The stakes have been raised. Imagine living in a place so wretched that it's not plagued by one, two, or even three monsters — but seven of the most horrifying fiends!
In this game, you'll come face to face with them all as you work together to rid the town of the maniacal or misunderstood creatures…before it's too late.
Horrified includes high-quality sculpted miniatures (Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, Dracula, The Mummy, The Invisible Man, Creature from the Black Lagoon). Its innovative, easy-to-learn, cooperative gameplay has players working together against the monsters with varying levels of difficulty.
Staff Recommendation
"Horrified Universal Monsters is a corny, humorous cooperative game in the vein of Pandemic or Arkham Horror, but the theme is classic Hollywood monsters, so that, while still dark in its way, it isn't quite so serious or horrific as its two peers. Instead it offers itself up as a delightful romp into the world of black and white films and cheesy special effects. Each player takes on the role of one of the heroes, drafting their hero at random at the beginning of the game. Every hero has a different number of actions they can take per turn (including movement), and each hero has their own unique ability that can help them gain the upper hand against their monstrous opponents. The monsters' AI is controlled by a deck of cards that players draw from after each player finishes their turn, so that every time a player goes the monsters then get to go too, heightening the tension when deciding what to do on any given turn. The number and combination of monsters is completely customizable, so that difficulty is really easy to adjust if things feel too easy or too hard. This is a fantastic, family-friendly co-op that allows a lot of silliness and serious strategy to blend quite nicely.
Who is this game for? Anyone who enjoys a good cooperative strategy game with strong thematic ties, but which everyone can have a laugh with too. The game is also nice-looking with a very colorful board, character standees, items and other game pieces. It is gratifying to win, but I am still grinning at all the great cheesiness of the game by the end.
Who is this game not for? While the scaling difficulty in Horrified is great, if you are interested in a cooperative game that can be so crunchy it takes way more time and discussion at higher difficulty settings, I would recommend looking at something more like Spirit Island, which at higher difficulties can feel like trying to stave back a ceaseless tide. I like both games immensely, but I get out Horrified when I want to think but also when I want to be smiling rather than furrowing my brow in concentration."
