Hugo Troll Race is an Endless Running Game developed by 5th Planet Games (also known as Hugo Games) and published by Krea Medie (or Software Pyramide on PC) for smartphones and computers running Windows in 2012 as part of the Hugo the TV Troll franchise. It plays like the Train minigame from the original games, as you control Hugo on a trolley and move to different lanes to avoid obstacles.
The game has since been removed from mobile stores. However, a sequel called Hugo Troll Race 2 was released in 2015, with 3D graphics and new features like boss battles with Hugo's nemesis Scylla.
This game and the sequel provide examples of:
- Ad Reward: You can watch an ad to revive instantly (works up to three times) or gain double stars from the run.
- And Your Reward Is Clothes: There's a bunch of outfits for the playable characters which can be unlocked with stars, gems, or special collectibles found in chests.
- Continuity Nod: Hugo's outfits include the one from the Train minigame, his classic clothes, and the suit from Agent Hugo.
- Damsel in Distress: Hugo has to rescue Hugolina from Scylla who kidnaps her while sleeping. If you're playing as Hugolina, this turns into Distressed Dude, since she has to rescue Hugo.
- Interface Screw: Running into a pile of leaves or trash will cover most of the screen with them for a few seconds.
- Item Crafting: There's an interface for crafting boosts with materials found throughout the run.
- Microtransactions: You can pay real money to get stars or gems, but you can't turn off ads.
- Money Multiplier: One power-up turns collectable stars big for some time, doubling their worth.
- Play Every Day: You can claim a daily reward ranging from stars to a chest depending on the streak.
- Purely Aesthetic Gender: Hugo and Hugolina play exactly the same. The only difference is that there are separate achievements for how many runs you've played with
- Spelling Bonus: Calling all letters of a word of the day lets you battle the boss.
- Tactical Suicide Boss: Scylla has to be defeated by tapping on the meteors she fires to reflect them.
- Your Princess Is in Another Castle!: Even when the player character defeats Scylla and seems to rescue their partner, she just takes them away and the game continues.
