I love a good cooperative game, it makes for harmonious flat living, and Horrified is one that goes on my list. Perfect for a mild spooky night in or some light-hearted fun. Horrified is an easy-to-learn, family friendly game. At first when I saw the box, I will admit to being underwhelmed. After a couple play throughs, I am happy to say my perspective has changed.
Playing together as a team, each player is a hero with a unique ability. Characters must work together to defeat an ensemble of monsters. Frankenstein’s Monster and his blushing Bride, Wolf-Man, The Invisible Man, and all-time classic, bloodsucking vampire himself, Dracula are some of the monsters you are trying to chase out of the Village. Whether it be by restoring humanity to Frankenstein’s Monster and his Bride or finding the cure to Wolf-Man’s lycanthropy; each Monster has unique objectives the heroes must accomplish before they can tackle them once and for all. Moving around the village, players work together to collect items that help run the monsters out of town. The game is played in two phases, a turn for the heroes and naturally the monsters get their chance to fight back. Using dice rolls, monster attacks can be particularly damaging if you don’t have any items to protect yourself, so it’s a good idea to collect as many items are you can, or trade with other players. Using communication, forethought and intuition, heroes must also work to safely aid villagers to safe locations or risk increasing the terror level.
I particularly enjoy that whilst Horrified is a game about monsters, it does not make the game simply about monster-slaying, nor is it combat heavy. Instead, the game takes a comical approach to monster-slaying and asks players to not only save the village and the villagers, but the Monsters that are terrorizing them.
No monster is the same and vary in difficulty, offering replay-ability with multiple monster combinations and gameplay scenarios. Players can adjust the game difficulty to suit ability or as desired. Playing with few low-level monsters and characters with useful abilities makes for an easy, light and quick game, whilst playing with high-level monsters and low ability characters makes for a more challenging experience. Randomisation is always fun, so perhaps let chaos ensue and let fate decide the heroes and monsters? Maybe play with all the monsters and see what happens?
Horrified is a fun cooperative game that brings together all our favourite monsters, but the unique character abilities make the game almost too easy. In some cases, having the Explorer is extremely useful, but when against the likes of Frankenstein’s Monster and his Bride, the ability to move wherever you like makes the challenge this green-skinned groaning duo pose, almost no challenge at all.
Overall, Horrified is just what it claims itself to be. It is perfect for families or those looking for a light play of around 45-60 minutes. All the components work together making for a well-rounded game and near-seamless gameplay; so long as you remember to replenish item tokens when drawing monster cards unlike us. Whilst the cartoon styling might not be my cup of tea, it makes the monsters less horrifying (badum tish) for younger players and adds to the charm. And for once, I found an instruction manual that was easy to understand and easy to read.
Solid 7/10 overall
BGG 7.7/10
- Good bang for buck
- Replay-ability
- Ability Adjustable