KPop Demon Hunters has proven to be the sleeper hit of the summer. This Netflix original has upended the pop charts and spread like wildfire amongst fans of catchy tunes and supernatural battles. While Huntr/x and the Saja Boys may have been created for the movie, their influence is as real as ever.
The film is a mere 95 minutes long but role playing game fans cn extend the experience by checking out several different games. Modern supernatural games are very popular and different games feature different amount of focus on the action, horror and romance found in KPop Demon Hunters.
This is by no means a comprehensive list of monster hunting role playing games. It’s a combination of popular titles, personal preference and interesting explorations of the design space. I hope that you tell me about your favorites in the comments and social media.
Monster of the Week
This Powered By The Apocalypse game does an amazing job making players feel like they are stars of their own monster hunting TV show like Supernatural Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Everyone selects a playbook, such as the Chosen or the Monstrous and makes choices not just for their character but also for the dynamic of the group plus how the forces of darkness in the world work. Even if you’re not a fan of this style of game, Monster of the Week contains fantastic advice for running modern games full of investigation, horror and action.
The game recently released two expansions, one for each side of the table full of great new options and advice. Slayer’s Survival Guide offers new playbooks for individuals and the whole team with new ways to put the bad guys down. Hunter’s Journal takes a deep dive into all the playbooks in the game to give players more control over their story and Keepers advice on how to complicate the story.
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Hunter: The Reckoning
Most of the modern supernatural fantasy world owes a debt to World of Darkness which helped expand the concept of a modern world full of hidden monsters over the better part of the decade. It allowed players to become vampires, werewolves and other monsters who struggle with their dark powers. Hunter: The Reckoning puts players in the role of regular people who know monsters are real and can’t go back to their old, boring lives.
The current iteration of the game gives characters touchstones who are people that connect the main characters back to the normal world. In the case of hunters, these are often the folks they are fighting for such as loved ones, friends and others who they don’t want to discover the truth about the world. This gives players a chance to play out some tender, quiet scenes in between the blades and the blood.
iHunt
Oftentimes, demon hunters are part of secretive organizations or bloodlines with thousand year histories. In the modern world, it seems like there would be at least one Silicon Valley start up looking to disrupt the monster slaying industry. That’s the premise of iHunt where characters are killing monsters in the gig economy.
iHunt refreshes the comedy and horror of media like Ghostbusters to find great stories in the clash of commerce and supernatural monsters. Slaying a demon is hard enough but doing it well enough to get a five star rating increases the tension. Add in the highs and lows of social media and you’ve got a fascinating take on a classic genre.
Urban Shadows
One of the great things about cities is how people of all different cultures learn to coexist. Urban Shadows applies that concept to supernatural creatures who have to learn to live together to make sure they aren’t revealed and cause a global panic. Players play the important members of monster and human factions who must work together to deal with problems that arise in their cities as well as the intrigues of those factions who might use those problems to seize power.
One of the most fun parts of this style of game is looking at the city where the players reside through a supernatural conspiracy lens. Connecting monsters to real life neighborhoods makes things seem more real and lets players explore their feelings about the place they live through telling stories. It also makes inspiration for next week’s session as simple as walking down the block or watching the news.
Monsterhearts 2
Fans who want to lean into the romantic aspects of these stories should check out Monsterhearts 2. The second edition of game does an amazing job of helping players build the tangled web of emotion and attraction within a teenage friend group. Then it turns some of those teens into monsters and bounces players off of each other for great drama.
While there are classic monsters to play, the human teenager options are just as flawed and fabulous to play. The mean girl at the head of her popular clique can be just as cruel as a thousand year old demon. A vampire might be killed by a stake through their heart but a mortal lover can break that heart just the same and make them wish they were dead.
Feng Shui 2
Speaking of excellent sequels, Feng Shui 2 carries on the original game’s tradition of over the top action inspired by Hong Kong cinema. Players are big action heroes who are battle threats from across multiple timelines and dimensions. While most of these games are spooky or downright scary, this one encourages players to take big chances to blast bad guys in the face.
The Underworld connects the different eras of the game and it’s chock full of demons and other bad spirits for the players to put down. This game makes it very easy to jump into the action with dozens of ready made templates to put together a wild combination of heroes. For example, the ancient kung fu master, the post-apocalyptic warrior, the ghost and the plucky kid all come together in this game to save the day.
KPop Demon Hunters is now playing on Netflix. The games mentioned in this list can be purchased directly from the publishers, through online retailers and at Friendly Local Gaming Stores.
