I’ve lost entire weekends to great board games and their digital cousins, so when a new heavyweight hits Early Access, I pay attention. Frosthaven—Snapshot Games’ dark fantasy follow-up to Digital Gloomhaven—landed on July 31, 2025, promising to turn that cardboard magic into tense, tactical RPG nights. After dozens of hours at the frozen frontier, I’m here to share whether it honors its predecessor or leans too hard on nostalgia.
Early Access at a Glance
- Developer / Publisher: Snapshot Games / Arc Games
- Platforms: PC (Steam & Epic Games Store; NVIDIA GeForce NOW supported)
- Price: $39.99
- Launch Content: ~1/3 of full campaign: 8 classes (6 starting, 2 unlockable), 40+ quests, 100+ events
- Modes: Single-player & online co-op (up to 4 players)
- Early Access Timeline: ~1 year, quarterly updates planned
What’s New Since Gloomhaven
Digital Gloomhaven proved turn-based tactics could feel snappy and consequential. Frosthaven builds on that by weaving an evolving outpost, dynamic seasons, and branching events that leave lasting ripples in your campaign. Where Gloomhaven maps sat static, Frosthaven’s winter winds can close supply lines with blizzards, while thawing roads unlock new expedition routes in spring. These seasonal shifts force you to adapt: a strategy that crushed foes one month might falter when ice turns to mud.
The narrative tone darkens too—frostbitten survivors cling to hope in a land where the sun rarely shines. Quest dialogue leans into moral grey areas: do you risk valuable food to rescue stranded hunters, or tighten rations for the greater good? These small choices not only shape the story but can trigger unique encounters down the line, lending the digital campaign a weight similar to the board game’s campaign book.
Deep Dive: Tactical Combat and Party Synergy
At its core, Frosthaven remains a card-driven tactical brawler, but with fresh wrinkles. Each turn you juggle resources: spend stamina harvesting timber for your outpost, push deeper into ice-laden caverns for rare reagents, or unleash powerful attacks that can reshape the battlefield. Eight distinct classes—ranging from the boulder-wielding Doomstalker to the scar-tongued Soothsinger—offer diverse playstyles. Two additional classes unlock through quests you’ll discover in future updates.
The UI overhaul helps keep things moving briskly. Card decks auto-sort by initiative and type, while tooltips clearly outline status effects. A turn-order track shows who moves next, letting you plan combo chains: imagine stunning a hulking bear with an Icebound Revenant, then doubling down with the Geminate Echo’s psychic strike. Pull off that perfectly timed combo, and you’ll feel like a legend. Botch your healing cast, though, and you might accidentally slay an ally—double-tap misfires have spawned more than one hilarious disaster in my campaigns.
Enemy AI feels smarter too. Frostband marauders will flank injured heroes, while ice wraiths prioritize ranged targets. Boss skirmishes can pivot mid-fight—failing to break a frost guardian’s shield can transform a manageable brawl into a desperate scramble for roots and bandages. It’s punishing, but rarely unfair: difficulty spikes exist, yet each loss teaches you a new angle on positioning or timing.
Your Outpost, Your Story
Between quests, the outpost is your home base and creative sandbox. Early on, you’ll carve out workshops to craft upgraded gear—better armor, razor-sharp axes, or enchanted trinkets. Later, you might prioritize storerooms to hoard supplies against brutal winters or build a hunter’s lodge that nets extra rations each season. The choices aren’t merely cosmetic: constructing an alchemist’s tower unlocks new reagents, essential for endgame weapon upgrades.
Branching events keep the outpost feeling alive. One week you might negotiate a midsummer festival, boosting morale and unlocking town decorations. The next, wolves might raid your stockpile at dusk, forcing you to choose between sending guards out in the snow or letting supplies dwindle. These events reshape the outpost visually—tattered banners after a raid, blazing lanterns during a festival—and deliver tangible rewards or consequences. It’s a neat digital twist on the board game’s event book that makes every session feel unique.
UI and Quality-of-Life Upgrades
Snapshot Games leaned heavily into quality-of-life improvements. Deck management gets an auto-sort option, so you can focus on tactics rather than menu navigation. The campaign map lets you filter quests by difficulty, location, or rewards, ensuring you never grind the same dungeon just to hit a level requirement. One-click matchmaking connects you with friends—or strangers—within seconds, while a private lobby system helps you keep your party tight-knit.
Visual cues are cleaner too: enemy action ranges glow red on hover, status icons sport concise tooltips, and supply buildings show cooldown timers. Even the card animations feel sharper, with satisfying freezes and thaws whenever frost magic is involved. Small touches—like a flickering campfire in your outpost or drifting snow at the map’s edge—add ambiance without cluttering the screen.
Online Co-op and Community Dynamics
Frosthaven shines in co-op. Up to four players can join forces, sharing resources and coordinating strategies. I’ve seen parties that divide roles meticulously—one hero gathers wood while another specializes in crowd control—turn a brutal encounter into a smooth victory. Voice-chat macros help new players call turns quickly, and a ping system flags objectives or danger zones on the map.
Early Access means community feedback is already shaping development. On official forums and Discord, players debate balance tweaks—some want a difficulty slider, others ask for faster load times. Frequent patch notes reflect those conversations: in just two months, developers have adjusted enemy health pools, rebalanced a few over-powered cards, and squashed performance bugs on lower-end hardware. If you enjoy influencing a game’s evolution, this is an ideal time to join.
Roadmap: What to Expect Next
Snapshot Games plans roughly a year of quarterly updates. The immediate roadmap hints at:
- Two new unlockable classes with unique mechanics
- Additional seasonal events to deepen narrative variety
- More outpost building options—rumor has it a tame beast pen is on the way
- Expanded quest lines that push into frozen ruins beyond the current map
- Balance patches and performance optimizations based on ongoing feedback
While details remain unconfirmed, the pacing so far inspires confidence. The team seems committed to avoiding “content droughts” by drip-feeding new mechanics and polishing existing ones. If you’ve got strong opinions on frost giants or better UI layouts, now’s the window to submit them.
Should You Brave the Frost?
If you live for deep co-op strategy, evolving progression, and rich tactical skirmishes, Frosthaven Early Access is a trophy worth chasing. You’ll wrestle with blizzards, forge new legends, and build a frontier outpost brimming with character. Yes, only about 30–40% of the full campaign is available, and a handful of quests feel slightly recycled from Digital Gloomhaven. Expect the occasional crash or balance hiccup—these are Early Access quirks, not deal-breakers.
Your feedback matters: every bug report and balance suggestion helps shape seasonal events, new classes, and the final story. If you’d rather wait for a polished package, mark your calendar for the full launch. Otherwise, grab some friends, muster your wits, and brace for frost-choked fun. After all, those weekends you planned to spend relaxing? They’re probably lost already—so why not add a few more?