TrollHunters: Defenders of Arcadia Demo Impressions

Wayforward, the same developers who brought us A Boy and his Blob, Shantae, and Mystic Belle, bring us Trollhunters: Defenders of Arcadia, a side-scrolling action game in collaboration with producer Outright Games. Taking place in the same universe as Guillermo Del Torro’s Trollhunters, 3 Below, and Wizards. In it, you play as Jim, the first troll hunter. With Merlin’s help, he must travel through time to correct the disruptions in the timeline caused by the troll trickster, Porgon. Jim will also face familiar foes such as Angor Rot, Gunmar, and Morgana.

The core gameplay loop of Trollhunters: Defenders of Arcadia involves platforming and fighting your way across levels based off locations from the Netflix TV series. Jim faces a variety of enemies and there are also puzzles which will require the assistance of various characters to solve. Toby can come down with a fat hammer and break down walls, while Walt can create small stone pillars to give Jim an extra boost for his jumps. Jim also has his own arsenal of weapons and techniques which allow him to appropriately challenge the unique foes that he will face, such as sliding to navigate tight spaces, or throwing the glaive to space out his opponents. In the worst case scenario, if the game is proving too difficult to beat alone, it also offers two-player couch co-op, which is perfect if for children to play with each other, or with their parents instead of fighting over the controller.

Each level has a host of collectibles and various currencies that Jim can collect to buy various upgrades and items at the troll market. Jim can collect gold in order to buy new armor to increase his health. Gnomes can be used to play minigames in the troll market, like the gnome toss (it is exactly what it sounds like.) The last collectible you can find is socks; trolls love smelly old socks and they will happily trade you other specialty items in exchange for these.

Not all trolls are bad, and many are happy dwelling in their personal underworld with no desire to take over the human world. The troll market is an example of how wonderful life can be—it teems with life, commerce, and its own form of magical blend of technology. There are a variety of vendors and trolls hanging around, either waiting to provide assistance or trade Jim items to aid him in his journey. It is also through the troll market that Jim can access Merlin’s time chamber, which allows him to revisit any of the levels he has already completed, as well as face off against the bosses he has already defeated. With over 20 levels, each filled with secrets, there is a lot of replay value.

TrollHunters: Defenders of Arcadia looks to be very promising, whether you are a casual platformer/explorer, or a hardcore fan of the series. It is fully voiced with the original actors (with the exception of Anton Yelchin, may he rest in peace).

TrollHunters: Defenders of Arcadia will be available for Xbox One, PC via Steam, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4 on September 25th, 2020.

For more information, please visit: https://outrightgames.com/games/trollhunters/

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