I don’t want to sound like an elitist—because that’s not the point. The reason Brutal Mode exists isn’t just to make the game hard. It’s about respecting players who love deep, tactical gameplay.
For me, games are at their absolute best when they pull you into a flow state—that moment when your mind fully locks in, when every move is instinctive, when the outside world disappears and you’re just there, fully engaged.
That’s what Brutal Mode is designed for. Not stress. Not frustration. Discovery. Mastery. That moment when you crack a level that once seemed impossible—when you analyze, adapt, and suddenly everything clicks. That’s the magic of deep strategy games.
It might sound absurd talking about “zen moments” in a game where Trolls punch Vikings in the face, but that’s exactly what I’m talking about. When you’re in the zone, the graphics, the setting, the art style—it all fades away. What’s left is just you, your strategy, and the thrill of solving the puzzle.
Trolls is a really cozy looking game, and in some respect it is “too nice” for its tactical depth. We many times debated going full dark-doom Troll art style at one point, but in the end, Mikael Noguchi found a style we really liked that spoke across cultures and ages. Still, the depth of the gameplay remained core. As it always should with a Megapop game.
Your Thoughts?
We’re def keeping an eye on things, and soon we even launch the entire game. If some levels prove truly impossible (they aren’t, by the way, so we hope players crack them, git gud style), we WILL consider some balance tweaks, or maybe drop a strategy video with a couple ways of beating them.
Either way—let us know how we fare so we can optimize the game the best way we can for y‘all.
All the best,
Jørgen Tharaldsen
Game Director, Trolls vs Vikings: Reborn