The upcoming Sunderfolk will combine TTRPGs and video games in a whole new way, utilizing the strengths of both mediums. In particular, the team behind Sunderfolk has taken inspiration from Gloomhaven.
Secret Door’s Sunderfolk is an upcoming fantasy title inspired by TTRPGs like D&D 5e. The game will have players use their phones as controllers, akin to how TTRPG players have personal character sheets. Sunderfolk will also have a DM-like narrator in Anjali Bhimani, who voices all the NPCs to replicate the vibe of a Game Master. Game Rant sat down with members of the Sunderfolk team, including game director Erin Marek, who spoke more about the title’s roots in titles such as Gloomhaven.
Related
Impressive Dungeons and Dragons-Inspired Game Sunderfolk Confirms Release Date and More
The tactical role-playing game Sunderfolk gets a detailed release date and a new trailer promoting its unique control scheme.
How Gloomhaven Inspired Secret Door’s Sunderfolk
Gloomhaven is a tabletop board game that takes 1–4 players through a dungeon-crawler campaign, with hex-grid combat inspired by the gameplay of modern eurogames. With its multiple character classes, tactical combat, fantasy setting, and character sheets, Gloomhaven certainly resembles D&D, but it’s a wholly different experience for multiple reasons. Not only does Gloomhaven handle its campaigns without the direction of a DM, differing entirely in how mechanics are interfaced with, but the game handles RNG through its ability cards rather than dice.
In these respects, Sunderfolk is very similar to Gloomhaven. Sunderfolk has a DM in the sense that it has Bhimani as a narrator, but no player takes up the mantle of dungeon master. Moreover, Marek spoke about how ability cards in specific made their way into Sunderfolk:
“Very tangibly, we were inspired by ability cards in Gloomhaven. It was an elegant way to keep that board game feel in Sunderfolk and lean into something that fans of the genre would be familiar with. But at the same time, we knew we wanted to take the spirit of these elements and try to simplify in the right places to make it faster to grok for new players.”
One of the major appeals of virtual tabletops is the simplification of complex rules that players have to learn with TTRPGs. A tabletop RPG rulebook can be hundreds of pages long, demanding frequent referencing that can be disruptive and confusing for newcomers wishing to enjoy a game among friends. Sunderfolk certainly made a good move by leaning into the relative simplicity and accessibility of its video game format.
Sunderfolk Stands Out With Its Board Game Influences
Gloomhaven also influenced the tactical elements of Sunderfolk, with Marek explaining that the team spent some time playing Gloomhaven to look at what makes the tactics genre great but also look for areas that can be difficult for new players. This breakdown, as well as Marek and the team’s experience, helped shape many tactical elements of Sunderfolk:
“While I’m a huge board game fan, massive turn-based tactics video gamer, and have been game-mastering TTRPGs for 20 years, I found myself struggling to get friends committed to some of the bigger, more complex tactics turn-based board games. So that was always a voice in the back of our heads, reminding us to see not just what could be in Sunderfolk, but how we could iterate those elements to entice those who normally would be intimidated by these kinds of games.”
Furthermore, the use of cards plays to the board game audience, who may be even more familiar with couch co-op games than TTRPG fans, given the rise of remote play. This separates Sunderfolk from games that adapt existing TTRPG systems rather than create their own, as those games are more likely to incorporate dice to reflect the games they’re based on.
Sunderfolk
- Released
-
April 23, 2025
- ESRB
-
E10+ For Everyone 10+ // Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
-
Secret Door
- Multiplayer
-
Local Co-Op
- Number of Players
-
1-4
- PC Release Date
-
April 23, 2025
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
-
April 23, 2025
Comments
Array