Trine Review

I can’t remember the last time PC gamers saw a mainstream platformer. Actually I can. But still, how many platformers are released nowadays? You could argue casual Flash games and whatnot count, but I’m talking of the standard side-scrolling platformer; the ones we old PC gamers can attest to buying and playing, such as Commander Keen, Earthworm Jim, and Duke Nukem. With the advancement of computers, it seems wholly appropriate that these style of games are “outdated” for today’s gamers. The only way for developers to get this genre back to fruition is to reinvent the platform game wheel.

Trine tries, and shines. It’s a beacon of hope for side-scrolling platformers on the PC. It forgets games like Tomb Raider and Prince of Persia: Sands of Time ever existed, and goes back to the roots of what makes platforming great and intertwines that with modern day gaming mechanics, notably that of physics.

Developed by Frozenbyte, makers of the Shadowgrounds series, Trine is a 3D side-scrolling game reminiscent of such games as previously mentioned. Set in your typical fantasy story, you play as three characters: the Thief, the Knight and the Wizard, who in a very unfortunate circumstance, become merged into one being. This melding allows the player to morph between the three at any given moment. Just as with any platformer, the objective in each level is to run from the left side of the level and finish at the right, getting past enemies, obstacles, and puzzles. Each character has their own special attributes to get through levels; the Thief has a bow and grappling hook, the Wizard employs telekineses and the ability to form objects, and the Knight can smash stuff up.

A common determent is impossible-to-jump gaps.

The three journey through a lush kingdom in search of the mystical “Trine” to get separated from each other. To do this, they employ their unique abilities to complete the levels. These abilities used in tandem are pretty much required to get past many of the game’s obstacles. For instance, the Wizard would have to form a box object to place on spikes for the Thief to use her grappling hook to reach a higher plane. These sorts of “puzzles” are prevalent throughout the game. Though I felt there was a severe lack of roles for the Wizard; out of all three, he’s the one you’ll use the least, and you’ll most likely fill the Thief’s shoes instead. The Knight is useful only in fighting the enemies, though the Thief has a bow and arrow which can take on enemies at a distance.

Skeletons and spikes are your enemies.

The story in Trine is told like a fairy tale your parents would read you when you were children. With a narrator describing the progression of the story during the level loading screens, the game gives you an authentic fantasy setting. Each character also has a  nice, distinct personality, which adds to the atmosphere. The voice acting is well done, and suits the mood perfectly. There is no real “villain” in the story, which I felt was an interesting decision by the developer. Just hundreds of skeletons and spiders.

Guiding your heroes through the kingdom, you pick up experience along the way, which allows for upgrading of abilities (such as flaming and multiple arrows for the Thief, a warhammer for the Knight, and more objects for the Wizard to form). You also open chests along the way to reveal new upgrade items such as necklaces to reduce damage or increase mana. The upgrading abilities feature feels kind of awkward in Trine. Many of them are rather unnecessary, while some of them are absolutely essential. In other words, you have to upgrade to that ability or there’s no way you’ll get past an upcoming puzzle. The items found in chests as well seem out of place; the time in which you receive them will probably be the only time you actually use them. The upgrading seemed a little rushed in Trine, though that’s no real hard ding against the game.

You can upgrade abilities. A few are essential, the rest are useless.

Controlling the characters is done with the semi-traditional WASD and mouse control, with quick hotkeys for changing characters. Though appropriate and easy to learn, there was still a faint feeling that I should’ve used a controller playing this game. It just felt more natural and right to use a controller for a game such as this. Nevertheless, controlling isn’t too challenging, so new players will jump in and will quickly learn how to play.

You better master controlling by the end of the game though, because you’re in for a real treat. In terms of difficulty, Trine isn’t incredibly hard. You can tell the game was designed not for hardcore platformer players that mastered Contra, but instead for more casual players. This decision on their part is by no means reflected on the last level. I could not believe how hard this level actually was. Remember the glory days of platformers on the consoles when you’d spend hours trying to get past a level? Well, those days are back in Trine. It just felt out of place when all of a sudden, it became one of the hardest sequences in a game I’ve ever played.

Trine is the most beautiful platformer ever made.

To put it bluntly, Trine is simply one of the most graphically advanced games I’ve ever played. The background vistas are absolutely astounding, legitimately dropping you into a no-nonsense fantasy world. The detail put into the environment blew me away. Every single inch of every single level in this game was crafted so carefully and whimsically, that I now have tons of respect for the art team at Frozenbyte. I honestly can say Trine is alongside Wing Commander for my “most beautiful game ever.”

In the end, Trine is simply a fun game. I highly recommend it for any platforming fans. For inexperienced players of that genre, I recommend it as well, as it’s a good stepping stone into those games. While the replayability isn’t enormous (or rather, none at all), the game is solidly produced, and I’m glad to have it in my gaming library.