DaRmaZat From the creators of Gloomhaven, Frosthaven makes its ambitious leap to the digital realm—translating the board game’s intricate mechanics and punishing tactical gameplay into a robust turn-based RPG. Developed by Snapshot Games and published by Arc Games, this dark fantasy adaptation invites you into a sprawling, hex-based adventure filled with brutal enemy encounters, deep party management, and hard-won victories. Now available in Early Access, the game supports both single-player and online co-op for up to four players.
Set on the icy fringes of a crumbling world, Frosthaven opens with six unique starting classes—from the blink-speed assassin Blinkblade to the undead-summoning Boneshaper—and challenges you to survive in a hostile environment through brains, synergy, and sheer tactical grit.
Two Cards, Two Halves: Tactical Trade-offs Every Turn
Using a hand of selected “ability cards”, two per turn, each split into top and bottom actions, creating a rhythm of movement, buffs, and attacks. Your actions are resolved based on initiative values, requiring careful planning each round. Positioning on the hex grid matters—a ranged attack used up close comes with built-in disadvantage, unless you reposition beforehand.
Combat in Frosthaven is more than just damage numbers. Your cards come with powerful main abilities but also basic actions for flexibility. Terrain hazards, status effects, attack modifiers, and even pattern-based attacks that require precise ally placement all feed into the game’s strategic depth. Every quest has hard-fail conditions if objectives aren’t met. Sometimes the best move isn’t flashy—it’s skipping an action or using a long rest to heal and recover critical cards. Even looting requires intent: you need to physically step onto a tile to collect dropped gear or crafting resources—unless you have a special ability card that lets you loot from a distance.
Outpost Building, Party Bonding
When not in battle, you’ll manage your outpost—upgrading buildings to unlock perks, crafting options, or questlines. Heroes can pursue personal quests that lead to eventual retirement, and are also given battle goals per mission to earn perks. Managing food and hydration is part of the overworld loop, along with encountering full enemy squads hidden behind doors in massive story-driven maps.
The experience is complex, no doubt: Frosthaven doesn’t go easy on newcomers. But its generous tutorial and scalable difficulty—ranging from punishing to a more forgiving story mode—mean players can ease into it. Still, some mechanics lack immediate clarity, and it can be frustrating when the game punishes you without making it obvious why. Yet for those familiar with the board game, or players willing to learn through failure, there’s an immense amount of rewarding depth beneath the surface.
Preliminary Thoughts
Frosthaven is shaping up to be a solid, faithful addition to the tactical RPG genre—a demanding digital adaptation of its beloved tabletop origins. The game’s strategic layers are rich, the class diversity is meaningful, and the presentation—from its illustrated story cutscenes to the punchy (if workmanlike) soundtrack—is solid. While the steep learning curve may turn away casual dabblers, board game fans will feel right at home in this frosty frontier.
Additional Information
Release Date: July 31, 2025
Previewed On: PC. Download code provided by the developer and publisher.
Developer: Snapshot Games Inc.
Publisher: Arc Games
Website: PlayFrosthaven
Relevant Links: Frosthaven on Steam
