The official Dark Souls board game from Bandai Namco and Steamforged Games quickly passes through its crowdfunding goal, raising $200,000 in just two hours.
As the recent record-breaking sales of Dark Souls 3 have shown, the action RPG franchise is incredibly popular – as well as incredibly difficult. Keen to give fans even more of what they want (i.e more Dark Souls related content), Bandai Namco recently announced that it is teaming up with tabletop games maker Steamforged Games to make an official Dark Souls board game. When the project was announced, Steamforged explained that it “could not be more excited to be given the honor of developing a board game that embraces everything that makes Dark Souls the deep, compelling game experience that it is.”
Earlier today, Steamforged began the Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for the project and theboard game has already blitzed through its initial goal and then some. Steamforged was only asking for $70,000, but this goal was surpassed in just three minutes. In less than two hours, that crowdfunding tally had risen to $200,000, meaning that those who have backed the board game have unlocked three player characters and extra cards as stretch goals as well.
Much of the board game’s success is likely down to the fact that Steamforged has pitched it as both accessible and in line with what existing fans of the series may expect. For example, the company explains that “with multiple difficulty modes and a high-level of replayability, this is a game designed to be deep enough to satisfy hard-core tabletop gamers whilst remaining accessible to newer players.” It can also be played solo or co-op, there are various “core” character classes to pick from, and it also promises “fast and deadly” combat as players take on bosses, mini-bosses, and grunts.
Dark Souls ’ bonfires are also featured in the board game with Steamforged saying that “you will experience a new danger as you explore, with each new location a real risk to your hard-won progress,” but “if you die, then you drop everything you have collected and reappear at the nearest bonfire.” Moreover, Steamforged says that in returning to the bonfire and spending Souls to “strengthen up,” players will “fully reset the locations.” Players can also press on and “pray” that the next enemy isn’t beyond their capabilities, says Steamforged, with the company also teasing that “the next location may contain a clue to the Boss and how to defeat them.
The only downside appears to be the board game’s release date, as Steamforged estimates that delivery will take as long as “April 2017.” For those upset that Dark Souls 3 may be the end of the series, that may feel like a long time to wait. Still, perhaps in the meantime fans can try their hand at some wild Dark Souls 3 challenges, such as beating bosses using only their fists.