Nov 18

Nov 18 Review | Gloomhaven - Better Than Board-fore

Loading up Gloomhaven the first time, I ran through the tutorial then started the campaign. I played on easy, and despite my preparations, failed to complete the first encounter three times. On the easiest difficulty. Now, you might be surprised to hear that even at that point I held a positive opinion of the game. I was told going in this would be a punishing experience. That was not a lie. In so many ways Gloomhaven is the absolute biggest game; the board game is the most expensive, most involved, and just the biggest box of plastic and cardboard you can buy. The PC game follows suit, while not quite as expensive it is just as intricate and brutal.

This game really needs a mode where you can pick up models and make the smooch… Wait… No else does this when they are meant to be playing tabletop stuff?

Gloomhaven, both on the table and on the screen, is a strategy game. In each stage you will use cards to command a group of mercenaries in a battle against bandits, monsters, and demons. Each turn, you choose two cards for each character from their unique hands. Cards have two abilities, and in each turn you can use the top ability from one card and the bottom of the other, so choosing cards carefully is where the strategy comes from. As you play your characters will gain experience and level up, and there are more characters to unlock as you progress. It really is the biggest experience in board gaming out there today, so suffice it to say a digital adaptation was hotly anticipated.

WHO NEEDS FRIENDS WHEN YOU HAVE COMPETENT AI?

I’m not the most experienced board gamer, I live in a quite remote area so it’s, unfortunately, a hobby I can’t engage much with, though it is one I love. I watch a lot of board gaming content and Gloomhaven is something I have always wanted to try. Now, with the digital version, my wish has been granted. This isn’t a video game off-shoot based in Gloomhaven, or a loose transposition of the board game, this is the board game rendered as faithfully as possible outside of a board game simulator.

With all due respect to the original game, there’s an argument to be made that Gloomhaven works better as a video game than a board game. In the tabletop world, Gloomhaven is a hardcore luxury. It requires a lot of time, preparation, and ideally a few friends willing to participate. It’s an incredible experience, but an exclusive one. With the video game, players who desire experiencing the challenge of Gloomhaven have an easier time accessing it. Not only is the video game easier to get your hands on and cheaper, but you lose very little of the tabletop experience, tangibility notwithstanding.

The idea of having to keep track of all of this info with a HUD and UI is giving me anxiety.

As a game with so much mechanical depth, it’s a lot easier to experiment and learn with the video game. With so many rules to apply, it is nice to have the game’s AI manage things like enemies and shifting statistics. Having Gloomhaven on PC really is the ideal companion piece for the Gloomhaven expert - providing the full challenge of the game in a more convenient package, while also being more inviting to the Gloomhaven uninitiated and those of us lacking in nearby friends.

Faithful is maybe the best word to describe the video game, Gloomhaven is famously punishing and the Steam version is no less so. As I said earlier, my first foray into the campaign was an abject failure. From my research, I have learned that the campaign mode is a direct adaptation of the original board game. When I started, a loading tip suggested I start with the tutorial then move on to the Guildmaster mode. I should have listened. After my failed campaign attempt I decided to see what this Guildmaster mode was about and it turns out it’s another campaign built specifically for the video game version. Having played some of both modes, I can see the need for them.

Uuuuuuh, I think I have the wrong dungeon... I’m just gonna just go back the way I came…

The campaign is pure, undistilled Gloomhaven. Anyone with plenty of experience with the board game could feel free to jump straight into it with no tutorial. For those of us new to the game and it’s mechanics, the Guildmaster mode exists to baptize new players. It’s integrated with the tutorial, and is a more guided experience to help players get to grips with the game. I think having both modes is crucial; the campaign drops you in and says go (just as a board game would), whereas Guildmaster mode feels more like a video game. It builds you up before letting you loose. With multiple difficulty options between both modes, there are plenty of levels of challenge that should cater to everyone up to the most experienced players.

An experienced player I am not, and boy howdy did this game present a challenge. I think the thing about Gloomhaven that can catch new players is that the mechanics are easily understood, but the depth of potential strategy is immense. It’s very simple to pick two cards and make your best attempt with what you choose, but figuring out which cards to choose is a steep learning curve. So often I found myself cursing my choices - doomed to play the cards I chose that, once the turn began, were not nearly as useful as I had thought. I wouldn’t say I mastered this game in the slightest in my first time blundering through, but as time went on I started to recognise where and when to use my cards. I never got good, but I did get a glimpse of the mountaintop, and that was satisfying enough. In those moments I saw the hook, I saw what is so appealing about this game and it made me want to play more. I can only imagine how it feels to truly conquer these mechanics.

As crushingly difficult as the game can be, the Gloomhaven Steam port is a great way to experience the game for the first time. It does something most board games can’t - it teaches you how to play without throwing you in the deep end or forcing you to read a manual three times. What’s so impressive about this version is how it adds exactly what it needs to make Gloomhaven a video game without losing anything that defines the board game. At a fraction of the cost of the physical version, this is an ideal way to experience Gloomhaven, either for the first time or for the hundredth.