Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Realm of the Trolls delivers a classic platforming experience with a modern twist. You’ll traverse over 200 meticulously designed screens, each presenting unique challenges and cleverly placed hazards. Armed with a gun and bolts of energy, your primary tasks include shooting through waves of trolls, dodging traps, and solving simple but satisfying environmental puzzles. The pacing strikes a good balance, alternating between frenetic combat sequences and tension-building platform jumps.

One of the most compelling features is the included construction kit, which grants players the ability to craft their own levels. From customizing enemy placements to tweaking platform timing, this tool empowers you to experiment with creative layouts and share them with friends. The intuitive interface, though requiring a short learning curve, ensures that builder and player communities can quickly generate and explore fresh content, dramatically extending replay value beyond the main campaign.

Controls feel tight and responsive, whether you’re using the traditional joystick or trying out the mouse control on 16-bit systems. Although mouse input might seem impractical at first glance, it surprisingly offers smooth aiming for your gun and energy bolts, making it a viable alternative for players seeking precision. Occasional moments of pixel-perfect jumping demand quick reflexes, but the game’s forgiving checkpoint system helps maintain momentum and reduces frustration.

Difficulty ramps up steadily, introducing new troll variants and environmental obstacles at a measured pace. Boss encounters scattered throughout the journey provide welcome breaks from standard foes, testing both your shooting accuracy and platforming skills. Collectibles and hidden secrets encourage exploration, rewarding thorough players with extra lives and special weapon upgrades.

Graphics

Realm of the Trolls features highly detailed sprite work that brings each character and enemy to life. Troll designs range from squat, lumbering brutes to wiry, agile tricksters, each animated with a surprising level of personality. Your protagonist’s movements are fluid, whether running, jumping, or firing energy bolts. The vibrant color palettes used on sprites stand out against more subdued backgrounds, ensuring gameplay elements always remain clear.

Backgrounds adopt a minimalist aesthetic, opting for flat color gradients and simple textures rather than ornate scenery. This design choice effectively creates a moody atmosphere, evoking the sense of an ominous realm dominated by trolls. While some players may miss elaborate parallax scrolling or richly painted environments, the stark backdrops keep focus on action and help maintain consistent performance across hardware.

The construction kit also supports sprite customization, allowing level creators to swap in new enemy graphics or tweak color schemes for a personalized look. This flexibility can lead to inventive visual mash-ups, from neon-drenched arenas to shadowy woodlands crawling with trolls. Sharing these custom designs with the community enhances the game’s visual diversity and keeps the experience feeling fresh.

On 16-bit platforms, the option to use mouse control doesn’t just affect gameplay; it also grants access to an on-screen cursor that feels at home within the construction environment. This duality between keyboard/joystick and mouse elevates both level building and in-game interaction, giving players multiple ways to experience the game’s visual presentation.

Story

The narrative premise of Realm of the Trolls is straightforward: trolls have emerged in overwhelming numbers, threatening the very existence of humanity. You assume the role of a lone hero, equipped with advanced weaponry and energy-based projectiles, tasked with eliminating the troll menace. Though the storyline is delivered through brief text interludes rather than fully animated cutscenes, it provides enough context to fuel your mission.

Levels are loosely tied together with mission briefs that outline objectives, whether it’s rescuing captive villagers or destroying troll war machines. These short mission statements keep the stakes high without bogging the player down in exposition. Each new region you enter—ranging from mist-shrouded forests to underground caverns—advances the plot by revealing more about the trolls’ origins and the hero’s motivations.

Character development is kept to a minimum, but the game leverages environmental storytelling to fill in narrative gaps. Subtle details, such as abandoned campsites or scattered journals, hint at past struggles and civilian desperation. This approach effectively immerses players in a world on the brink of collapse without interrupting the fast-paced action.

While the story may not break new ground, it delivers a solid framework that frames your platforming adventures. The construction kit even allows creators to craft their own narrative-driven levels, complete with custom text prompts and unique boss designs, furthering the game’s storytelling potential through player-generated content.

Overall Experience

Realm of the Trolls offers an engaging blend of traditional platforming and user-driven creativity. With over 200 crafted levels, plus potentially countless user-made screens, the core campaign provides substantial entertainment value. The inclusion of a level editor and mouse control on 16-bit systems distinguishes it from many contemporaries, fostering a vibrant modding community.

Performance remains solid throughout, even during hectic on-screen battles with dozens of trolls. The minimalist backdrops contribute to this stability, ensuring that large sprite counts never compromise frame rates. Combine that with tight controls and thoughtful level design, and you get a game that feels polished from start to finish.

Though the story is relatively concise, environmental cues and mission-based objectives deliver enough narrative to keep players invested. The emphasis on action, rather than deep lore, aligns well with the gameplay focus, making it accessible to both casual gamers and series veterans seeking quick thrills.

Overall, Realm of the Trolls is a compelling purchase for platforming enthusiasts who appreciate both a robust single-player campaign and the freedom to unleash their creativity. With its classic mechanics enhanced by modern features, it’s a title that balances nostalgia with innovation, ensuring longevity well beyond the initial playthrough.

Retro Replay Score

5.7/10