Frosthaven Review Summary

Major bug fixes help, but stunning visuals, audio, and unique character playstyles are undercut by Early Access bugs, multiplayer desync, and poor UI/UX.

Major bug fixes applied: Many previously reported bugs have been fixed, with patches arriving at a promising pace. This has improved overall stability compared to earlier versions.

Stunning visuals and audio: Reviewers frequently compliment the graphics, art, and audio as top-notch. The card illustrations are also noted for being thematic and well done.

Unique character playstyles: Characters have distinct mechanics and playstyles, making multiple playthroughs feel different. This variety is praised as a major strength of the game.

Improved UI and performance: The interface is better than Gloomhaven Digital, and the game runs faster with fewer game-ending bugs. It is considered a complete upgrade over its predecessor.

Rich new content and mechanics: Frosthaven introduces many new characters, items, and game mechanics, significantly expanding the gameplay options. This adds substantial replay value and depth.

Widespread bugs in Early Access: Many players report numerous bugs and glitches in the Early Access version, often disrupting gameplay and making it painful to play. Some feel the game was released too soon.

Multiplayer desync and disconnections: Desync issues and frequent disconnections are common in multiplayer, sometimes occurring before a card can be played. This severely impacts the online experience.

Poor UI and UX: The user interface is widely criticized as clunky, confusing, and terrible. Many players find the UI/UX experience extremely unsatisfying and in need of significant improvement.

Missing features from board game: The digital version lacks many features and information present in the physical board game. This forces players to consult physical cards and creates inconsistencies.

Unclear card mechanics and text: Some cards are poorly explained and difficult to understand, with unclear effects and confusing mechanics. This leads to frustration during gameplay.

Digital board game adaptation: The game is a digital adaptation of the Frosthaven board game, the sequel to Gloomhaven. It closely follows the physical board game's mechanics and campaign.

Turn-based tactical combat: Combat is turn-based and tactical, using cards with top and bottom actions. It is a complex strategy game with character-specific mechanics.

Town and base management: Players manage a town and build up the Frosthaven outpost between missions. This includes base management and preparation for the team.

Unique character progression: Each character has unique gameplay mechanics and playstyles, including six starting characters. Strategies vary based on character progression.

Undo and rest mechanics: Players can undo actions, and there is a short rest mechanic. These features add flexibility and strategic depth.

Crashes during missions and gameplay: The game crashes often, especially when starting or joining missions, and sometimes requires a full PC restart. These crashes also occur during normal gameplay and specific actions.

Frequent multiplayer disconnections: Players frequently disconnect from online multiplayer sessions, often at random moments. This disrupts cooperative play and makes completing missions unreliable.

Excessive hardware load and heat: The game causes high CPU and GPU usage, leading to loud fan noise, increased temperatures, and even system shutdowns. This occurs even on powerful systems.

Long load times: Loading times are excessively long, often taking minutes, and have worsened after recent patches. This severely impacts the overall experience.

Visual bugs and graphical issues: Players report washed-out visuals, missing shadows, and other visual bugs. Graphics appear poorly optimized and outdated.

Essential for Gloomhaven veterans: A large share of reviewers recommend the game specifically to fans of Gloomhaven, Frosthaven, or their digital adaptations. Many note that prior familiarity with the series greatly improves the experience.

Not recommended in current state: Multiple clusters of negative feedback cite crashes, freezes, game-breaking bugs, and general instability as reasons to avoid the game right now. Many reviewers explicitly advise waiting for patches or full release.

Ideal for tactical strategy fans: The game appeals strongly to players who enjoy deep, turn-based strategy, chess-like thinking, and tactical challenges. Solo players and those who like to take their time are especially satisfied.

Better with friends or solo: Many players highlight that the game shines in co-op with friends or in solo play. However, some caution that multiplayer specifically needs more polish before it is fully recommendable.

Community fair range: $24.99 - $34.99.

Story completion: 50.0h.

Session length: 1.0h.

Frosthaven appears to click after players push through a steep learning curve and early complexity, with rewarding progression and class builds. However, multiplayer instability remains a major conditional blocker, and some players never reach fun in that mode.

Friction: steep learning curve and complex rules; overwhelming start and unclear character/Outpost progression; multiplayer disconnects, desync, crashes, and load/reload interruptions; lack of detailed tutorials for individual characters; clunky UI with many clicks per action; early-game difficulty and less powerful starting items.

Unlock drivers: reaching the character level where the key card makes the build click; multiplayer stability improvements and patches over months; playing solo or single-player instead of multiplayer; digital automation of enemy actions and Outpost phase; rejoining the online session after a disconnect; deleting the local co-op save to fix shared progress issues.

Veteran Board-Game Convert: Long tactical card-driven campaigns, comparing digital mechanics to tabletop rules and investing in character and base progression. Motivation: Continue a familiar deep board-game campaign digitally with more content and outpost progression. Stance: buy.

Multiplayer Co-op Campaigner: Organizes multiplayer parties, coordinates turns and rests, and evaluates the game mostly through co-op progress and network reliability. Motivation: Play the tactical campaign cooperatively with friends in stable shared sessions. Stance: no buy.

Hardcore Tactical Puzzle Enthusiast: Plays on high difficulty, optimizes card combos and builds, and treats scenarios as tactical puzzles to solve. Motivation: Master challenging turn-based tactical puzzles and deep character progression. Stance: buy.

The Windows <8GB VRAM cohort reports serious stability problems, including black screen freezes and frequent crashes during mission starts.

Windows <8GB VRAM: negative. Players report black screen crashes and frequent crashes when starting missions, indicating poor stability on this hardware.

Steam Deck: The Steam Deck audit finds severe friction. Users report the game is not playable on Steam Deck without a mouse and keyboard, indicating poor controller and handheld UI support. Frequent crashes, black-screen deadlocks, and quest-triggered crashes further undermine stability. Performance is poorly optimized, causing excessive fan noise, and network de-sync disrupts card selection. The experience meets the Broken threshold due to frequent crashes and major input/UI barriers.

Linux and Proton: The provided reviews contain no Linux, Proton, SteamOS, or Wine compatibility evidence whatsoever. Feedback focuses on the quality of the digital adaptation, the early access state, and comparisons to the tabletop version, all of which are platform-agnostic and do not describe any Linux-specific launch, performance, graphical, or anti-cheat friction. With no negative Linux/Proton signal and no reported blockers, there is no basis for a high friction score.

Frequent Gloomhaven Comparison: The game is constantly compared to Gloomhaven as a successor or follow-up, with mixed opinions on whether it improves or regresses. Some find it harder and more balanced, while others consider it a step backward in UI and writing.

Early Access But Content-Rich: Many reviewers note the game is in Early Access yet already offers substantial content. Updates, new characters, and interface improvements have been steadily added, though some consider it unfinished and steeply priced for its current state.

High Difficulty Compared To Gloomhaven: Multiple reviewers highlight that the game is significantly more difficult and complex than Gloomhaven, even for veterans with hundreds of hours. The increased challenge is seen as both a positive and a negative depending on preference.

Faithful Board Game Adaptation: Reviewers widely describe the game as a faithful digital adaptation of the physical Frosthaven board game. It retains the core experience while adding enhanced storytelling and some minor changes in iconography and rules.

Good Value And Playtime: Reviewers note the game offers a large amount of gameplay time for its price, making it a worthwhile investment despite the Early Access status.