Frosthaven Early Access Preview - A brilliant board game digitally brought to life

Frosthaven is developed by Snapshot Games Inc. and published by Arc Games. It can best be described as a board game gloriously brought to life and is perhaps one the best tactical RPGs I've had the pleasure of playing. It's rather simple. You select a character, select a few knick-knacks, and choose a Personal Quest; before you know it, you're at the gates of Frosthaven, ready to start your adventure. You can either choose the Single Player mode or group up with others in Co-Op Online Multiplayer.

That is where the simplicity of this game ends, and the complex overlapping dynamics of a tactical RPG take over. Is it easy to understand? No. Will your characters pass into the great beyond easily? Yes. Will you want to punch your monitor while playing? I don't know that yet. That said, let me break down my time spent previewing Frosthaven.

Frosthaven: First impressions and gameplay

Cards determine what abilities your character can use (Image via Arc Games || Sportskeeda)

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From the get-go, Frosthaven is very welcoming as the tutorial shows you the ropes. It eases you into different aspects of gameplay, including how to select and use cards (which are the blood and guts of the game). You're taught the basic mechanics and how they all overlap and work in cohesion to create something incredible.

I completed the tutorial with much enthusiasm, and by the time I was done, I had learned nothing. Yup, despite the developers spelling out every mechanic I had to know about (in great detail, might I add), by the time I was done, I had no idea what I had done. That's how I knew this would be a challenging tactical RPG (one that would likely make me cry — which is exactly what I like).

Simply put, Frosthaven is a game that requires you to read and understand what each card does and how it functions. There are numerous status effects, attack types, conditions, and everything in between that you need to understand before playing a card. This is why I found myself barely able to figure out what was going on for most of the tutorial, but I suppose that's where the learning curve comes in.

The level design is truly incredible (Image via Arc Games || Sportskeeda)

It is a true transition from board game to digital arena, and from whatever I had the pleasure of experiencing during my preview, it's sheer brilliance. But beyond the cards, their functionality, and the options they give your characters on the battlefield, there are more systems in place that you need to understand.

The character(s) you control can earn XP, use items during battle, and have different abilities depending on the class. I chose Banner Spear as my character. Her main focuses are Defence and Support, which translate to the field of combat as well. She's not very complex to play and is rather straightforward to understand. My co-worker, Jason, picked Deathwalker, which is slightly more complex. And the developer who accompanied us picked Drifter.

What makes Frosthaven truly fun is the multiplayer aspect of it. You're able to coordinate your attacks and plan ahead with your party members to make the most of each card that is and will be in play. Since attacks can be synergized, it makes for team effort in many ways. Of course, you can choose to play by yourself, but the multiplayer experience was truly fun.

Your settlement (Image via Arc Games || Sportskeeda)

For our playthrough, we got to experience two settings. One was the starting introduction missions, which take place at the gates of Frosthaven. The other is a late-game scenario that features an icy fjord. All in all, each enemy type is unique and will offer a challenge for you and your party. Strategizing and planning ahead are going to be key to getting the job done.

I want to touch on one final aspect of Frosthaven that I found truly amazing. After you finish the first mission, you are given access to a settlement that is yours to oversee and grow. This is not just for show as from here you can upgrade items/weapons, craft potions, farm, and upgrade different things including your cards.

Of course, this will take time to build up, but in my opinion, this is perhaps one of the best features of Frosthaven. If you play with friends, only the party leader can vote for certain things within the settlements. For example, if you want to create a new building, the leader will propose its construction, and everyone else will be able to vote for it. This mechanic also applies to other aspects of the game, which I won't mention for now.

Performance and sound

Frosthaven, provided by Arc Games, was played on a system having the following configuration:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
GPU: RTX 3070 8GB
RAM: 32 GB

Throughout my Frosthaven playthrough (both single-player and multiplayer), I encountered no issues at all. Despite this being an early build, nothing was out of place. Loading times were as good as they could be. Transitioning from one area to the next was smooth. There was no lag, no crashing, and no stunner. Coming to the sound, it is nothing short of beautiful. The effects for attacks are really well done, and everything sounds great.

In Conclusion

The gates of Frosthaven (Image via Arc Games || Sportskeeda)

On the surface, Frosthaven may seem like just another board game brought to life digitally. But as dig, you will be delighted to find just how well the mechanics overlap and synergize with each other to create a holistic experience. It will take time to understand everything the game has to offer, but I assure you that it will be worth the hours spent.

As per the developers, the game will offer at least 150-200 hours worth of gameplay on the first playthrough. Given that you will take time to learn everything, I'm certain that you will have many first playthroughs before even getting halfway through the entire thing. But I suppose that is how it is with tactical games.

On a concluding note, I would like to add that Frosthaven is not going to welcome you with open arms. You will fail, several times, but eventually, you will embrace the frost and other complicated aspects of the game. As I said, in the end, it will be worth all the reading, planning, strategizing, and learning. Who knows, perhaps when you master Frosthaven, you can host your own online party to show newcomers the way.