Done more research into the game (trawling through Board Game Geek forums)...
So the combat portion of the game will largely play out on a large 2'x3' gameboard (painted, not 3D printed as shown in video).
That board is essentially an arena, where 1-6 hunters/survivors chase around a single boss mob.
There's no dungeon crawling - the general premise is more akin to Monster Hunter than Dark Souls.
It's designed to be difficult; the designer is a bit of a masochist, and wants to build strong stories of survival out of the game.
PCs are likely to be killed... often and repeatedly.
That said, the meta-game isn't about tracking individual PCs across a campaign; it'll be about bringing resources and knowledge back to your village/settlement - and buffing that, and sending out progressively better new hunters.
Old hunters that survive gain small buffs to experience, but also gain debuffs (losing limbs, losing sanity), adding to their storied feeling, but not adding much to their 'power'.
Sounds like an interesting game... a board game based boss-rush with extremely intricate miniatures.
It's not exactly what I wanted (I wanted the spiritual successor to Warhammer Quest, replete with large bestiary), but it sounds very intriguing in its own right. I've kept my $300+ pledge, even now that I understand what I'm actually buying into.
Exploring a beautiful game board with these figures would be amazing.
