Sunderfolk Review – Review – Nintendo World Report

Sunderfolk is a game that snuck up on me and quite frankly feels like Nintendo’s ideas of Game Boy Advance-to-GameCube connectivity executed in the modern world. The dream of players having individual screens while they all play a video game together is realized better than I’ve ever seen it before. Coming from publisher Dreamhaven (founded by Blizzard co-founder and former CEO Mike Morhaime) and developer Secret Door, this is essentially a video game that mixes tabletop RPG concepts with the gameplay setup of Jackbox Games. The game plays out on the TV (or Switch screen) while players control their characters via an official Sunderfolk app on their phone (or tablet).

The world of Sunderfolk is populated by a slew of fantasy critters, set in and around the town of Arden. The brightstone is under threat by the shadowstone and it’s up to you – and one to three friends – to play as one of six characters to save the day. The story so far is good enough set dressing but it hasn’t been all that compelling. I largely enjoy the charm of the audiobook-esque narration that feels like a DM just trying their best, but sometimes it’s too easy to drone out. What has hooked me about Sunderfolk is the way it takes a relatively complex style of game and makes it approachable and explainable while also housing a wealth of depth.

The six characters are all tied to specific classes. You have the mage-like Arcanist, the tank Berserker, the supporting Bard, the chaotic Pyromancer, the arrow-wielding Ranger, and the sneaky Rogue. It should all be familiar if you’ve played a round or two of Dungeons & Dragons in your day. In lieu of more complex character sheets, each character’s active abilities are tied to three cards. They represent a series of movements and actions across grid-based terrain that can be used to complete different goals on your turn. For example, the Berserker has a relatively straightforward card that lets you move a set amount of spaces, and then attack an enemy near you. They also have one that lets you move twice, throw a person or item two spaces, and then move twice again. That’s very helpful to toss a character out of harm’s way or throw an enemy off a cliff. As you progress, you level up and gain more access to cards, but you can only ever have three active ones during a mission. Sometimes it feels limiting, because certain cards have more specific uses and functionality, but it helps keep turns from getting too out of hand and complex.

The other wrinkle to actions is the Fate Deck, which is made up of 10 cards (4 neutral, 3 positive, and 3 negative). Whenever you attack, you pull a card from the deck that can add or remove a point of damage or even add a special buff. It adds an element of chance to your actions, but you still have insight into the likelihood of what could happen since once you pull a card, it stays out of the deck until you run through it.

I appreciate how Sunderfolk handles the roleplay elements as well. At different points, one of the players will have the chance to name an enemy or item in the world. Naturally most of the time I’ve played this has resulted in dirty jokes, but you could also treat this seriously and color your fairytale fantasy critter world with your own pizazz. The game also will deliver information specifically to your character depending on where you go on the map. For example, the game might hint to you just on your phone that it looks like a treasure chest is hiding off in a certain area. It’s all well throughout and clever. I’m continually impressed with how Sunderfolk is constructed because it is such a smart and savvy adaptation of tabletop principles into a video game wrapper.

On Switch, it bluntly kind of looks bad. It’s not atrocious or anything, but it’s definitely not a looker. The art style is good enough to withstand mediocre visuals and I believe Dreamhaven made the right call to put this game on Switch despite the fact that the game clearly runs worse on Switch. The portable nature is a good fit for the game. Ultimately a lot of your enjoyment will be dependent on if you have a group to consistently play this with. That’s a key reason why this is a review-in-progress and not a fully scored one. I’ve had the game for a week and while I’ve sunk time into it, the true test will be on the longevity of Sunderfolk with a group. You do need multiple people to join in to start a campaign, but after that, you have flexibility. The whole party doesn’t need to be present every single time you play. Characters can stay behind on missions and will level up alongside everyone else (but miss out on found gold and loot). The host player can also control two characters at once (relatively easily toggled at the tap of a button on your phone), so in theory you can play this solo even if it’s not the ideal method of play.

Still, Sunderfolk is best enjoyed with friends, whether it’s online or on the couch. I’m looking forward to furthering my adventures with this game on Switch. It’s an incredibly neat idea and concept that feels right at home on a Nintendo platform. When I can navigate adult life to get a regular group together to play through this, I’ll hopefully be back with a scored review.