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Blizzard veterans craft cute RPG based on one of the greatest board games ever

We spoke to the board game loving developers of Sunderfolk, an adorable Gloomhaven-like, and the first title from former Blizzard CEO's new studio.

Sunderfolk art showing all the characters

Gloomhaven is one of our favorite board games of all time, so when I realized that Secret Door’s first video game, Sunderfolk was basically Gloomhaven with cute animal characters, I was pretty excited.

Right from the off, it couldn’t have been clearer that the game takes  heavy inspiration from Gloomhaven – one of the best board games of all time – as well as tabletop RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons. You and your mates will control a roster of adorable animalfolk beating up baddies in a series of missions, upgrading your characters with new powers and items, and getting to know puffin and hyena villagers in a sweet fantasy world.

I got the chance to meet developer Secret Door, one of two studios that make up Blizzard co-founder Michael Morhaime’s new company Dreamhaven, to try the game and talk to Erin Marek, its director, as well as Chris Sigaty, Secret Door’s studio head.

Sunderfolk tactical gameplay

Secret Door’s mission statement is to bring people together in positive ways, and Sigaty says it was the team’s experiences playing board games together that inspired Sunderfolk.

So, while you can play it all on your lonesome, Sunderfolk is built for couch co-op first and foremost. “We want to get people in the same physical space playing games,” Marek says. “Tabletop games and board games, while they can be played online, I think most people who play them would agree that they’re way better when you’re in person.”

Sunderfolk follows in Gloomhaven’s footsteps pretty closely, from the genre and core gameplay loop right down to some of the specific mechanics, like modifier cards that impact your attacks. Of course, Gloomhaven has its own digital remake, and a pretty popular one at that, so I was particularly keen to hear what sets Sunderfolk apart.

“The biggest thing we’re trying to do is make a game that is as approachable as we can,” says Sigaty. Gloomhaven’s a huge success. I’ve played a lot of it, and I’m a big fan of it as well. But Gloomhaven also is very challenging to understand.”

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He gives the example that in Gloomhaven you start with all your cards in front of you, meaning a lot of choice right from the word go. In contrast, Sunderfolk slowly introduces you to its mechanics and your abilities. You also don’t discard ability cards when you use them like in Gloomhaven, where your options gradually narrow over the course of a mission.

“We’ve purposefully chosen a simpler, easier to understand path, while still trying to add the depth on the number of things you can do that increases over time,” he says.

Sunderfolk also distinguishes itself with its theme. “Our art’s amazing. It’s, like, really cute,” says Marek. “I think it’s a little bit more broadly appealing and accessible to folks. Same with our storylines: we tried to make sure it was more geared towards a broader audience. So, you know, things like we don’t really get too grotesque, we don’t use profanity, we don’t over sexualize things.”

“I think if you’re trying to pull somebody into this hobby, Gloomhaven’s not really the entry point,” she then adds. “The hope is that this is the entry point. They love that, and then you take them and have them play Gloomhaven.”

Sunderfolk screenshot showing dialogue about a beetle.

Personally, one of the things that intrigues me most about this game is the control scheme. You can read more about that in my Sunderfolk impressions piece, but basically, while all the players are usually looking at the game on a shared main screen, your controllers are your smartphones. These also serve as a second screen, like a board game companion app, where you can look up abilities, gameplay rules, and perform various tasks like shopping.

I was quizzical, even skeptical, about this unique style of control, but the game director’s explanation makes sense.

“If you play any other kinds of RPGs that aren’t built for couch co-op first, you run into this challenge,” she says. “Pacing can feel really bad, because while I’m looking at my inventory, you all have to look at it too.”

“This takes away some of that feeling, like, okay, we’re kind of just watching people manage their inventory.” It also reduces the social pressure if you’re someone who wants to think about things and take stock, but doesn’t want to hold up the party.

Sunderfolk in-game shot of all the characters

With Sunderfolk, Secret Door’s aim is to capture a broad audience with an accessible experience that bridges the gap between video games and board games. The team’s love for the tabletop hobby is clear, with Marek thinking of it “like a legacy board game” and Sigaty pitching it as a way to get people who can’t stand lengthy set-ups and rules explanations into the hobby.

In fact, one of the Secret Door devs, Kara Centell-Dunk, had only worked on board games in the past, designing for Fantasy Flight on games like Descent and Mansions of Madness.

Sigaty says, “When [people] finish playing Sunderfolk, if they decide to get into board games or get into tabletop games… that would be an ideal outcome.” At some point, if they found a good partner, he’d love to turn it into a physical board game as well.

For now though, it’s screens only. Sunderfolk will be coming out on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X and S, as well as the Nintendo Switch. It’s due out in 2025.