Frosthaven Update Goes Into the Abyss

Arc Games and Snapshot Games have released the third and final planned Early Access update for strategy RPG Frosthaven before its full release. The “Into the Abyss” update adds the Lurker storyline to the game, which is set in the depths of the Biting Sea, as well as two new playable heroes, a new pet, and a variety of gameplay and quality-of-life improvements. It is intended to act as the final large update before the version 1.0 launch. Ahead of the release, RPGamer was able to get a look at what’s included in the update.

Frosthaven is based on the board game of the same name and a spiritual successor to Gloomhaven. Featuring both single-player and online co-op multiplayer, it sees players taking on quests and fighting in turn-based, grid-based battles using action and movement cards that work together with cards held by their teammates. Players also build up their outpost, building and upgrading structures that unlock new features and mechanics.

The two new playable characters introduced in the update are codenamed “Coral” and “Kelp”, and fit right into the update’s undersea setting. Coral acts more as a control character, making use of a Tides passive mechanic and battlefield positioning, while Kelp is a damage dealer, adept at assassinating enemies and collecting trophies that allow them to grow stronger. The update comes with plenty of unique battles; the first one shown was a battle that begins on the deck of a ship, before it ends up moving below decks, while the second takes place on a floating iceberg and requires players utilise a special balancing mechanic lest they get swept off and into the ocean with an immediate failure.

The Into the Abyss update also makes a few changes to the existing “Blinkblade” hero. Players have the option to switch between the existing set of cards or to use a new set of cards that more closely match the Frosthaven tabletop game. The update features multiple new environments, including a colourful underwater cave, with some other smaller touches added to the visuals that include showing non-nautical characters wearing masks to enable them to breathe underwater.

The update also features additional gameplay improvements, many of which have been heavily requested by players and include furthering the UI improvements made in the previous major update to make more information available but without overloading the screen. One of these is the ability to inspect the various modifiers currently impacting all the combatants. The game also now lets players choose which modifier to apply to attacks where the choice is available, as opposed to one being selected automatically, by toggling a relevant option in the game settings.

Other additions include a calendar similar to that of the tabletop game that lets players know if events are coming, as well as a history of campaign events and various notifications highlighting when players can interact with buildings or have perk points to spend on heroes. The calendar and notifications help reduce the number of pop-ups in the game and work with a change to hero retirement to make it more intuitive while not holding up multiplayer gameplay.

Frosthaven is available now in Early Access on Steam and the Epic Games Store. It is expected to fully release later this year.