- Developed by Norwegian indie studio Nordic Trolls, wishlists surpass 450,000 across platforms
- Revealing core content of a survival adventure connecting exploration, construction, and combat, supporting up to 1–10 players in co-op.
‘Under a Rock’, a survival adventure developed by Norwegian indie studio Nordic Trolls and published by Gameforge, revealed creature taming and a companion system through its fourth development diary.
This system, cited as the most requested feature by players, is an update that further refines the game’s core content and is considered a significant milestone ahead of the first public test phase.
Since its first reveal in 2023, ‘Under a Rock’ has garnered attention, surpassing 450,000 wishlist items across all platforms. Development is currently underway with the goal of releasing it on PC (Steam and Epic Games Store), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
Prehistoric fantasy realized with CGI-level visuals … A world of giant creatures and the supernatural
‘Under a Rock’ is a title that fully embodies the developers’ goals for CGI-level graphics and the survival genre. Players take on the role of an explorer stranded on a mysterious and colorful island, exploring a world intertwined with giant wild creatures whose evolutionary paths have changed, surviving Neanderthals, and a real-life curse.
The game world is constructed using a procedural generation method. Improved starting points, richer biomes, and clearly designed exploration paths give purpose and distinctiveness to movement between regions. Diverse environments, such as jungles, caves, and underwater zones, each harbor unique dangers and rewards, while the day-night cycle acts as a factor regulating the rhythm and tension of exploration.
Catch, raise, ride, and fight together… 2-stage biological system
The centerpiece of this development diary is the two-stage biological system consisting of ‘Tame’ and ‘Companion’.
Taming is a method of taming wild creatures by capturing them in a taming box equipped with bait preferred by each species. Tamed creatures live at the player’s base, produce species-specific resources, and lay eggs if sufficient food and a stable environment are maintained. However, they require continuous care and may revert to a wild state if neglected.
Companions are obtained by hatching eggs acquired in this way in an incubator. They are not merely simple pets, but serve as companions who accompany you in exploration and combat. Players can use companions as mounts to travel around the island and entrust them with combat support or carrying loot.
It also supports various command systems such as standby, follow, attack, stop, mount, and dismount, and allows for the adjustment of combat stances. Notably, unlike the companion systems in typical survival games, companions do not die permanently. Even if they are knocked down in combat, they are designed to recover on their own after the dangerous situation ends.
Along with this, new creatures have also been revealed. The ‘Curse Eye,’ a mysterious being inhabiting the Crystal Cave, and the ‘Giant Bee,’ found in forest and grassland areas, will join the game through this update.
1–10 Player Co-op, Cooking, Fishing, and Underwater Exploration… An Expansion of the Survival Formula
The game supports solo play as well as cooperative play for up to 10 players. The title aims for a direction that places greater emphasis on the fun of creativity, exploration, and discovery rather than extreme survival penalties.
Creatures are not merely targets to be eliminated. Some creatures provide unique abilities that aid in exploration, and various activities such as resource gathering, base construction, farming, fishing, underwater exploration, and cave exploration are organically connected like a single ecosystem.
Attracting attention from overseas media and communities… Rated as a “highly anticipated next-generation survival adventure.”
Interest from overseas media and communities appears to be steadily rising. GamingBolt highlighted ‘Under a Rock’s’ interconnected gameplay structure and exploration-centric design, while XboxEra showcased the achievement of over 450,000 wishlists across all platforms as a major accomplishment. Gematsu also gave significant coverage to the release of the creature taming trailer, emphasizing plans for a simultaneous console and PC launch.
Community reaction is also positive. Among Steam and Discord users, there is growing anticipation for the dodo mount, creature breeding, and prehistoric fantasy world, along with comments that it feels like a combination of the vibes of *ARK*, *Palworld*, and *Subnautica*.
In particular, the companion system revealed in this development diary is attracting the attention of users, receiving reactions such as, “It looks like a real companion system that goes beyond a simple pet.”
In an interview, Nordic Trolls co-founder Thorbjørn Olsen stated that the development goal was to “build a gameplay system where exploration, construction, combat, and discovery are meaningfully connected.”
Global survival game fans are showing continued interest in how ‘Under a Rock,’ which boasts a prehistoric fantasy setting, a creature taming system, and a cooperative open-world structure, will evolve leading up to its official release.
Information regarding ‘Under a Rock’
| item | detail |
|---|---|
| Developer | Nordic Trolls (Norway) |
| Publisher | Gameforge 4D GmbH |
| Genre | Procedurally Generated Open World Survival Adventure / Crafting Sandbox |
| Release platform | PC (Steam / Epic Games Store) / PlayStation 5 / Xbox Series |
| Scheduled for release | Undetermined (Preparing for first public access phase) |
| Play Mode | Solo / Co-op up to 10 players |
| Wishlist | 450,000+ cases (total across all platforms) |
| core system | Creature Taming · Companions / Procedurally Generated Worlds / Base Building / Underwater Exploration · Cave Exploration |
| Companion Stats | 5 types: Mobility, Ferocity, Vitality, Cargo Capacity, and Toughness |
| Unique settings | 19th-century explorer setting / Neanderthal presence / Curse system |
| Main Keywords | Survival, Creature Taming, Open World, Procedural Generation, Co-op, Prehistoric Fantasy, CGI Graphics |
| Official Channel | Discord · Steam Community |
| Steam Page | Go to Wishlist |
