If you’re anything like me, then few experiences bring as much joy as an impromptu board game night with a group of close friends, especially when the game being played is cooperative in nature.

Collaborating together to overcome difficult challenges in games such as Gloomhaven or Nemesis scratches a unique itch and is consistently a blast even if the result of the game is one of defeat. One major downside to these detailed and complex games, however, is the long setup and play time.

Setting up either of the aforementioned games takes a good 10-15 minutes and running the game itself can often take at least a couple of hours. This isn’t a problem if everyone has the time to spare but my friend group is a busy one, as I’m sure many are, with all of us working full time jobs in addition to having a handful of recurring obligations throughout the week. This scarcity of free time means that board game nights are often few and far between.

Enter Sunderfolk, a newly released couch co-op, turn-based tactical RPG that brings the fun of collaborative board games to the TV screen. With much of the game’s structure and mechanics obviously coming from Gloomhaven, Sunderfolk sees players selecting one of six unique characters to control through a Dungeons & Dragons-esque campaign.

Containing dozens of missions, the campaign features a variety of objective types and gives players a good deal of freedom in deciding how they wish to progress. These missions generally take around 30-40 minutes and are a breeze to play through thanks to everything that would usually take up a good deal of time, such as controlling enemy actions, adjusting the board state, or tracking various resources, being automated.

The plot to the campaign is admittedly on the simple side and isn’t going to blow any minds but its earnest characters and setting are vividly brought to life by the lively and often silly voice acting, seemingly all done by one person to emulate the feeling of having a Dungeon Master running the game.

While the gameplay and narrative of Sunderfolk is fun and charming to say the least, its really the accessibility and ease of play that sets the experience apart.

In a fashion similar to Jackbox, players interact and control Sunderfolk directly through their phones by downloading a companion app. After doing so, all that is needed to join the game is to scan an on-screen QR code, at which point you are all set to play. This companion app contains an intuitive and stream-lined interface that has just about any information you would need to understand the game contained within.

I was honestly skeptical of this phone-based control at first, but after several hours of play, I have come to love the way in which it is implemented. The main appeal of this format is that the TV screen essentially becomes the game board while your phone is your character sheet and reference book. With all of the wordier content being regulated to the companion app, the content displayed on the TV is able to remain free of clutter and easy to digest at a quick glance. Physically interacting through the app also does a great job of emulating the feeling of paging through a rule book or reading through a hand of cards in a way which further adds to the immersion.

With a handful of Sunderfolk game nights already in the books after only owning it for a couple of weeks, it’s safe to say that the game has been a hit within my playgroup. The tactical gameplay manages to scratch the same itch provided by the best collaborative board games and the swift setup and play time has ensured that it will stay in heavy rotation until our campaign is completed. Anyone who enjoys cooperative play experiences owes it to themselves to check out Sunderfolk.

Sunderfolk, developed by Secret Door and published by Dreamhaven, is available on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series for $49.99.

Featured Image: Dreamhaven (via Nintendo)

Boss Rush Podcast – A Podcast about Video Games

The Boss Rush Podcast – A Podcast about Video Games – is the flagship show of the Boss Rush Network and Boss Rush Media. Each week, hosts⁠ Corey Dirrig and LeRon Dawkins⁠ are joined by friends, fellow creators, indie developers, and industry veterans to discuss the latest in the world of video games, including news, rumors, new releases, and what they’ve been playing. They also answer listener questions, debate important industry topics and Boss Rush Banter discussion points, and feature a rotating weekly segment. New episodes post every Monday.

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