Trollheim: Gnomes, a new survival crafting game for PC based on Nordic folklore that IGN announced as part of IGN Fan Fest, comes from a team of ex-Mojang developers who all grew up playing in the Nordic woods and hearing folk tales of Spr\u00fdg Gnomes and other creatures and want to make a game about it. I got an early look at it, and there’s one key thing that might set it apart in a very, very crowded genre: combat is optional.<\/p>\n
You’ll gather building materials and as you level up, you’ll be able to not only craft more and more intricate and complex structures, but you’ll able to do so higher and higher up in the trees. It might be best thought of like living in a dark-forest version of a condo high-rise: the best unit is the penthouse. And you will run into opposition in the form of the V\u00e4sen, who are signficantly larger than your three-inch-tall gnome. All of that sounds pretty run-of-the-mill, right? But that’s where the combat-optional hook comes in. The V\u00e4sen won’t attack you on sight. They will if you antagonize them, but intriguingly, you can also befriend them by bringing them food or other items they need. <\/p>\n
“If you want to hang out and make it cozy, that’s up to you, said game director Jojje Dalunde. “You will always be able to achieve the same goals using a friendly approach as you would a hostile approach.” Added studio founder Bjorne Larson, “We want combat to feel intentional. It’s an opt-in. You will always know that you’re stepping into something you might not be able to handle. You will be able to just enjoy your time with your friends and live the cozy experience of being this tiny Spr\u00fdg Gnome.”<\/p>\n
Adding to the cozy-if-you-want-it-to-be appeal of Trollheim are two welcome features: co-op and procedural generation. No matter how many people play with you (the max in one world is eight players), the Dark Forest \u2013 which the developers call a “main character” in Trollheim \u2013 will procedurally generate every time you start a new game, which should help the woods always feel new and mysterious. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\nTrollheim: Gnomes – First Screenshots<\/h3>\n