Since the release of Braid, everyone (including me) was waiting for a candidate to equal its originality and quality. Trine might be considered as a strong opponent in this competition against Braid, but it doesn't achieve its brilliance. Despite this, Trine is a game that should be taken into consideration for its fairytale ambience and for its puzzles based on environmental manipulation.

Frozenbyte, the developers behind Shadowgrounds, have revived "The Lost Vikings" recipe in their latest creation. Erik the Swift, Baleog the Fierce, and Olaf the Stout have been replaced by Pontius the Knight, Zoya the Thief and Amadeus the Wizard, the three main characters from Trine. They also kept the side-scrolling puzzle/platform aspect by giving the player the ability to choose any of these three characters at any point in the game in order to solve the puzzles and to overpass the obstacles from each level. The three playable characters have different abilities that can be upgraded along the gameplay. The Knight is the warrior that masters the melee attacks with sword and shield, can bash and throw small objects towards the enemy. If Pontius is similar to a hack'n'slash warrior, the Thief is a skillful archer that can attach, with the help of her grappling-hook, to any wooden objects (anyone remember Bionic Commando?). Later in the game she can also slow down time. The Wizard is the only character that has no defense and can be used only to manipulate objects with his telekinetic powers, and to summon boxes or planks. He is the only one that can create alternative routes in any level in order to bring the player in hidden places by manipulating the environment with his powers.

{pagebreak}

The complexity of the gameplay stays in the fact that the player can interchange the characters depending on the situation he has encountered. Therefore the gameplay offers puzzles with multiple solutions, in order to give the player a chance to choose his suitable way of dealing with them. Let's take for example a situation in which the player has to pass over a pile of boxes: you can use the warrior to hit and bash those crates until the pile will scramble down, or you can use the ranger to attach to the ceiling and to swing over the pile, or to use the wizard to manipulate every box until the way is clear. The only problem is that some of the alternative solutions tend to be much more difficult that you might think at a first look. Sometimes the wizard shows some weaknesses in manipulating moving-platforms while he is standing on them, but also spikes and chains. If you run out of mana in such situations, the only solution to pass over the obstacle is to return to the latest checkpoint to replenish it and start over again. These moments can become frustrating.

As you progress in the game, the puzzles become more challenging, but the balance between action sequences and puzzle solving sequences remains equal, with just as much combat as there is puzzle solving moments. For some hardcore fans, the action moments might become boring and repetitive, but you have to admit that its simplicity fits the overall picture, as Trine is nothing else but a jump'n'run game to its roots.

From the story point of view, you won't get a complicated plot. All three characters are in search for an ancient artifact to break the spell that binds their souls together. The graphics and the voice acting are the ones that create a much deeper impact for the player's mind, which transcends into a fairytale ambiance, than the story itself. It's amazing how the narrator is able to introduce you to the next chapter of the story, only with the help of his voice's tone. Visually, the game has nothing from the "high-technology" so common these days in every blockbuster product, but every animation, lighting effect or environmental detail brings something to make this game look shiny and glamorous.

Being a platformer, it is no surprise that the game features a singleplayer co-op mode, in which three players can play with each character at the same time. Like in the classic The Lost Vikings, the characters are all present in the environment, many of the puzzles being solved with two or all three characters at the same time giving the players new ways of manipulating the environment. The problem here is that only player one can switch to any other character at any time, even to one that is used by another player. Automatically this player will transform into another character, messing up all the actions he might be doing in that specific moment.

{pagebreak}

Conclusion

As Frozenbyte's spokesperson, Joel Kinnunen, said recently: "Trine as a project is a big mess, as opposed to Trine as a game, which is pretty sweet", I have to admit that the pricing policy is a big mess. The PC version on Steam costs with $10 more than the PS3 version, without adding anything to the gameplay. Overall the game looks fantastic and can be played by anyone, including persons that don't cope with the gaming industry too much. It's pure fun from the beginning till the end, delivering a high quality that can be found only at high-budget games. In the end the price issue doesn't count anymore. (or does it?)

Gameplay: 88

Trine features a smooth learning curve without becoming too difficult in the end. All three characters with their different abilities create a huge playability by giving the player the chance to try different solutions and techniques in solving the puzzles. The singleplayer co-op mode reveals a different gameplay, with an increased dynamism and with many new solutions for the existing puzzles.

Graphics: 87

There is a fairytale ambience in every corner of this game. The lighting effects have a tremendous importance in creating the perfect mood for each level. The detailed environment makes the overall picture so vivid but also very functional. All the objects governed by physics are part of the environment, being placed in perfect harmony with the rest of the background elements.

Multiplayer: N/A

Sound: 85

The whole soundtrack and the main theme have been composed by Ari Pulkkinen, a Finish musician that worked with Frozenbyte also for the Shadowgrounds soundtrack. His demoscene experience made him known in the computer art subculture, becoming the right artist to create a new soundtrack for Trine.

Hardware: 80

The Steam version of the game has stumbled several times on my machine without a reason causing some dropping framerate. Except for these moments, the game ran smoothly giving me no chance of uncovering any other bugs.