Among the Trolls walkthrough
Search the cabin and the yard first, talk to the Crow, open the journal with J, then craft a bow and arrows before you follow the story to the first stone portal.
Among the Trolls opens with Anna arriving at her grandfather's island to find the cabin empty, her brother gone and a talking Crow watching from the fence. This walkthrough follows the order the game actually unfolds in: land, read the cabin, talk to the Crow, learn to keep Anna alive, hunt, build, and then step through the first stone portal into a dungeon. It is written for the 1.0 release on 14 October 2026.
The opening hour, step by step
- Arrive and look around the dock. You start with almost nothing. Take the walk to the cabin rather than hunting early; the introduction hands you the first objectives as you go.
- Search the cabin and the yard. The cabin is where the story starts: grandfather's belongings, the backpack he left behind and the surroundings that no longer look the way Anna remembers them. Grandpa's target range sits behind the cabin, so you can practise the bow without spending arrows you do not have.
- Talk to the Crow. The Crow is the guide and the first real dialogue in the game. It withholds as much as it explains, but the conversation opens the journal and sets your first tasks.
- Open the journal with J. Recipes, quest steps and pages you collect live in Anna's journal. Players who skipped the prompt spent their first minutes wondering where the tutorial went.
- Start the survival loop. Hunger, thirst, sleep and temperature all drain on their own timer. Eat and drink before the meters complain, not after.
- Craft a working bow and arrows. You begin with the bow's handle in your pack. Arrows are crafted from sticks, so gather sticks constantly.
- Hunt and cook. Deer are the good early food source and they are alert: crouch, move slowly, take the shot.
- Follow the story to the first portal. Portals are solitary stone arches standing in the kynnykset, the Threshold. You need a Portal Page to open one.
- Enter the first dungeon. Dungeons have their own story, guardians and exits, and they reward preparation: potions, food, arrows and a water canteen.
How the story is structured
The archipelago is Anna's childhood island, and it has changed. Portals inscribed with the same glyphs as her bracelet appear across it, more islands rise around the original one, and the two worlds are merging into an imbalance. Grandfather was a shaman, and his disappearance is tied to whatever broke that balance. You do not have to finish one region before touching another, but the safe order is: cabin and Crow, survival and crafting, hunting for reliable food, then the first portal.
What actually gates progress
| Gate | What unlocks it | Where it bites |
|---|---|---|
| Your first weapon | Bow handle (in your pack from the start) plus crafted arrows | Deer hunt, early creatures |
| Cooking | A campfire and a cooking spot in the world | Hunger, and meals that burn |
| Better tools | Materials from wood, stone and scavenging | Chopping, building, dungeons |
| A bridge | Gathered wood; magic bridges repair broken ones | Islands you cannot swim to |
| A dungeon | A Portal Page for that destination | Story, loot, new routes |
Demo and release differences to watch for
The February demo was a curated slice: non-consecutive sections, chests that do not exist in the full game, no save and no adjustable graphics. Two habits are worth unlearning. The forest chests that handed you recipes are gone, because recipes now come from progression. And because the demo had no save, many players rushed; the release rewards patience with resources.
A practical first session checklist
- Read the cabin and its surroundings before leaving the clearing.
- Learn arrow drop at the target range behind the cabin.
- Keep two meals cooked at all times; food burns if you leave the fire.
- Never fight in water, and never swim toward the Deep Sea.
- Bank wood before you need a bridge.
- Talk to the Crow when it appears; it is the quest giver.
Sources
- Store page and synopsis: Among the Trolls on Steam
- Developer devlogs #1–#13 "Between Realities": Steam news archive
- Official FAQ thread by 505 Pulse: Among The Trolls - FAQs
- Demo known issues and FAQ: Demo FAQs & Known Issues
Game imagery on this page is official promotional material, used for reference.
