With Jaws of the Lion on PC, Gloomhaven has once again struck gold

polygon.com:

Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion is a peculiar package. It’s the first DLC for a PC version of a hit tabletop dungeon-crawler, and it’s based on the stand-alone cardboard sequel of the same name. It’s also unconventional in that it’s less concerned with making this dungeon-crawling universe approachable — as was the purpose of last year’s fantastic digital adaptation — and more concerned with integrating a compelling sub-story within said adaptation. And in most ways, it has succeeded.

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As a tabletop product, Jaws of the Lion has proven every bit as successful as the game that started it all. It rectified all of the major hurdles plaguing the monstrosity that is the Gloomhaven core experience, doing away with dozens of modular map tiles and lengthy setup. Instead, it has players work through a spiral-bound scenario book with dungeons printed on its pages. Its story is also much shorter than Gloomhaven’s, affording participants the opportunity to actually finish the campaign. The narrative even includes tutorial chapters to ease players into the game and overcome the native design complexity. Finally, it’s a much cheaper and appealing package that can easily be found at mass market stores.

All of this makes for a fantastic board game experience. But it’s not these strengths that translate seamlessly to the digital adaptation. Instead, Jaws of the Lion succeeds with an