Dreamhaven, the publisher of Blizzard co-founder and former CEO Mike Morhaime, has announced a new game that combines elements of tabletop RPGs with party games like Jackbox. Sunderfolk seems like a more casual pick-up and play of something like Gloomhaven.
This title is “designed for players who love tabletop, board, and video games.” This is a two-screen experience, with players actually controlling various aspects of the game with their smartphones. You know, the same as the hugely popular Jackbox series. The “tactical couch co-op RPG” is being touted as a way for veteran tabletop players to introduce their less experienced friends to the genre.
Thunderfolk can be played by up to four players at the same time and has six hero classes like bards, arcanes, rangers, and the usual suspects. The TV becomes the main screen and the mobile phone acts as a controller as the user interacts with the game board. The story depicts a town that is attacked by various monsters and is in dire straits. In other words, it’s a normal fantasy RPG.
The unique control scheme seems to eliminate some of the barriers to entry for this type of game, such as steep learning curves and long setup times. Like many tabletop RPGs, it is cooperative in nature, not competitive. You and your friends compete against the world.
dream heaven
According to the designers, Thunderfolk was created with couch co-op play in mind, but online play is also possible. The game will be released for Nintendo Switch, PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S in 2025, and will also come with an iOS/Android companion app.
Kotaku was able to try out the game during a preview event and was mostly impressed on the spot, saying, “Working cooperatively with other players quickly turned into a thrilling spectacle of a TTRPG game night.” said. However, the site also notes that the complexity of the gameplay may not appeal to beginners. In other words, it’s more Gloomhaven than Jackbox.
