Hey adventurers, It’s been another hectic month for our dev team. Since our last update, we’ve been hard at work behind the scenes, digging into all the insightful data and feedback from our recent private playtest (a huge thank you to everyone who participated on our official Discord!). Watching you all step into Anna’s shoes for the first time has really helped us figure out what’s next and push forward towards our next big goal. Today, we’re super excited to share that Among the Trolls will be part of the upcoming Steam Next Fest, and along with that, we’re releasing our very first public demo for everyone to try out.
Preparing a demo for a game like Among the Trolls is, to be honest, a bit of a challenge. Unlike a traditional sandbox where every tool is handed to you from the start, our world is a slow burn. The forest doesn’t give up its secrets easily - neither does the story. We ran into a pretty tough challenge: how do we capture the full feel of the experience in just a small snippet? A lot of our key features - like the NPC interactions, complex survival and creating mechanics, and the way we tie in both natural and supernatural elements - are actually woven right into the story itself. In the full game, these mechanics are introduced gradually as Anna discovers her roots and learns the old ways of her grandfather. We therefore had to carefully consider how to build a demo experience, keeping in mind that if we give you everything at once, we spoil the mystery, and if we give you too little, you’ll miss the “soul” of the game.
To solve this, we’ve carefully curated a section of the archipelago that highlights the pillars of our survival-adventure. You’ll be able to play non-consecutive sections of the game to experience:
The atmosphere: Experience the raw beauty and tension of the Finnish wilderness. You’ll come across some mysterious landmarks - some of them will be interactive in this demo (others won’t).
Survival and crafting: Collect resources, make your own tools and weapons, dive into the inventory system, and manage your physical needs.
The story: Jump into Anna’s early journey as she looks for her family, and you may meet some colorful characters along the way.
A taste of the supernatural: While we’re saving the biggest mythological encounters for Early Access, keep your eyes peeled. The forest is watching, and your actions will begin to stir the spirits.
The private playtest taught us that you value immersion above all else. We heard your feedback on the “vibe” of the forest and the weight of the crafting systems. Because of that, we’re using the time between now and Steam Next Fest to carefully polish the feel of the world. If you participated in the playtest, you’ll notice improvements to several features - crafting, tutorials, orientation, hitboxes, and more - as part of our ongoing effort to directly integrate your feedback into the game.
February 12th: Our first public demo goes live
February 19th: Check out the Indie Fan Fest Showcase 👀
February 23rd: Official start of Steam Next Fest (demo update with bug fixes & resolved known issues)
We understand the wait has felt pretty long, but as we gear up for our 2026 launch, this demo marks a really important step forward. It’s a great chance for us to collect even more of your feedback and ideas. That’s why we’re inviting you to join our official Discord - we’ll be creating dedicated channels just for demo discussions, so you can easily share your thoughts and experiences with us! We can’t wait to see you in the woods. 🌲