Hilda and the Forgotten Valley

Hilda and the Forgotten Valley (ヒルダの冒険 〜女王の太陽の神社〜 Hiruda no Bōken Joō no Taiyō no Jinja, "Hilda's Adventure: Shrine of Queen Sun") is a platformer action-adventure game based on Luke Pearson's Hilda series of graphic novels as well as primarily the Netflix TV series. It was released on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, macOS and Google Stadia on March 27, 2020. It was developed by Item Studios (a subsidiary of Smileworks) and published by Smileworks. Ports for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S were released on February 12, 2021.

Gameplay
The game is a 3D platformer akin to games such as Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie. However, the difference for this game is that it focuses on traveling from point A to point B. At the end of the stage, a Sun Rose will appear for the player to pick up. The goal point won't open until the player has gotten the Sun Rose. Levels will also have hidden collectables that unlock extras such as clips from the show, concept art and bonus costumes for Hilda.

The main playable character is Hilda, and the player will mostly play as her for the majority of the game. In some parts of the game, other characters such as Twig and Alfur are playable, albeit in brief sections. In the DLC packs, David and Frida can also be played as well via local co-op.

Certain levels will also have the player control the Raven in his thunderbird form. When played, the level will switch to gameplay similar to the NiGHTS series.

Main Story
Hilda, her mum, Twig and Alfur are enjoying a picnic out from Trolberg. At one point, Hilda hears a mysterious voice. The voice was revealed to be a fairy named Flora. She tells Hilda that the fairies reside in a forest that the citizens of Trolberg has not yet visited. Meanwhile, a businessman named Nathaniel wants to cut down the forest that the fairies reside so he can build a new shopping center. Unbeknownst to Nathaniel is that deep within the construction site is a prison that holds off an evil serpent named Orochi. During construction, Orochi is released from his prison and is bent on destroying all of Trolberg and make the citizens his slaves to build a new city solely for him.

Seeing this, Flora enlists the help of Hilda to collect a set of flowers called the Sun Roses to awake Queen Sun, a goddess that sealed Orochi in the past, in order to put him back into his prison. Flora tells Hilda that Queen Sun's shrine is in a place north of Trolberg known as the "Forgotten Valley", a place once occupied by people in the past but was abandoned after some time. Accepting Flora's wish, Hilda goes on a quest to retrieve the Sun Roses to go to the Forgotten Valley so she can awake Queen Sun from her slumber and save Trolberg before Orochi destroys it once more.

Hilda and the Mysterious Cave
Hilda, David and Frida end up lost in a cave while trying to complete a Sparrow Scout badge. The trio, with the help of Twig, Alfur and Flora, must to find a way out of the cave while avoiding dangers that lurk inside of it.

Hilda and the Stone of Light
Hilda and her friends have to find scattered pieces of the Stone of Light after the Marra broke it in order for the citizens of Trolberg be trapped in an eternal slumber.

Development
The game's story as well as characters were written and designed by Luke Pearson himself. The writers of the show also helped in handling the game's script, and the voice cast of the show reprise their roles for this game. The composers of the show handled the music for the game.

Originally, the game was planned to be a collect-a-thon but due to time constraints, it was changed to just reaching the goal.

Four months after the game's release, it was announced that two DLC level packs were in development. The first DLC pack, Hilda and the Mysterious Cave, was released in September while the second DLC pack, Hilda and the Stone of Light was released in Feburary 2021, in conjunction with the ports for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.

Release
Prior to the release of the game, a special event in Smileworks's mobile game Item Land Dash that gave Hilda, David, and Frida as playable characters to promote this game for a limited time.

A special edition of the game was released, which included the game, a code for a 2-month Netflix free trial, a copy of Hilda and the Midnight Giant and a plush toy of Hilda manufactured by Gund. Included in the Japanese version is character guide book, which lists the characters from the show as well as from this game.

Ports for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S were released in Feburary 2021, along with the second DLC pack. Owners of the PS4 and Xbox One versions can upgrade their copy of the game to the PS5 or Xbox Series X/S respectively at no extra cost.

English

 * Bella Ramsey as Hilda
 * Daisy Haggard as Mum
 * Ameerah Falzon-Ojo as Frida
 * Oliver Nelson as David
 * Rasmus Hardiker as Alfur
 * Maria Darling as Flora
 * Tim Watson as Nathaniel
 * Nick Boulton as Orochi

Japanese

 * Kokoro Kikuchi as Hilda
 * Yoko Kato as Mum
 * Kanako Miyamito as Frida
 * Konomi Kohara as David
 * Takuma Sasaki as Alfur
 * Mika Kanai as Flora
 * Touru Furusawa as Nathaniel
 * Takehito Koyasu as Orochi

Reception
The game was met with positive to mixed reviews, with players and fans both praising the game's faithfulness to novels and show, while issues such as a lack of co-op were criticized.