Through the use of a smartphone, Sunderfolk can be controlled, just like the Jackbox games.
A new game that combines elements of tabletop role-playing games (RPGs) with party games like Jackbox has just been revealed by Dreamhaven, the publishing business formed by Mike Morhaime, who was the former CEO of Blizzard Entertainment. According to appearances, Sunderfolk is a more laid-back, pick-up-and-play version of a game similar to Gloomhaven.
This game has been “designed for players who love tabletop, board, and video games,” according to the announcement. The experience is a two-screen one, with players really handling a significant number of components of the game on their mobile devices themselves. You know, just like the Jackbox franchise, which is already extremely popular. According to the marketing, the “tactical couch co-op RPG” is being marketed as a means by which seasoned tabletop players may introduce their friends who are less experienced to the genre.
The game Sunderfolk can be played by as many as four people at the same time, and it features six different hero classes, including the bard, the arcanist, the ranger, and a few more of the more common ones. The television serves as the primary display, while the phone is used as a controller for the game board as players move around it. Throughout the course of the narrative, a town that is under siege is assaulted by a variety of monsters. To put it another way, it is a typical role-playing game set in the fantasy genre.
The one-of-a-kind control mechanism is designed to remove some of the obstacles that are associated with playing this kind of game, such as the steep learning curve and the considerable amount of time required to set up. Similar to many tabletop role-playing games, it is a cooperative game rather than a competitive one. You and your companions are opposed to the entire planet.
There will be internet play, despite the fact that the designers of Sunderfolk claim that the game was designed with couch co-op in mind. Sometime in the year 2025, the game will be released for the Nintendo Switch, personal computers, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S, along with a companion app for iOS and Android.
During a preview event, Kotaku was given the opportunity to test out the game, and the majority of their impressions were positive. They stated that “working in tandem with other players quickly turned into a thrilling spectacle that felt right out of a TTRPG game night.” Nevertheless, the website also mentioned that the difficulty of the gameplay might not be enough to entice newcomers to the game. What I’m trying to say is that it’s more like Gloomhaven than Jackbox.