One Troll Army, Developed by FlyAnvil who have mostly developed games for the web and not standalone platforms, is a game where you control a massive Troll who has been awoken by the chanting of nearby Goblins. Using both the Troll and the Goblins you will defend their little castle, growing it from a small hamlet to a castle made of stone and iron, with towers housing archers on them to defend against the onslaught of Trolls, Rhinos and any other creature who doesn’t like the look of you.
Story
The game starts off with a little introduction to the little encampment of Goblins, praying to whatever gods they believe in to defend them against their neighbours who are hell bent on killing them all. All this racket actually wakes up a nearby troll from a cave, with some back and forth between the small goblins and the huge troll the troll decides he will help the goblins in their defence. From here the story is pretty much just the game being played, moving onto different settlements to set them all up to their maximum level of protection.
There are 3 maps to complete in this game, from wood to Iron to Stone along with Endless and Survival modes allowing you to go through all the stages. It won’t take long to complete the 3 main maps, around an hour for each, however this time can change as it is optional to move onto the next map or completely finish the map you’re currently on. There isn’t much point in replaying the same maps as they do not change too much from game to game, the game time will only really be increased through Survival and Endless modes.
Gameplay
One Troll Army slyly combines a few genres together to make a rather simple yet interesting game, with mechanics from games like StarCraft, Black & White and 4X games. You will be controlling the Troll with your mouse and number buttons for skills, while also controlling what is being built within the castle and where the builders will be working. The main objective is to complete the in-game missions to be able to progress onto the next map.
Controlling the Troll is rather easy, left click to move or attack a unit, pressing the icons for his skills or using the attached number for them. The Troll can be upgraded as you collect Materials and Gold, from the bodies of fallen foes or selling Wood, Stone or Iron in the store house. Unlocking new abilities and improving already existing ones will be the only way to improve your Troll, with some increased healing or health being an option as well.
As you gather supplies you will have the option to build 4 towers, a tavern for Orc mercenaries, storehouse for holding supplies, Town Hall for improving the workings or hiring more. As you build up the castle you will gain new workers, allowing you to harvest supplies faster or build and repair the castle faster. Along the way you can also improve the effectiveness of the archers on the towers or replace them with stone throwers, catapults or bombers.
The main meat of the game is where the enemies attack, however there are grace periods between waves as they build up forces and line up outside your walls. You can just send in the Troll to attack pre-emptively which forces the enemies to fight back, albeit at lower numbers as well as being more spread out on the field.
Overall Thoughts and Feelings
The music in One Troll Army is rather fitting, but like the other website games the company has developed it lacks that certain quality that is expected of Console/Steam games. The music also dies down during the game itself, leaving you to the ambient noises of the level or the clashes of battle when the enemy troops finally attack you. The soundtrack is also rather limited, replaying tracks too often which will eventually lead you to play your own music.
For a free game, One Troll Army is pretty well crafted, from the progression from wood to iron to stone and how fast your Troll will grow in power. The difficulty follows you as you go, lowering slightly when you fall in battle to allow you to build up a bit more before it catches you back up. The variation in enemy troops keeps the battles interesting with the introduction of ranged units, heavy defence units then finally boss units.
Overall One Troll Army gets a 7/10, if you want something to pass the time with then this is the game for you. It does lack some end-game content as there progression will pretty much end after the 3 hours it takes to complete the main game. PVP is rather interesting by integrating Twitch but can be slightly off-putting as not everyone has a twitch audience big enough to take advantage of it. The action of battles will keep you invested in both your troll and goblins, wanting them to survive another round.
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