Under a Rock: Everything We Know

Let’s acknowledge the elephant in the room here: Under a Rock — it looks a whole lot like a Disney-Pixar animation, right? Well, contrary to popular belief, Pixar hasn’t actually put so much as a finger on Nordic Trolls’ upcoming survival-crafting IP — even though one of its in-game creatures does somehow resemble that giant treasure-loving crab from Moana. But fine, you know, whatever. It isn’t a product of Pixar’s colorful imagination, but it is, on the other hand, a game that will aim to infuse a lot of its core elements, and in turn, create a whimsical world complete with all the trimmings and what have you.

Under a Rock isn’t due out for a fair while yet, but if you are keen to learn more about the upcoming adventure, then be sure to read on for a few more details. Here’s everything you need to know about the latest survival-crafting IP.

What Is Under a Rock?

Under a Rock is an upcoming third-person survival-crafting game set within an “exotic and strange new land”—a world in which creatures thought to have been lost in the modern world still roam freely and claim their rightful place on the food chain. As a traveler who’s been washed ashore in this tropical realm, you will set out to find your place—a monumental task that will involve foraging for supplies, building bases, and learning how to adapt as one of the smallest inhabitants in a region that’s evidently rife with colossal foes and environmental obstacles.

“Survivors can select a location and build a base, or explore dark caves, swim through underwater environments, and traverse a diverse surface world, facing a myriad of unique challenges and discovering much-needed resources,” the description adds. “Players must fish, fight, farm, craft and more as they build their new island base and hope to fight off the forces of nature and terrifying curses.”

From what we’ve gathered so far, Under a Rock will look to mesh the aesthetic appeal of Kena: Bridge of Spirits with the key gameplay nodes of Grounded, or more recently, Smalland: Survive the Wilds. So, if it’s a cutesy animation-type survival-crafting game that you’ve been waiting for, then you’ll no doubt find plenty to love here, basically.

Story

From the sounds of the elevator pitch that arrived earlier this week, Under a Rock will follow the tale of a nineteenth-century explorer—a fully customizable character who’ll find themselves washed up on the shores of an uncharted realm that houses “mysteries once thought lost to time.” As such, players will need to embark on a quest to explore the inner sanctum of the forgotten world and learn to not only study the secrets of the region, but start anew as one of its newest inhabitants.

“Step into the boots of an early nineteenth-century explorer, recently stranded in an exotic and strange new land,” the blurb reads in part. “A world draped in mysteries once thought lost to time, this land experienced a different evolutionary path, with exotic creatures roaming dangerously.”

Gameplay

Under a Rock will be a single-player survival-crafting game at heart, with the option to play with up to nine additional players in a procedurally generated world. In said world, players will have the opportunity to forage for resources, craft bases out of natural habitats, and ultimately become one with the world in a dog-eat-dog wilderness that’s chock-full of larger-than-life creatures and untamable beasts.

According to Nordic Trolls, “Under a Rock utilizes procedural level generation to offer a new gameplay experience every playthrough. With multiplayer co-op available for up to 10 people and a deeply diverse character creator, players can look forward to surviving a vast new world of fearsome flora and fauna together.”

“Dark caves, underwater environments and a vast surface world awaits, all filled with their own unique challenges and resources,” the description continues. “Craft, build, harvest, farm, fish, explore, fight and more! Prefer a simple life by the ocean or making enemies out of the natives? The choice is yours.”

Development

Under a Rock is being developed by Nordic Trolls, a studio best known for its VR title, Karnage Chronicles, which launched back in 2020. Its upcoming IP, to be published by Gameforge, will serve as the studio’s first multi-platform game, and with any luck, will launch at some point in 2024.

Trailer

Remember when we said Under a Rock looked a whole lot like Disney-Pixar's doing? Well, as it turns out, its trailer doesn't exactly give us any reason to believe that it isn't. And it isn't. Even still, you can be the judge on that one and tell us for yourself. Need we say more? You can catch a glimpse of what's to come in Under the Rock in the announcement trailer embedded above.

Release Date, Platforms & Editions

Under a Rock will be coming to Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store. As for when it will arrive on the aforementioned platforms, however, is still anybody's guess. Having said that, it seems all fingers are pointing toward a late 2024 debut, what with its announcement trailer looking “relatively” close to being a stabilized product. Of course, we’re mostly speculating at this point, so don’t take our word for it.

As far as launch editions go, we can’t really say for certain what will release outside of the standard copy of consoles and PC. If, however, there are any special editions in the works, then Nordic Trolls is bound to tease the details a little closer to the time of the game’s launch.

Interested in keeping up to date with Under a Rock? You can check in with Nordic Trolls' upcoming survival-crafting IP by following their social handle here. If anything does happen to pop up over the next several months (The Game Awards, we're looking at you), then we'll be sure to fill you in on all the details right here on gaming.net

So, what’s your take? Will you be picking up a copy of Under a Rock when it releases on PlayStation? Let us know your thoughts over on our socials here.