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Talisman

A digital version of a classic board game that is fun though it doesn't change much
Talisman Game Cover
71%Game Brain Score
gameplay, graphics
stability, grinding
76% User Score Based on 6,067 reviews
Critic Score 60%Based on 3 reviews

Platforms

Nintendo SwitchGog ComAndroidPlaystation 5Playstation 4XboxiPhoneWindowsPlayStationPlaystation VitaPCTabletMac OSPhoneXbox OneiPadMobile Platform
Talisman Game Cover

About

Talisman is a single player and multiplayer casual role playing game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by Nomad Games and was released on February 25, 2014. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

In Talisman Digital Edition, there are 58 characters a player can control, from the heroic Warrior to the powerful Sorceress. In this perilous adventure, players battle it out to journey across a dangerous land and be the first to claim the Crown of Command, a magical artefact with the power to destroy all rivals and make the bearer the true ruler of the kingdom. On your travels, you will need str…

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76%
Audience ScoreBased on 6,067 reviews
gameplay96 positive mentions
stability205 negative mentions

  • Faithful adaptation of the classic Talisman board game with original art and expansions.
  • Highly enjoyable multiplayer experience with friends, offering endless variety due to many characters, cards, and expansions.
  • Convenient digital format eliminates setup and cleanup, with quality-of-life improvements like saving games and DLC sharing.
  • The game suffers from slow pacing and can have extremely long sessions, sometimes lasting several hours.
  • User interface issues include unintuitive controls, lack of a back/undo function, and limited ability to view cards or board during other players' turns.
  • The AI is unbalanced and sometimes appears to cheat, with rigged or unfair dice rolls heavily favoring AI players over humans.
  • gameplay
    430 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Talisman: Digital Edition faithfully adapts the board game's core roll-and-move mechanics combined with RPG elements, offering a blend of strategy, luck, and adventure. While gameplay is easy to learn and features a wide variety of characters and expansions that add depth and replayability, it is often criticized for slow pacing, heavy reliance on luck through dice rolls, and frustrating RNG-driven outcomes. Despite some clunky UI, occasional bugs, and drawn-out sessions, many players enjoy its nostalgic charm and variable gameplay, particularly when playing with friends.

    • “A fantastic adaptation of the classic board game, Talisman: Digital Edition brings the tabletop experience to life with its intricate mechanics and engaging gameplay.”
    • “The digital version has done a great job of capturing the essence of the board game, and all of its rules and gameplay mechanics.”
    • “Gameplay is just the right mix of complex and fast, with a lot of variety available once you add in the expansions with their new ending cards, extra mechanics and map zones.”
    • “It's just no fun when game after game is ruined by mechanics that are entirely dependent on only a single 6 sided dice for nearly every mechanic.”
    • “The gameplay mechanics are insanely terrible as combat is decided with a dice roll, which is fine but when you do win a combat it doesn't subtract the difference of the dice rolls as damage to the loser, it just does one damage.”
    • “The luck-based gameplay can be both thrilling and maddening, with success hinging more on fortunate rolls than strategic planning.”
  • stability
    208 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is plagued by frequent bugs, glitches, crashes, and freezes, particularly affecting multiplayer stability and AI behavior, often making it frustrating or even unplayable for many users. While some progress has been made in fixing issues over time, significant problems with UI, spell mechanics, connection drops, and game-breaking glitches persist, limiting the overall experience. Those seeking reliable multiplayer or a polished gameplay experience may find the current state too unstable despite its core appeal.

    • “The previous game-breaking bugs appear to be fixed, and the game runs great with rare disconnects compared to before.”
    • “The game runs great on a low-end PC/laptop like mine.”
    • “Not that buggy anymore; sometimes when you start a new game, you need to restart the whole game, but other than that, it's much better.”
    • “The game is too buggy to recommend.”
    • “Coming back to the game after this latest patch with high hopes I feel even more annoyed as it still plays as a buggy pos filled with issues, connection problems, random crashes and mechanics that don't seem to interact at all.”
    • “Game won't let us connect to each other's private servers, won't let us join each other's games, won't let me stay connected, frequently encounters game-breaking glitches that stop any player from progressing.”
  • graphics
    142 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's graphics faithfully replicate the original board game with charming, hand-drawn artwork that appeals to fans of its nostalgic 1980s-'90s fantasy aesthetic. While many praise the attractive card art and smooth animations that enhance immersion, some find the overall visuals outdated, basic, or lacking in modern enhancements and polish. Overall, the graphics effectively support the gameplay but may feel average or underwhelming compared to contemporary digital board games.

    • “The digital version replicates this experience with fidelity, presenting the board and cards with attractive artwork, smooth animations, and thematic sound effects that breathe life into the game world.”
    • “The game has been beautifully designed, with stunning graphics and animations that bring the fantasy world to life.”
    • “The artwork runs the gamut from pretty good to astonishingly amazing.”
    • “They have updated the visuals and fixed most of the crashing issues, but the graphics are outdated, and the devs clearly don't want to improve them.”
    • “The graphics feel like a mid-late 1990's game and the interface is completely unintuitive; graphics remind me of early 2000s, and the whole design doesn't even deserve a free hand-out.”
    • “Many menus don't update, graphics for the rolls don't match outcomes; really basic playtesting bugs; it's a shame, because the AI isn't bad.”
  • replayability
    128 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Replayability is a standout feature of this game, with vast variety stemming from numerous characters, asymmetric abilities, random events, and expansive DLC content that ensures each session is unique. While the base game alone offers solid replay value, the many expansions dramatically enhance longevity and freshness, appealing to both solo and multiplayer experiences. Overall, the game's depth, customization options, and continuous updates provide near-infinite replayability that keeps players engaged over time.

    • “The game's branching paths and unpredictable encounters ensure that no two sessions are alike, adding replayability that keeps you coming back for more.”
    • “The variety of characters and their asymmetric abilities adds significant replay value, as each offers a different route to success, whether through brute strength, clever spells, or sly trickery.”
    • “With a strong fantasy theme, endless replayability, and turn-based structure, Talisman is a fun change of pace for a far-flung gaming group.”
    • “The game gets boring soon and loses what replayability the different F2P or DLC archetypes might otherwise represent for the game.”
    • “Even so, it'd be a good enough port to be worth $7... except that, as with the analog original, the base game has very little replay value.”
    • “So it gets "boring" very quickly and limits "replayability".”
  • story
    115 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's story functions more as a dynamic, emergent narrative or "story generator" rather than a structured, immersive plot, with players creating unique fantasy quests each session. While its rich setting and quest mechanics evoke classic fantasy adventures, frequent design flaws—such as frustrating, unremovable warlock quests and clunky interface prompts—can hinder narrative flow and player engagement. Overall, it offers a thematic experience of epic questing that appeals most to fans of fantasy board games who appreciate unpredictable storytelling over a traditional narrative.

    • “The game's heart lies in its rich fantasy setting, where players assume the roles of mighty heroes on a quest for ultimate power.”
    • “Each game is like a new mystical story played out each time.”
    • “At closer focus, the effect is preserved, as every character, location, item, contest, and outcome suggests a larger story for your imagination.”
    • “The game has one unbelievably laughable issue with its warlock quests. These are specific quests that grant you a talisman and a path to victory. If a player acquires a talisman but does not finish their warlock quest, the path to the final section of the board is blocked until the quest is complete, regardless of if the character already has the prize. There is no way to remove a warlock quest unless the character dies, which can be almost game breaking, especially when the quest is very difficult like 'slay a dragon'.”
    • “Had an issue entering the warlock's area: he offers 6 or so quests but the timer can time out while you are still reading the second card. Also, you can get a warlock quest you cannot complete and you can't get rid of it, so even if you have a talisman and already completed a previous quest, you can't progress to the plains of peril. This can cause hours of wasted game time and blocks gameplay.”
    • “The story in this game acts more as a story generator rather than a true narrative. The options during each turn are simple and uninteresting, mostly involving moving to spaces that lead to random cards or rolls with limited connection to any storyline. The AI storyteller often results in frustrating, unpredictable stories that feel like intentional torture, making it hard to engage with any meaningful plot.”
  • music
    97 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is generally praised for being immersive, thematic, and enjoyable, often likened to medieval or fantasy-style tunes that enhance the board game atmosphere. However, some players find the soundtrack repetitive and the looping tracks occasionally annoying, with a few mentioning volume issues or bugs affecting the audio. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a strong and fitting complement to the gameplay, adding to the game's charm despite some minor flaws.

    • “The game's attention to detail, beautiful graphics, and immersive soundtrack make it a joy to play.”
    • “The music is magical, gives you a sense of adventure while you are playing.”
    • “The art is great, the music is awesome and I love all the expansions, with Nomad Games making them playable for free at various times so you can try them before you buy!”
    • “The music and audio effects are overall underwhelming, to put it mildly.”
    • “Sound/music bugs out after a few hours.”
    • “The music quickly gets very repetitive.”
  • grinding
    88 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Grinding in this game is widely regarded as excessively tedious, with long, drawn-out sessions, frustrating RNG elements, and a slow, grind-heavy endgame that often feels like a monotonous slog. AI behavior compounds the issue, frequently elongating gameplay without meaningful challenge, and expensive DLCs further gate content, making progression feel laborious. While some players find social sessions more bearable, overall the grinding aspect significantly detracts from the experience.

    • “This game is designed to be a grindy treadmill that never ends.”
    • “Because the ai spent so much time grinding its stats up, it took another 200 turns for me to actually win the game with the crown.”
    • “If you're up for a completely rng-determined romp around and around and around a rectangle... slowly randomly grinding stats until you randomly get across the river and then randomly open a door, and then randomly beat some enemies and then get to the very center of the board... where your only move each turn is to roll a d6 and hope you get the 50% chance to hurt the other players until they're all dead.”
  • humor
    75 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in this game is widely praised for its hilarious randomness, chaotic gameplay, and absurd situations, especially when played with friends. Many players enjoy the funny moments born from unlucky dice rolls, unpredictable AI behavior, and the game's quirky fantasy elements, making it a social and entertaining experience. While sometimes frustrating, the humor often shines through in the camaraderie and shared laughter during chaotic, cutthroat matches.

    • “Just be sure you're on good terms with whoever you play with, because this game will piss you off regularly, but in a fun and hilarious way.”
    • “Random events and crazy RNG can make for some memorable games and hilarious interactions with your friends.”
    • “For every time you wrestle with the interface or shake your head at its almost total randomness, if you play with friends, I guarantee something will get you laughing – the cool/weird art, the impossible situations, the constant twists and turns.”
    • “Funny at first, not funny at all.”
  • monetization
    16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Users widely criticize the game's monetization as a predatory cash grab, citing excessive DLC costs, separate purchases required for all players, and intrusive microtransactions. Many express frustration over misleading advertising, lost in-game purchases after updates, and expansions priced nearly as high as the base game. While the base game is affordable, the overall monetization strategy leaves completionists and returning players wary.

    • “I'll give it a recommend for now, based on the low base entry cost and the fact that the DLC isn't really 'microtransactions' in the typical mobile way, but completionists should still be warned about the cost.”
    • “At this point in time I have only played 2 hours but I am really excited to play some more, maybe this time with a new board, new class, and new playstyle. Until then, stay cool Nomad Games, and please oh please don't taint this masterpiece with microtransactions.”
    • “The monetization is predatory and obnoxious, such as requiring every person to buy DLC separately to use it in a game instead of just the host.”
    • “When I came back I realized they changed the mobile version to a new one which I do not own, and all my in-game purchases were gone.”
    • “Cheating AI, buggy game, and on top of it all a shameless cash grab with an insane amount of DLCs.”
  • emotional
    12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The emotional experience of the game is intense and roller-coaster-like, ranging from frustration and heartbreak to excitement and wholesome moments. Players often feel a strong emotional investment due to unpredictable challenges and highs, making the game both mentally taxing and deeply engaging. Despite some emotional turmoil, its digital version offers accessible and affordable gameplay compared to the physical board game.

    • “Talisman will provide hours of gameplay during which, as a player, you will experience an emotional roller coaster!”
    • “This game can be really fun and exciting... but you can also end up going against a dragon... then another dragon... and then a demon.. and can really make you want to cry.”
    • “It honestly made me feel bad because I just kept getting better and better cards while he struggled to get even a single trophy.”
  • atmosphere
    12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game successfully captures the classic fantasy and adventurous atmosphere of the original board game, offering an engaging blend of exploration, strategy, and RPG elements. Its presentation, music, and graphics enhance the immersive experience, especially when played with friends, though some feel the virtual version can lack the social ambiance of in-person sessions. Overall, it delivers a faithful and enjoyable atmospheric adaptation despite minor technical issues.

    • “The presentation and music really capture the atmosphere I've always got from playing Talisman.”
    • “Beautiful and very atmospheric graphics, no bugs at all, and lots of fun!”
    • “It brings across all the feelings and atmosphere of the board game, together with its rather unforgiving rules and frustrating roll effects.”
    • “I do love my physical set and this does lack the atmosphere of having some like-minded mates around for a good board games session.”
    • “Of course nothing beats the atmosphere of sitting with friends around the table and rolling dice by your own hands but, on the other hand, you can compete with other Talisman lovers from the whole world!”
  • optimization
    9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization is generally poor, with users highlighting significant issues in multiplayer performance and excessive, unnecessary user input. Despite being well-graphically rendered, the game has seen little improvement over time and suffers from AI and pacing problems, impacting overall smoothness and enjoyment.

    • “The graphics are very well done, and everything runs smoothly.”
    • “The price tag is ok for this performance (and seeing how the tabletop version is quite expensive) but since the game is out for years now - don't expect it to get better.”
    • “After you beat the game (or even lose it), you earn experience points based on your performance and are rewarded with runestones and Steam achievements.”
    • “However, this game is not optimized and, given how long it has been out, there is no reason for it not to be.”
    • “Needs major optimization, work on the pacing and elimination of excessive clicking required to bypass elements that shouldn't require user input.”
    • “The price is reasonable given the performance and the cost of the tabletop version, but since the game has been out for years, don't expect optimization improvements.”
  • character development
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Character development in the game incorporates light RPG elements that appeal to fans of traditional role-playing, offering some progression and combat mechanics. Additionally, characters can evolve dynamically during gameplay, as seen when an enemy’s alignment changed after multiple defeats.

    • “Talisman had just enough RPG-style character development and combat mechanics injected into it to scratch my D&D itch, but it was otherwise solidly a roll-the-dice-and-move-that-many 'old school' board game for the traditionalists.”
    • “My enemy went through character development and turned to good after he died 4 times.”
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9h Median play time
74h Average play time
5-47h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 42 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Talisman is a casual role playing game with fantasy theme.

Talisman is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, iPhone and others.

On average players spend around 74 hours playing Talisman.

Talisman was released on February 25, 2014.

Talisman was developed by Nomad Games.

Talisman has received mostly positive reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked this game for its gameplay but disliked it for its stability.

Talisman is a single player game with multiplayer and local co-op support.

Similar games include Armello, For The King, Talisman: Prologue, Small World, Gloomhaven and others.