TROLLHEIM: GNOMES is a survival and base-building game where you play as a gnome trying to carve out a life in a world that seems designed to squash you. The core loop involves gathering resources, crafting tools, building a shelter, and fending off the hostile creatures that come out when the sun goes down. It is a familiar formula, but the gnome perspective flips the scale in interesting ways: a puddle becomes a lake, a beetle becomes a boss fight, and a discarded boot makes for a decent roof. If you enjoy games like Grounded or Don't Starve, this one will feel immediately recognizable, though it leans harder into the cozy-survival niche than the brutal one. For casual players who want a stress-free building sandbox, it is a good fit; for hardcore PvP fans, look elsewhere. I first noticed it through a short trailer that leaned heavily on the absurdity of riding a frog into battle, and that image stuck with me long enough to give the game a shot.

The first hour was rougher than I expected. The tutorial is thin, and the controls for placing structures took me a while to get used to—there were more than a few moments where I rotated a wall the wrong way and had to start over. Once I stopped fighting the camera and started using the snap-to-grid building system properly, though, things clicked. The standout moment came when a rainstorm hit and my poorly built hut started flooding. I had to scramble to dig drainage channels while a group of angry snails chewed at my fence. It was chaotic, funny, and genuinely tense. The UI is clean and readable, and the game runs smoothly even on a mid-range PC, which is not something I can say for every survival game in early access. The progression system, which unlocks new blueprints as you explore, kept me curious about what was around the next corner.

I have spent a lot of time with Grounded and Smalland, and TROLLHEIM: GNOMES sits comfortably in that same space without feeling like a copy. What kept me playing was the pacing. The early game does not punish you for taking your time—there is no hunger meter screaming at you every thirty seconds—so you can actually enjoy the building. The crafting recipes feel earned rather than grindy, and the community is small but helpful, which matters when you get stuck on a bug or a boss. It does not have the polish or content depth of the bigger names in the genre, but it has a charm that is hard to fake, and for the price, that is a fair trade. I finished my first playthrough wanting to start a second base somewhere else, which is usually a good sign.

• Gnome-scale survival 🐜: The world is full of oversized threats and resources, which makes even routine tasks feel like small adventures.
• Flexible building system 🏠: Walls, floors, and roofs snap together quickly once you learn the controls, so you can build a decent base in minutes.
• Weather events 🌧️: Rain and storms are not just cosmetic; they affect your base and force you to plan ahead.
• Blueprint exploration 🗺️: New recipes are tied to exploration rather than pure grinding, which keeps the map worth checking.

• Charming art style 🎨: The cartoon look fits the gnome theme perfectly and makes the world feel inviting even when it is trying to kill you.
• Forgiving early game 🙂: No constant hunger or thirst meters means new players can learn at their own pace without constant pressure.
• Smooth performance ⚙️: It ran well on my setup with no major stutters or crashes during several hours of play.
• Active small community 🤝: The player base is helpful and the developers seem to listen, which is a big plus for an indie survival game.

• Thin tutorial 😕: New players will likely need to watch a guide or poke around before they understand the building controls.
• Limited content 📦: Compared to bigger survival games, the map and enemy variety are on the smaller side, so completionists may run out of things to do.
• Camera issues 🎥: In tight spaces, the camera sometimes clips through walls, which can make indoor building frustrating.