As someone who’s been intimidated for years by the idea of starting a Dungeons & Dragons campaign, Sunderfolk feels like the definitive solution to my problem. Developed by Dreamhaven, the easiest way to describe Sunderfolk would be “tabletop game or DND campaign, but without the investment and setup.”
Sunderfolk is heavily inspired by Gloomhaven, a popular tactical role-playing tabletop game released in 2017. A few years after its launch and prior to Sunderfolk, Gloomhaven did get a digital adaptation, and it retains much of the depth and nuance from the tabletop version. You’re getting everything, including the attack modifiers, road events, city events, personal quests, battle goals… The list goes on. Gloomhaven is an incredibly dense game, and that makes for a very enriching tabletop experience, no doubt about that.
The problem with Gloomhaven, though, is that like most of its counterparts, it can often feel intimidating and unapproachable. And that’s where Sunderfolk shines.
In contrast, Sunderfolk requires little to no setup, and the gameplay structure is very streamlined. Boot the game up on your PC, download the mobile app to scan the onscreen QR code, and you’re good to go. Sunderfolk supports up to four players (though you can play solo with multiple characters) and everyone gets to choose their character from their phone screen. You’re offered a choice between six anthropomorphic animals, all of which come with different classes and abilities. The giant polar bear, for instance, is a berserker-style character who can tank a bunch of hits.
Having pre-built characters means there’s very little in the way of unique builds, but that’s kind of the appeal of Sunderfolk. It’s ready to go out of the box. Just launch a new campaign, and everyone can start playing immediately. No fuss, no frills.
Once you’ve picked your character and named them, you’re thrown straight into the story. Sunderfolk is narrated entirely by voice actress Anjali Bhimani, who does an excellent job as the game master. In true DND fashion, Bhimani not only narrates what’s happening in-game, but also voices all of the NPCs and enemies you meet in the story. This, in my view, is what really brings Sunderfolk to life.
I’ll be the first to admit that the story and characters in Sunderfolk aren’t really anything to write home about. Your journey begins when your village Arden comes under attack by ogres, and you and your band of adventurers must work together to defeat this evil force. Along the way, you meet a variety of interesting characters, but no one is ever particularly complex. Bhimani’s voice performance more than makes up for this, though. There’s so much flavor injected into the world and characters of Sunderfolk that it’s hard not to feel at least a little bit charmed by it.
Besides, I think the simplicity of the story and characterization is kind of the point anyway. After all, Sunderfolk‘s mission statement is to make these DND-style experiences feel approachable to genre newbies. The idea is that anyone — regardless of how much or how little exposure they’ve had to board games — can jump in and have a good time.
My time with Sunderfolk was largely experienced solo, though I can certainly see the appeal of playing in a group. Each time you level up, your character is given a new skill to play around with. Combat takes place on a grid of hexagonal tiles; when it’s your turn, you select your action on your phone screen, then use the touchscreen to chart out your character’s movement path on the grid. You’ll tap buttons on your screen to select your target and execute your attacks.
It bears mentioning that you can take control of multiple characters as a solo player, but I found that this quickly became overwhelming, needing to keep track of every character’s kit and what they can do. With how simple the story is, going through it alone without three other friends next to you can make it feel rather dull.
When it’s not your turn, you can access a variety of information on the phone app as well. You can take this time to look at enemy information, and even read up on your own skills as you try to figure out your next move.
Outside of battle, your party will spend most of its time in the village of Arden. Here, you’ll get to stock up on supplies, talk to NPCs, and prepare however you need to for the next quest. I particularly liked that all players could spend their time however they wanted during the village segments. Everyone gets to pursue their own agendas on their phone screen, though it should be noted that there’s no NPC voice acting during this time.
Character progression in Sunderfolk is genuinely exciting, and it’s impressive how Dreamhaven has managed to weave all these elements together into an approachable package that also doesn’t have a lot of downtime or setup.
Sunderfolk feels like it was tailor-made for people like me. The ones who were always put off by the long setup times of so many tabletop games, and the sheer time commitment they demand.
A review code for the game was provided by the publisher. You can check out our review policy here. Reviewed on PC.
