Among the Trolls News

[p]Hi Adventurers,
[/p][p]Here we are with a new update for the Demo focused on better user interface, quests and quality of life following your feedback. Thank you for your help, we are dedicating ourselves to make your experiences enjoyable!
[/p][p]Below is the full list of fixes and improvements included in this patch.
[/p][p]Key Fixes[/p]

• [p]Added "Skip" feature to first and last cutscenes.[/p]
• [p]Fixed visual artifacts in the dungeon (walls appearing too dark/black).[/p]

• [p]Improved enemy behaviour: more consistent pathfinding, and fixed a case where a melee enemy would not attack in a specific spot.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a progress blocker: if the player was aiming the bow when a cutscene started, the player could get stuck.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a dungeon death edge case where barricades respawned without collision.
  [/p]

[p]World[/p]

• [p]Erased mesh from cabin[/p]
• [p]Removed an invisible collision in a world area.[/p]
• [p]Fixed parts of a fence placed incorrectly.[/p]
• [p]Add Patrolling Enemies near ruins.
  [/p]

[p]Gameplay & Combat[/p]

• [p]Fixed inconsistent states when picking up items while blocking or aiming the bow.[/p]

[p] [/p][p]UI, Inventory & Menus[/p]

• [p]Fixed an inventory prompt (potions/herbs) that disappears when hovering with the mouse.[/p]
• [p]Fixed quickslot issues: arrows not showing on the first bow equip, and the quickslot showing invalid weapons after an early dialogue.[/p]
• [p]Fixed pause menu navigation: ESC now correctly goes back from “Controls” and “Tutorials”.[/p]
• [p]Fixed button icons and their behaviours[/p]

[p] [/p][p]Quests & Text[/p]

• [p]Fixed broken formatting in multiple quest descriptions.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a quest being shown twice with empty entries after reaching the open world.[/p]

• [p]Added the notification when unlocking a recipe.[/p]

[p]
Thank you for your help! We’ll continue monitoring your feedback and reports to further improve the experience. [/p]

[p]Hi Adventurers,
[/p][p]Here we are with a new update for the Demo focused on gameplay, quality of life, and general polish. Thank you for all your feedback - as always, it’s been incredibly helpful!
[/p][p]Below is the full list of fixes and improvements included in this patch.
[/p][p] Gameplay & Progression[/p]

• [p]Food added to the Dungeon inventory to prevent accidental deaths caused by stat drain during that section.[/p]
• [p]Patrolling enemies added to the island – expect more encounters while exploring.[/p]
• [p]UI / UX Improvements[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue with Confirm / Cancel buttons when changing resolution settings.[/p]
• [p]Improved cursor visibility in the Wishlist screen.[/p]
• [p]Added an Exit button to the Wishlist page.[/p]
• [p]Journal update: newly collected and special pages now open automatically, making them easier to notice and read.[/p]

[p]Quests, Cutscenes & Triggers[/p]

• [p]Fixed an issue where players could no longer talk to the Crow and hand over cooked meat after exhausting certain dialogue options.[/p]
• [p]Added a first-death cutscene that explains Sisu if you are killed by an enemy.[/p]

[p]General[/p]

• [p]General performance and stability improvements.[/p]
• [p]Minor bug fixes.
  [/p]

[p]Thank you for your help! We’ll continue monitoring your feedback and reports to further improve the experience.[/p]

[p]Hi Adventurers, [/p][p] 
We’ve just rolled out a new update for the Demo focused on stability improvements, combat fixes, and general polish. Thank you for all your feedback  - it’s been incredibly helpful! [/p][p]  [/p][p]Below is the full list of fixes and improvements included in this patch. [/p][p]  [/p][p]Gameplay & Combat Fixes [/p]

• [p]Fixed an issue where monsters would chase the player but fail to become hostile or attack properly. [/p]

• [p]Resolved a combat bug that allowed players to defeat enemies in one-on-one encounters without giving them a chance to strike back. [/p]

• [p]Fixed arrow collision issues with broken barriers inside the dungeon. [/p]

• [p]Removed invisible collision walls that were blocking player movement along certain trails. [/p]

[p]  [/p][p]Quests & Journal [/p]

• [p]Fixed inconsistent information between the “Dungeon Start” quest step and the quest journal. [/p]

• [p]Removed a placeholder image that was incorrectly displayed on the first page of the Journal. [/p]

• [p]Fixed an issue where Anna’s hands appeared invisible the first time she opened the Journal (including after the dialogue with the Crow). [/p]

• [p]Fixed a bug where dying while the map was open prevented players from accessing the map after respawning. [/p]

[p]  [/p][p] Stability & Performance Improvements [/p]

• [p]Fixed a memory leak that could cause an “Out of Memory” crash on PCs with 16GB of RAM. [/p]

• [p]Resolved a crash that occurred when switching off Virtual Shadow Maps. [/p]

• [p]General stability improvements and crash fixes. [/p]

[p] [/p][p]We’ll continue monitoring your feedback and reports to further improve the experience![/p]

[p][/p][p]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. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]Crafting... the Demo 🔨[/h3][p][/p][p]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. [/p][p][/p][h3]What to Expect in the Demo 👀[/h3][p][/p][p]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: [/p]

• [p]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). [/p]

• [p]Survival and crafting: Collect resources, make your own tools and weapons, dive into the inventory system, and manage your physical needs.[/p]

• [p]The story: Jump into Anna’s early journey as she looks for her family, and you may meet some colorful characters along the way. [/p]

• [p]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.[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][h3]Reflections from the Playtest 🎮[/h3][p][/p][p]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. [/p][p]  [/p][h3]Important Dates 📅[/h3][p][/p]

• [p]February 12th: Our first public demo goes live [/p]

• [p]February 19th: Check out the Indie Fan Fest Showcase 👀 [/p]

• [p]February 23rd: Official start of Steam Next Fest (demo update with bug fixes & resolved known issues) [/p]

[p]  [/p][p]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. 🌲 [/p]

[p]

In the stories told close to the fire, Portals have never been “convenient doors.” They are oaths of stone, carved with runes and guarded by silences as long as winters. People say the forest swallowed them, then spat them back out when someone speaks the right word. [/p][p]Dungeons, instead, are places that remember. Stepping inside is like putting your foot into an ancient tale… and finding out that the fairy tale, sometimes, bites. 
[/p][p]In the past few months, we’ve talked a lot about the forest that gives life to Among The Trolls. but it won’t be the only place you’ll get to explore. [/p][p]Scattered across the archipelago are ancient structures resembling portals - gates leading to dungeons you’ll need the courage to face if you want to uncover what truly brought you here. Places with weight, ritual, and personality. [/p][p]  [/p][h3]Gates engraved in the Kynnykset  
[/h3][p]Among birches and lichens, you may catch sight of solitary arches made of ancient stone, marked by a symbol Anna has the unsettling feeling she’s seen somewhere before. Where, is a question only you will be able to answer. These structures - almost out of place - are the portals. [/p][p]They are not carved into the rock, nor rooted in the earth. They stand in a place called kynnykset, the Threshold. It was the tietäjät - the shamanic keepers of these islands - who forged them with arts few still remember.

 [/p][p]Some of these portals lead very far away, others to places that demand careful preparation. You’ll be called to uncover why they exist - and, above all, what they protect. Just keep in mind that the Threshold does not forgive those who cross it carelessly. [/p][p]Once you’ve located them, opening these gates will require Portal Pages. Think of them as pages bound to a destination… and to its “word.” By using them, you’ll open true passages into Dungeons. [/p][p]  [/p][h3]Dungeons, places with their own story 
[/h3][p]We’ve designed dungeons as places with a distinct identity, each telling a specific story. Without major spoilers, one thing is certain: they are not all the same. Some will be shrouded in mystery; in others, you’ll feel constant tension and be forced to find a way to survive; and some will feel like places someone truly used. [/p][p]
[/p][p]Once you’ve completed their exploration, you’ll be faced with two options: return to the same place where you entered, or emerge somewhere else. [/p][p]When the exit leads elsewhere, one of our favorite ideas comes into play: an alternate way out - a stone opening, a “different” fissure, a passage that feels like it has been waiting for you forever. But even here, exits aren’t always immediately usable. You’ll need something else before you can change your route. [/p][p]  [/p][p]Each time you find a new page, you’ll know that you’ll be able to open a passage - one that may hide knowledge, treasures, or take you where no other path could ever reach. [/p][p]
[/p]