Ethan Crossfield 
Trollheim: Gnomes has been officially revealed as an open-world fantasy survival game built around cooperative play, Nordic folklore and unusually flexible base construction. Its first trailer offers an early look at a PC project that lets up to eight players explore the dangerous Dark Forest, gather supplies and face enormous mythical creatures known as Väsen.
What happened: Trollheim: Gnomes makes its debut
Announced on October 14, Trollheim: Gnomes is the first video game set in the wider Trollheim universe, which already includes the fantasy book Trollheim: Tale of Sýstir. The setting has its own lore and stories, with plans to extend the property into other forms of media, including music. In the game, displaced gnomes enter the Dark Forest in search of somewhere safe to settle. The forest has room for newcomers, but surviving there means finding allies, reconnecting with other gnomes and dealing with hostile threats. The debut trailer establishes a survival-focused loop of exploration, crafting, resource collection and cooperative combat.
Why it matters: Building freedom meets folklore threats
The most distinctive part of the reveal is the housing system. Rather than limiting players to designated plots, Trollheim: Gnomes intends to let them establish homes across much of the forest. Players can build in treetops, inside hollow logs, beside misty lakes or within rocky spaces, giving the game a strong vertical and environmental angle. Early footage also shows elaborate player-built structures, suggesting the system could support creative group settlements rather than simple utility shelters. Combat appears designed around the gnomes' small scale. Trolls tower over players, and one trailer moment shows a creature being attacked while caught in a trap, hinting that preparation and positioning may matter as much as direct damage. Not every Väsen is an enemy, however; some mythical beings may assist players during their journey.
What to watch next: Early Access plans and core features
Trollheim: Gnomes does not yet have a release date or release window, but its route to launch is clear: it will arrive in Steam Early Access before a full 1.0 version. The planned Early Access build is expected to include the foundational survival experience, multiple biomes, several Väsen, tiered crafting and processing, cooking, treehouse construction, vertical movement, caves and underground exploration. Both solo play and online co-op are planned, with multiplayer supporting groups of up to eight. For now, the game is exclusive to PC and can be wishlisted through Steam.
Key takeaways for players
- Trollheim: Gnomes is planned as a PC-exclusive Steam release.
- Up to eight players will be able to cooperate in the same survival world.
- Base building is designed to support locations such as trees, logs, rock spaces and lakesides.
- The Dark Forest includes hostile Väsen such as trolls, alongside some potentially helpful creatures.
- The game will launch through Steam Early Access, but no date has been announced.
Expert View
Trollheim: Gnomes has not shown enough combat or progression detail to prove it can stand out in a crowded survival market, but its strongest hook is clear: making a folklore-heavy world feel inhabited from the ground up. If its open-ended building and giant-creature encounters deliver on the trailer's promise, the game could appeal to co-op groups looking for a more handcrafted alternative to standard survival sandboxes.
