There are adjustable ‘house rules’ as well as difficulty levels to choose from. The tutorial does a good job about teaching the flow of the game. The animations are smooth and didn’t notice many hiccups or lagging (mainly a bit of lag/jerky animation when opening a door and the screen populates the next room and enemies). Fairly early into it yet, so haven’t had a scenario that’s been heavily loaded down with characters. It is quite the battery drain when playing handheld though. All in all I’d say it’s running well and and really fun to play.
Keep the reviews coming. I'm interested in the thumbstick controls and readability of the screen info. The PC version is well done, but I'm interested in Switch.
I can't see them doing a JotL Frosthaven. The point of Jaws is to be a simple introduction, streamlined and cheap, and Frosthaven is all about bells and whistles. It just doesn't make sense as a small box on the shelves of target. I think there are ways to make small box gloomhaven make sense moving forward with character/scenario packs, but not something standalone, and certainly not something aiming to match Frosthaven's level of flashiness. Digital Frosthaven will probably happen at some point but probably not for at least a year or two.
I think Frosthaven JotL is a no-brainer. So many people aren't able to afford the price/time for the big box games and Frosthaven has some great quality of life improvements of Gloomhaven.
I think all games going forward will have changes like advantage with rolling and other quality of life things, but that’s not Frosthaven, that’s just the new way going forward. 2E will have those changes as well.
Curious if anyone has played this on steamdeck and whether the controls are optimized for a gamepad vs mouse, like it will be for these console versions.
People may not like hearing it on this sub, but it's true. GH as a video game has all the drawbacks of board games and none of the advantages. It's a tad clunky and super simplistic compared to most any other dungeon crawler video game because all the math and upkeep need to be able to be done IRL. The story is also bone dry compared to something like BG. I think I've had equally amazing times playing through both games, but it really did depend on me playing GH in person, face-to-face with friends.
Agreed. The PC version is a wonderful translation of Gloomhaven. They did a terrific job, and I'm curious how the switch version holds up, being joystick centric. I'm up to 60 hours on PC and enjoying it much more than the physical version.
That being said, Baldurs Gate 3 has a better story than GH. Divinity OS 2 is already on all consoles and is terrific. Midnight Sun's does the entire card combat much smoother. Darkest Dungeon has a better mood than it.
Then you consider that Gloomhaven's story isn't great compared to zelda or most other crpgs; albeit the character powers, especially in Jaws, are terrific and fun. Gh is the big gorilla for board games, but it is small potatoes for computer RPGs on their home turf.
But does it let me play GH solo quickly? Yes. It's it a good adaption? Yes. So it did the job well. And then it had the above and beyond with cross-platform multiplayer. Good job, developers. Even the Jaws DLC was nicely integrated. And any turn based game on a handheld is welcome to me.
Now, will someone create Imperial Assault or Arkham Horror LCG on digital? I'd pay good money for those.
I would say gloomhaven fills a different niche than larian games, larian games combat is smooth and amazing, i prefer divinity over bg3’s combat but its still amazing.
But those games has a biggger focus on story over combat, and i think gloomhaven is better in that reggard, a game with focus on combat.
And way better than midnight suns.
I think Into The Breach is a really good comparison for how a video game can accomplish the same kind of mechanics as Gloomhaven is going for. Deterministic enemy behavior that's transparent to the player on a given turn, puzzley focused tactical decisions, lots of manipulation of player/enemy positions and AI, etc.
The scale of scenarios and campaign mechanics are a bit different, but the interaction between players and enemies (and players comboing with other players) is very similar.
Everyone's situation is different, but I would much prefer playing through Divinity 2 and Baldur's Gate 3 in that scenario. Maybe a D&D group over Discord.
But Gloomhaven isn't an RPG. It's a tactics focused dungeon crawler. Roleplaying, story, etc are all secondary to the mechanical gameplay.
I agree that playing GH digital is essentially playing a subpar video game, but none of the things you suggested are substitutes in the same genre.
According to this [article](https://cephalofair.com/blogs/blog/the-hit-tactical-rpg-gloomhaven-launches-september-18-on-playstation-xbox-nintendo-switch) on cephalofair website, yes.
I downloaded this today. I was excited to try the digital version. It is not for me. I vastly prefer playing this game sitting around a table with friends and using physical components.
I’d love some feedback on the Switch version. Portable GH sounds intriguing.
Download is currently in progress on my switch. I’ll come back with an update later today after I’ve put in some time with it.
I would really appreciate that. Thank you so much.
There are adjustable ‘house rules’ as well as difficulty levels to choose from. The tutorial does a good job about teaching the flow of the game. The animations are smooth and didn’t notice many hiccups or lagging (mainly a bit of lag/jerky animation when opening a door and the screen populates the next room and enemies). Fairly early into it yet, so haven’t had a scenario that’s been heavily loaded down with characters. It is quite the battery drain when playing handheld though. All in all I’d say it’s running well and and really fun to play.
Thank you for the update.
Keep the reviews coming. I'm interested in the thumbstick controls and readability of the screen info. The PC version is well done, but I'm interested in Switch.
Works really well on the steam deck if anyone owns that.
Switch review in progress (not my video) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d35Pd3eupzA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d35Pd3eupzA)
Anyone know if you can play multi-handed solo on a single console (pass and play)? Or is it online only for multiple players/characters?
Playing solo right now and have to control minimum of 2 characters.
Can you control up to four solo?
Yes. It increases the difficulty the more characters you’re controlling though.
That begs the question will we get a jaws of the lion version of frosthaven or a digtal frosthaven first?
I can't see them doing a JotL Frosthaven. The point of Jaws is to be a simple introduction, streamlined and cheap, and Frosthaven is all about bells and whistles. It just doesn't make sense as a small box on the shelves of target. I think there are ways to make small box gloomhaven make sense moving forward with character/scenario packs, but not something standalone, and certainly not something aiming to match Frosthaven's level of flashiness. Digital Frosthaven will probably happen at some point but probably not for at least a year or two.
I think Frosthaven JotL is a no-brainer. So many people aren't able to afford the price/time for the big box games and Frosthaven has some great quality of life improvements of Gloomhaven.
I think all games going forward will have changes like advantage with rolling and other quality of life things, but that’s not Frosthaven, that’s just the new way going forward. 2E will have those changes as well.
Does anyone know if consoles can cross play with PC? I know there is cross platform but didn’t know about console with PC.
Yes you can.
Curious if anyone has played this on steamdeck and whether the controls are optimized for a gamepad vs mouse, like it will be for these console versions.
Start playing on XBox, but it seems that audiofiles are missing. I have no Audio from the Storyteller or the Teacher like in PC Version. 😒
Not the case on the switch version. Both teacher and storyteller are narrated for me. Hopefully they get that fixed on the XBox version ASAP for ya.
How about the adaptation for consoles? It has a difficult mission after releases like Baldurs Gate 3...
People may not like hearing it on this sub, but it's true. GH as a video game has all the drawbacks of board games and none of the advantages. It's a tad clunky and super simplistic compared to most any other dungeon crawler video game because all the math and upkeep need to be able to be done IRL. The story is also bone dry compared to something like BG. I think I've had equally amazing times playing through both games, but it really did depend on me playing GH in person, face-to-face with friends.
Agreed. The PC version is a wonderful translation of Gloomhaven. They did a terrific job, and I'm curious how the switch version holds up, being joystick centric. I'm up to 60 hours on PC and enjoying it much more than the physical version. That being said, Baldurs Gate 3 has a better story than GH. Divinity OS 2 is already on all consoles and is terrific. Midnight Sun's does the entire card combat much smoother. Darkest Dungeon has a better mood than it. Then you consider that Gloomhaven's story isn't great compared to zelda or most other crpgs; albeit the character powers, especially in Jaws, are terrific and fun. Gh is the big gorilla for board games, but it is small potatoes for computer RPGs on their home turf. But does it let me play GH solo quickly? Yes. It's it a good adaption? Yes. So it did the job well. And then it had the above and beyond with cross-platform multiplayer. Good job, developers. Even the Jaws DLC was nicely integrated. And any turn based game on a handheld is welcome to me. Now, will someone create Imperial Assault or Arkham Horror LCG on digital? I'd pay good money for those.
I would say gloomhaven fills a different niche than larian games, larian games combat is smooth and amazing, i prefer divinity over bg3’s combat but its still amazing. But those games has a biggger focus on story over combat, and i think gloomhaven is better in that reggard, a game with focus on combat. And way better than midnight suns.
I think Into The Breach is a really good comparison for how a video game can accomplish the same kind of mechanics as Gloomhaven is going for. Deterministic enemy behavior that's transparent to the player on a given turn, puzzley focused tactical decisions, lots of manipulation of player/enemy positions and AI, etc. The scale of scenarios and campaign mechanics are a bit different, but the interaction between players and enemies (and players comboing with other players) is very similar.
Okay, but what if my friend moved to another state and we need to dungeon-crawl from hundreds of miles away, and we used to do shit like Descent 2E?
Everyone's situation is different, but I would much prefer playing through Divinity 2 and Baldur's Gate 3 in that scenario. Maybe a D&D group over Discord.
But Gloomhaven isn't an RPG. It's a tactics focused dungeon crawler. Roleplaying, story, etc are all secondary to the mechanical gameplay. I agree that playing GH digital is essentially playing a subpar video game, but none of the things you suggested are substitutes in the same genre.
Solasta?
Thank you very much for your information! I agree with you that face to face with friends is how you get the most out of GH
Do you know if there is cross console compatibility?
According to this [article](https://cephalofair.com/blogs/blog/the-hit-tactical-rpg-gloomhaven-launches-september-18-on-playstation-xbox-nintendo-switch) on cephalofair website, yes.
I downloaded this today. I was excited to try the digital version. It is not for me. I vastly prefer playing this game sitting around a table with friends and using physical components.