Get your phone ready and put your tactical thinking cap on, becauseSunderfolkis finally on sale - and you can check out a free trial on Steam now, before you buy. Although Steam’s Summer Sale hasn’t quite arrived yet (it’s currently scheduled to begin on the 26th), deals and discounts abound on the digital storefront. Those include a great deal on an excellent tactical game that came out just earlier this year.
I’m here to sing the praises ofSunderfolk,a brilliant, whimsical tactical RPG by debut developer Secret Door. With an Overwhelmingly Positive recent review rating on Steam, and a free demo available now on multiple platforms, you really have no excuse not to play - especially now, while it’s on sale.
What Is Sunderfolk?
A Tactical RPG With A D&D Slant
Sunderfolkis a tactical RPG in the tabletop vein, although, as technical director Alan Dabiri said in aninterview withScreen Rant, “some of the aspects in our game, there’s just nothing like it.” At the beginning of a campaign, you and up to three friends will each choose a character from one of six preset classes, each of which has unique powers and a role in combat. You’ll then delve into an expansive, multi-chapter campaign composed of variable missions. Each mission has a unique objective: defeat a certain enemy, survive a certain amount of time, save a certain character, et cetera.
Each character plays differently, usually using a different resource that allows them to deal damage, buff allies, or withstand extra damage. Turn by turn, you’ll select from a small collection of ability cards, then choose from a second deck to determine your chosen move’s result.Building out your two decks- to ensure both that you have a variety of useful abilities, and that you’re mitigating as many negative results as possible -is a huge part of the game’s strategy.
In between battles,you’ll explore a colorful town full of animal residents of all shapes and sizes. You’ll take on sidequests for NPCs, choose who to develop relationships with, and invest the spoils of battle to upgrade the various facilities above town, which will reward you with character items and upgrades in turn. It’s incredibly well-paced: high-risk, chaotic battles are perfectly interspersed with more thoughtful moments of strategic quiet.
Why You Should Play It
A Lot To Love In Sunderfolk
If you’re at all into tactical RPGs or co-op tabletop games, thenyou’ll find a lot to love inSunderfolk. In general, it’s just a really well-made RPG - character abilities are easy enough to understand that even a total beginner can pick them up and play, but the wealth of cards and items you can use to customize them keep things complicated enough for genre veterans. It’s easy and approachable on the default difficulty, but if you crank it up even just one level, it becomes a punishing experience where even the slightest misstep can lead to total mission failure.
However, also worth noting isthe innovativeness and flexibility ofSunderfolk’s multiplayer features.Screen Rant’s reviewer compares itfavorablyto the Jackbox Party Pack: only one player actually needs to buy a copy ofSunderfolk, and you control the game with a special smartphone app instead of a traditional game controller. To play long-distance, you can even stream it using, for example, Discord’s screen-sharing features. The use of personal devices allows every player to customize their experience - one player can check an enemy’s stats while another is planning their next move.
If you’re having friends over to playSunderfolk, have them bring their phone chargers along - like most mobile games, it tends to drain your battery.
Beyond that, cute and clever multiplayer features, like the ability to name custom enemy types and buildings around town, contribute tocamaraderie and a sense of collaborative fun. This isn’t anOvercooked-style co-op game, where you wind up yelling at your loved ones for letting the rice burn - at least in my experience, conversations were lighthearted, and almost entirely focused on figuring out the best strategy without stepping on each other’s toes.
What’s Included In The Sunderfolk Free Trial
4 Missions, Playable Indefinitely
Now,Sunderfolkis currently on sale on Steam, PS5, and Xbox for $39.99, a 20% discount off its regular $49.99 price tag. It’ll be on sale at this price until June 26 on Steam - July 3 on PS5. But that’s still a lot of money to spend sight unseen - in case you want to try before you buy,you can download a free trial to checkSunderfolkout.
Sunderfolkis also available on the Nintendo Switch, but it’s not currently on sale on that platform.
The free trial ofSunderfolkcan be played either solo or with one to four players, just like the full game. It does require you to download the mobile app, which is also free. Once you’re in, though,you’re able to play through the first four missions of the game. You can test out some of the six playable characters, explore the town a little bit, and even choose your fourth mission - a tactic that becomes important later in the game, as you may choose your next mission based on sidequests or rewards.
Crucially,the free trial ofSunderfolkdoes let you transfer your save fileover to the full game if you choose to buy it later. So really, you have nothing to lose - if you’re curious, but not sure that it’s for you, you can download the free trial today, play it through, and decide later whether you like it. Just verify to commit before June 26 if you want to getSunderfolkat its sale price on Steam, though.
