Many video games take the unique opportunities afforded to the medium to the introduce fantastic elements into famliar settings for players to engage with. For the upcoming game, Thveit, this means combining old Norse towns with Norse mythology to create a city-builder where both exist together. This combination is done with a storybook aesthetic, which is shown off in the game’s new official gameplay trailer shown off on the YouTube channel of the developer, Winter Cats Studios.

The trailer begins by taking players on a tour of multiple towns as they are rapidly constructed. From overhead, players will be able to build wooden houses in neat rows complete with gardens or fields of wheat. Later, the trailer shows off this same mechanic in a forest, letting players use the wood from the forest to create another village. Once the village is constructed, players will also have the opportunity to check on the people there and read about their history and job.

The second half of the trailer introduces the mythological elements into the game. This begins by lighting stars as part of constellations, which each provide different bonuses to city construction. It also shows the villagers as they begin to encounter strange creatures from myth. The game’s Steam page elaborates on these creatures further, explaining that players will be able to record findings in the Book of Creatures and even create habitats for them. As they grow more familiar with the world, players will also be able to raise dragons as pets and offer worship to Norse gods to gain favor.

While the world of the past lacked many of the things that make constructing cities interesting today, Thveit makes its own interest through the inclusion of creatures and magic that couldn’t exist in the real world. Players will have the chance to see how these changes impact their towns when the game enters early access on PC.