utterly difficult bastard. Despite that, the bloomin’ thing kept pulling me in anyway, and I loved every blasted second of it. All of which is why I’m giving Gloomhaven the Thumb Culture Golden Award, one bastard to another.
As packaged content, this adaptation of Jaws of the Lion is a surprisingly effective remodel of the cardboard product. Despite abandoning the material’s original purpose of providing a more streamlined introduction to Gloomhaven’s systems, the design team produced an entertaining and effective side campaign that will extend the life of Gloomhaven and bring fresh perspectives to this storied game.
All in all Gloomhaven is still the game people either know and love, or the game that will welcome those looking for a dungeon crawler with open arms. Why then choose the digital version? Well there are many reasons to choose the digital version but I suppose some of the main reasons include ease of access and ease of use, and lest we forget an intuitively easy to use interface Gloomhaven the digital version is welcoming and makes getting together with friends or playing it alone easier. These reasons alone are the biggest reason to dip your toes into the Gloomhaven pool and go for a swim. Gloomhaven's staying power is unprecedented and the digital version further cements that and ultimately paves the way for future games.
Gloomhaven is clearly not a title to put in everyone's hands. Complex, and difficult, the game will require a real investment to enjoy it perfectly. Nevertheless, when we give it a chance, we find ourselves in front of a generous, fine and rather exhilarating RPG.
Review in French | Read full review
If you love Gloomhaven, the Steam version is a no-brainer. It seamlessly translates the physical game to a digital platform.
Gloomhaven proved to be a very unique experience. At times difficult and frustrating. Yet built to be inviting through its accessibility and forgiving through its design, those interested in crawling through its immense amount of content are sure to enjoy what it brings to the table.
That aside, Asmodee continues to demonstrate why it is the best digital board game developer going around. Gloomhaven itself is a little insular compared to the likes of Game of Thrones, Arkham Horror, Ticket to Ride, Pathfinder and Lord of the Rings, so I suspect it will appeal to a narrower band of players than some of Asmodee's other adaptations, but the faithful quality of that adaptation and the stellar production values make it an easy sell to existing Gloomhaven fans, and the ideal way to those that were intimidated by the size (and cost) of the box when they've seen it in their local game store to give it a go in the first place.
Now that the Flaming Fowl Studios has laid the groundwork, I am eagerly looking forward to see what other Gloomhaven content gets added in the near future.