Playtime: Finished the campaign with 2 players, didn’t replay for alternative paths or play all 138 scenarios, also played a handful of times with 3/4 players

Need to learn how to play? Or want more reasoning for our points? Our review video’s got you!

Note: Everything in this review is in comparison to Gloomhaven since Frosthaven is so similar, so start with our Gloomhaven Review if you’re new to these games!

Component Pros

• Better art, more unique backgrounds and more details added

  • Applies to all facets of the game like classes, monsters, cards, tiles, world map, rulebook, stickers, etc.

• Better graphic design, such as monster player count icons setup, scenario book color coded setup, sleek new ability card layout, etc.

• Better color correction, like darker backgrounds making monster text pop

• Classes now have their own unique tokens, standees and overlay tiles

  • Class mats are actually useful now instead of having round timing info (which can just go on player aid cards), no need for class rules cards anymore since that info is on mat

• Bigger plastic wrap to hold cards, also fits loose tokens

• New big initiative tokens for all classes and monsters to track turn order

• Better minis, more detail, less mold lines, slimmer bases with basing and class icon on bottom

• Exp/health dials have notches

• Element tokens are prettier (but aren’t wood anymore)

• More damage token denominations

• Overlay tiles no longer differently sided (except doors because duh)

• 2 new standee base colors (blue for summons, red for named enemies)

• Monster standee punchouts bigger, easier to see their numbers

• Monster ability cards have names (just like Jaws of the Lion)

• Monster stat sleeves differently sided for 6 and 10 counts, no longer need to dig around looking for the 6 count sleeve or the 10 count sleeve

  • Boss stat sleeves are now split into halves

• Way more envelopes and unlockables, way more unboxing while playing

• Alchemy chart punchout to reveal combinations undernath

• Map cleanly split into Frosthaven town and overworld

• Putting stickers on stuff got even more fun because of the sheer amount of unlocks and amazing artwork

• Scenario flowchart existing is amazing, but it also doubling as sticker sheet is GOATed physical design

• Campaign stickers go only on campaign sheet instead of two different map/party achievements spaces

• Improved rulebook

  • Organized better

  • Flow of info front to back reads much better

  • New rules in blue text for returning players

  • Very comprehensive, excellent examples

  • Looks prettier like Jaws of the Lion, more art and pictures

  • Much better quick reference at back

• Scenario book improvements:

  • Color coded text so it doesn’t overwhelm you with info

  • Tells you what you need to setup while still hiding scenario layout

  • New complexity gauge so you can better gauge what to play

• New section book adds so much hidden info and life to the game, all while not being confusing or tedious

  • Each section notes where you came from

  • Sections never add persistent rules that require flipping back and forth across multiple pages

  • Sections will often say to turn back to an older section so you can keep looking at persistent rules when done with setup

• Actually good storage solution, with trays, setup guide, divider cards

• Better box durability, no more splitting corners or peeling surface

Gameplay Pros

Classes:

• Better defined class identity and roles, less of “Sun is just better Brute”, tons of classes have their own special rules and heavily unique playstyles

• Better flexibility means all classes are less extremely favored/unfavored for certain scenarios

• No more strictly bad cards, everything can be powerful, even if niche, but will come up thanks to unique scenarios

• Can’t stun/disarm spam anymore, no more insta kills

• Losses feel much better, made stronger and have good non-loss other half or initiative 

• Better class balance, stats are on average much higher (bigger shields, healing, attacks, etc. to make up for lack of busted abilities)

• Better initiative balance, actually a decision point this time instead of always having extremely good initiatives (-10/+90)

• Absurd build possibilities due to more flexible classes, everyone seems to have multiple viable builds and tons of creative meme builds

• Level up decisions are much more thoughtful choices 

• Perks are crazy now, better balanced, some are new abilities instead of just stat upgrades

• Enhancement stickers are shape-coded to restrict broken combos, better balanced power and cost, no more enhancement limit so feel free to enhance everything

• Less loot actions that just only loot, usually also do something else

• Summons way better, rules reworked so they don’t lag behind

• Masteries are a hilarious new mechanic to encourage crazy playstyles

Scenarios:

• Better scenario design enabled from section book, more varied objectives besides “kill all enemies”

  • Hidden goals too, unique problem solving and foresight required like paying attention to narrative text

• Fun special rules, like when whole area is slippery ice

• Not overwhelming, rules are behind sections which also leads to dramatic tension since you don’t know what happens next

• 1st scenario teaches you this very quickly, each guard still alive is better reward, don’t treat them as expendable

Monsters:

• Even more monster types

• Overall they get to show off more since better balanced classes and items don’t just constantly stunlock them

• Crazier monster abilities with unique play patterns besides just move and attack closest fastest player

• Monsters no longer have range stat, only on their abilities, this way range never gets out of hand at high levels and design allows for specific attacks to be ranged/melee

• Really cool bosses with abilities that can become even more unique thanks to section book

Rules:

• Clarifications upon clarifications like empty, featureless, occupied hexes, or ability dividers/symbology, mandatory effect icons, obstacle/terrain/trap generation clarified, etc.

• Picking up and using items mid scenario from chests allowed, fun and can immediately test to see if you like the item instead of bringing it to a later scenario

• 60 battle goals, pick 1 from 3 means they never get old

• New conditions like brittle, bane, ward, etc. introduce goofy play patterns that are fun to think around

Campaign Pros

• Writing a little more clever, more allusions and callbacks

• Story has more focus since there’s distinct arcs to follow from different factions

• Better progression, clear motives and unlock points, flowchart a godsend

• Loot matters because it’s needed for campaign progression not just for character get stronk

• Section book a godsend narrative tool

  • Sections text better setups story before jobs and random side scenarios

• Item balance way better, progression really smooth with their power levels

  • Same even goes for importing items from previous games at reasonable unlock points

• Classes unlock steadily via campaign instead of retirement quests, much stronger story reasons for new mercenaries joining you

• All early personal goals are possible early on, unlock more personal goals that are harder later, unlike before having access to all personal goals regardless of point in game

• Later levels intentionally don’t scale up resource drops unlike gold, money is just more valuable later in campaign because of resource buildings leveling up later, really cool to experience transition of society valuing resources less and money more as town prospers

• Trading with other players sorta exists, can store herbs and buy materials for others, roundabout way to balance this since outright trading would be OP

• Summer and winter very well done, seasonal events thematic, buildings and attacks being different plus anything else that checks for this really adds to the flavor of seasons

• Tons of buildings to add to town, lots of interesting effects and puzzles to encounter

• Classes now having traits to check instead of criteria checking for specific classes is so much more accessible, especially for smaller player counts

• Huge unlocks that actually tie back into gameplay by letting you add additional modifiers adds so much replayability and unique circumstances for absurd permutations of gameplay possibilities when combined with different scenarios

• Much better puzzle book that doesn’t have errors or botched progression walls based on random events

• Super satisfying ending to the campaign that feels very rewarding

• Now there’s an actual tutorial for newcomers

• Max level gameplay is actually good, no longer OP while destroying everything

Gameplay Cons:

• Events requiring specific characters replaced with traits system, but still doesn’t solve having less total group traits at 2p vs 4p, kinda balanced by some traits possibly triggering bad outcomes, but not enough of those to balance out

• Slightly too much complexity in scenarios, basically no low complexity scenarios ever past a certain point in the game

• Generally exp seems harder to get, usually attached to class mechanics instead of certain arbitrary cards having free exp on them, not an issue in a vacuum, it’s only because there’s more likely to be scenarios that make you not play to your class’s mechanics perfectly to get all the exp

• Rng matters more, less kill all scenarios means timely progress matters, plus better balanced classes means less OP guaranteed kills, which makes certain scenarios really swingy based on if a crit/miss happens in the first few rounds

  • Most classes can’t get rid of all negative atk mods, adds inconsistency

  • Matters more 2p than 4p, 4p way more likely for atk rolls to average out

• Value of trap, hazardous terrain, obstacle generation, and anything else that forces enemy movement without sacrificing tempo extremely strong because of objective-heavy scenario design

Campaign Cons:

• Certain physical puzzles seems like they were designed from the perspective of looking at a screen and not a book, like you actually need photoshop if u wanna try out multiple solutions for drawing puzzles because you can better erase

• Puzzle book solutions should say solution to which puzzle book page, not immediately clear if the solution is correct might read wrong solution reward text from a different page’s puzzle

• From the perspective of Pranav, our friend who’s done escape room design, these puzzles are definitely mostly mid, since a lot are brute force exercises and finding hidden stuff instead of actually solving something

• Puzzle book should be immediately clear that it’s vital to finishing the campaign, cause for those that hate puzzles this sucks if they don’t realize this early

• Puzzles mostly non-diegetic, makes it feel like puzzles are just randomly in the game instead of contributing meaningfully as a narrative tool

• Workshop upgrades kinda arbitrary, like you can get more means of travel represented as campaign progress/stickers instead of workshop stickers, all transportation should be consolidated to workshop or make them all like Gloomhaven where you get a sticker for progressing enough in story