Sunderfolk Review

Dream Haven's cooperative tactics role-playing game, Sunderfolk, marks the debut of Secret Door, a new studio. The developers at Secret Door sought to replicate the enchantment of sitting around a table with friends, rolling dice, and telling stories together, drawing inspiration from vintage tabletop role-playing games.  

With no prior games in their portfolio, Secret Door took the bold step of giving away mobile devices as controllers and fashioned the most unique marketing platform for Mobile Sunderfolk in a crowded RPG market. It seeks to develop a game that appeals to experienced gamers and novices alike and captures the ambiance and camaraderie of a tabletop gaming experience. 

The community of Ardan, which was established around a mysterious magical substance known as Brightstone, is the focal point of Sunderfolk's tale. Its existence is threatened by strange forces from nearby areas, and you and your squad act as local heroes entrusted with defending the settlement.  

The three acts that make up the story take between 20 and 40 hours to complete. Although the premise draws heavily from traditional fantasy tropes, it is still rather generic and functions more as a setting to make gameplay easier than as an engaging story. 

The plot isn't the main attraction, but a mid-game twist adds some interest. Amusing banter and the option to give NPCs, structures, or adversaries names—such as an NPC named Nacho Libre or mold monsters called Ooey Gooies—bring individuality and a personal touch, giving the game a sense of collaboration. These humorous moments and little, easily understood conversation snippets make the story interesting without becoming overpowering. 

Playable both locally and online, Sunderfolk is a party-based multiplayer tactics role-playing game that can accommodate up to four players. The game's most notable feature is its use of a phone or tablet as a controller, accessible through a free companion app on iOS and Android.  

You scan the QR code that appears on the main screen after the game launches to link your smartphone to the session. The app manages everything, including character movement, ability selection, inventory management, map viewing, and enemy stat checks. 

You must pick carefully since each of the six classes you can choose from—Arcanist, Bard, Berserker, Pyromancer, Ranger, and Rogue—has a distinctive playstyle that locks in for the duration of the campaign. You can go back to Ardan's village center in between fights to upgrade shops, make weapons, buy trinkets, converse with NPCs, and develop connections that will lead to exclusive rewards. 

Turn-based battle missions, rising with new cards and stats, and controlling your character in town before leaving again comprise the main loop. Because of its simplicity, the game is a great starting point for children or anyone unfamiliar with tabletop role-playing games. It also enables solo play, enabling you to manage a whole party of four heroes from a single device. 

Sunderfolk's combat is tactical, turn-based, and takes place on a hex grid. Each mission has its own goals, such as eliminating adversaries or resolving puzzle-style tasks like maneuvering Nacho Libre, a beetle, across an arena by rotating it into place. Each character in the card-based game gets a deck of ability cards that usually combine special, movement, and attack powers. 

You can equip a certain number of cards (say three) and use them again in combat, changing them out later as needed, unlike other deck-building games like Gloomhaven. You pick from a fate deck, which is a collection of modifier cards that give your attack effects like +0, +1, +2, -1, or -2 when you attack.  

You can improve this deck as you go by adding cards that boost allies, debuff foes, or cause other effects. You can even change the deck's composition in between fights to maximize strategy or damage. You can act at any time thanks to the open turn order, making it a game which promotes teamwork, particularly in coordination mode when you can inspect adversaries or point to specific hexes to guide colleagues. 

This strategy simulates the chaotic intensity of tabletop D&D sessions by encouraging creative combos, such as teleporting an opponent using the Arcanist's Stargate ability and then setting up the Pyromancer for a 10-damage flame breath attack.  

Every class specializes in its specific role: the Ranger is excellent at range, the Rogue uses shadows to evade attacks, the Pyromancer uses fire to charge up, the Arcanist manipulates positioning, the Berserker tanks and deals more damage when injured, and the Bard boosts friends.  

Additional depth is added by electrified weapons (unlocked later), and Trinkets (one-use items), which allow for acts like healing or out-of-turn moves, provided certain requirements are satisfied, such as gathering gold. Adding strategic flair, you can also shove foes off cliffs, but be careful; the enemy can do the same to you. 

The battle mechanism's depth and accessibility are its strong points. Tapping for status effects, abilities, or enemy data is just one of the many features that the phone-based controls offer without feeling like a bottleneck. The range of mission goals, from simple battles to intricate puzzles demanding precise coordination, keeps encounters interesting, and the free turn order and coordination mode produce dynamic, team-driven moments. 

The game is both approachable and challenging, with four difficulty settings and toggleable modifiers to suit different playstyles. Though it doesn't detract much from the experience, the main disadvantage is that occasionally, you must try again to create moving paths on the grid. 

You level up roughly every two missions, gaining new ability cards, stat enhancements, or movement options. The lack of grinding is a huge plus. Although the few tasks in each act mean you won't see everything in a single playthrough, this simplified progression keeps the game interesting without overflowing side content, improving repeat potential. 

Highlights of Sunderfolk's artwork include endearing forest animal figures that give the strategic gameplay a whimsical feel. Whether you're fighting on the hex grid or exploring the village center, the clear, colorful graphics and intricate patterns bring the world of Ardan to life. The presentation evokes the comfortable atmosphere of a board game night while balancing the tabletop design. Although not revolutionary, the graphics are well-executed and useful, adding to the entire experience without detracting from the tactical emphasis. 

The audio in the game is excellent; cutscenes and significant events feature complete voice acting, so you don't have to wait for everyone to finish reading the text before continuing. The quick speech keeps things lively, and conversations with townspeople through the phone app don't have voice acting, which makes thematic sense as private encounters.  

The sound effects and soundtrack perfectly capture the fantasy atmosphere without overwhelming the gameplay. Funny voice lines make the audio experience unique and enjoyable, especially when they allude to player-named components like Walmart or Ooey Gooies. 

Sunderfolk, a cooperative role-playing game that perfectly captures the tabletop atmosphere with creative phone-based controls, is a success for Secret Door. With simple principles that make it easy to play but tough to master, particularly on higher difficulties, its 20–40-hour campaign is both accessible and deep. The town hub and naming features lend a personal touch, while the card-based combat, open round order, and class synergies make for enjoyable collaboration moments. 

The game's length, while captivating, leaves you wanting more content, suggesting the possibility of future additions, and the story is passable but not particularly noteworthy. Fans of tactics or tabletop RPGs will love it because of its endearing artwork and good soundtrack.  

For newcomers, it's a perfect on-ramp, but others who dislike slow campaigns might not be convinced. It's inexpensive at $50, needing only one purchase for a group of four, and it's a great excuse for a weekly game night because of its couch co-op focus. Sunderfolk is a must-play game for you and your friends, whether you play it locally or online. It encapsulates the excitement of tabletop gaming.