If there are two things the indie tabletop gaming scene adores, it's soulslikes and roguelikes. From Nine Sols to Darkest Dungeons, gamers just love giving themselves a hard time. Still, that experience has been hard to recreate on the tabletop solo. After all, the most popular TTRPGs such as Dungeons and Dragons tend towards teamplay. Which if you've played a game of DnD before, also has its fair share of headaches. The upcoming soulslike RPG, Cryptborn, aims to solve that solo issue, preferably with lots of blood and bones.
Cryptborn is a dungeon-crawling solo board game inspired by Dark Souls and with a dash of Darkest Dungeons in its aesthetic. You play as royalty-free Chosen Undead, which is to say, an undead warrior bound to a higher purpose. A sorcerer has cursed you to this unlife, and the only way out is to explore the dungeons from which you spawned.
As befitting a soulslike, Cryptborn sessions are hard, fast, and often brutal. The gameplay flows by choosing your dungeon, rolling to see its layout and encounters, then surviving what you have wrought. Everything you need comes in a single box, and that portability means you can play Cryptborn anytime, anywhere.
The developer has shared early access copies of the game to various content creators, and reception has been mostly positive. For backers, this is a good sign because that means they already have test copies as a proof of concept. Not to mention, it lets them iron out some of the kinks before rolling out to the public.
For my part, I've been enjoying my foray into the world of solo RPGs. As a perpetual busybody, getting to scratch that tabletop itch without adjusting to my friends' time schedules has been a blast. Of course, if and when I pick up Cryptborn, that itch might break the skin, because nothing says tilt like a soulslike.
You can support Cryptborn on Kickstarter until December 4, 2025.
The Wargamer Discord is anything but a solo experience, thanks to being a fast-growing tabletop community. If you'd like to enjoy games with a plus one, these couples board games can be the perfect date.