It's not a great week to be launching a new RPG on Xbox when you've got Oblivion Remastered and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 to compete with, but we wanted to bring your attention to this unique-looking competitor anyway!
Sunderfolk has a release date of April 23rd, launching on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. This is an adventure that can be enjoyed by up to four players, with the twist being that you have to use a free phone app in order to play it.
Basically, it seems like Sunderfolk is trying to take the best bits of a Dungeons and Dragons experience and replicate it in video game form - and the whole idea is that it's geared around playing with friends in a couch co-op setting.
According to the few reviews we've seen so far, it actually succeeds pretty well at that too:
GameSpot (8/10): "Sunderfolk does a great job of emulating the experience of playing a tactical-focused tabletop game with your friends, where the moments you most remember were the ones you and your fellow players made together, not the tale that the Game Master tells."
Polygon: "For a group that likes to play tabletop games together but wants a digital option, especially for remote friends, Sunderfolk should suit their needs. It’s a story of good and evil, filled with fantasy and animals and magic, and ready-made to take a crew through some haphazard adventures."
Ars Technica: "I think Sunderfolk is a success at what it set out to do: Put the cardboard, cards, and dice on the screen and make it easier for everyone to show up. It won’t replace the traditional game night, but it might bring more people into it and remind people like me why it’s so good."
Interesting stuff, then! What you might find even more interesting is that Sunderfolk is the debut game from developer Dreamhaven, which was set up by former Blizzard boss Mike Morhaime - who also co-founded Blizzard in the '90s.
We'll leave you with a few screenshots and more details for Sunderfolk down below.
Sunderfolk is a shared turn-based tactical RPG adventure where your phone becomes the controller. Inspired by gathering around a table with friends, it is built with a couch co-op experience in mind. Up to four players adventure across the magical and dangerous Sunderlands.