505 Games held a Spring Showcase today, and for me its shining star is Among the Trolls. The first-person survival action game has its roots in Finnish folklore, which is where my interest is piqued – I admit that I know very little when it comes to European folklore, and I’m always interested to learn about new things via video games not necessarily meant to teach them. In the game, the protagonist chooses Alex or Anna and travel to Finland from the US to visit their grandparents in an isolated cabin. But that’s where things go horribly wrong.
When Alex/Anna arrives, they find the cabin has been abandoned. There are no grandparents in sight. As a result, they are pulled into a world of Nordic mythology and childhood memories. The combination is intriguing. Alex/Anna will have to learn how to survive in the wilderness while dealing with supernatural creatures and the world’s animalistic nature. Of course, their greatest goal is to find their grandparents. Apparently their grandfather has something to do with runes, so those will come into play as well.
Here’s the (quite short) trailer:
In addition to Finnish folklore, the game uses ancient shamanistic magic to help propel it forward. Players will build, settle, and survive in the unforgiving backcountry. Now, what I know of Finland is basically limited to Finnish detective shows, but I do know that deep in the woods is probably quite a difficult place to survive on your own with basically nothing on hand. The game’s description promises an audiovisual experience. It is set in a 3D world and combines nostalgia, strangeness, instrumentation, and authentic sounds.
Key to surviving among the trolls are magical attributes: Gain Sisu (Grit), Väki (Magic), and Lykky (Luck). These ancient traits affect and intertwine with other character attributes as well as the environment, the player’s actions, resources, and creates (both natural and supernatural).
Developed by Forbidden Studios and published by 505 Games, Among the Trolls will be released for PC via Steam’s Early Access later this year. It can be added to your Steam wishlist now.
