Trine

 
Developer: Frozenbyte
Steam Release: July 2009
Hours Played: 25.1
Similar To: Giana Sisters / Max: Curse of Brotherhood / Ori and the Blind Forest / Party of Sin 
Rating: 5/5 Parsnips

GAMEPLAY
There are bog-standard platform-puzzlers, solid platform-puzzlers and then there are the amazing and magical that bring the sparkle and wow-factor back. Trine fits the latter group - it is the sumptuous banquet, the glistening treasure chest and the Santa's grotto of the platform-puzzling world. The tutorial teaches you the mechanics of the three characters you'll be using to traverse this fantastical world. Mr. Warrior wields a powerful sword and blocks with a powerful shield, Ms Thief shoots arrows and swings around on the end of a grappling hook, while Mr. Wizard moves objects with mind control and creates boxes and planks. You can switch between the characters and use whichever power you see fit to circumnavigate the obstacles thrown your way. 

BALANCE & PACE
Do you shoot those skeletons with arrows from your archer? Have the wizard drop boxes on them? Or smash them to pieces with the sword of the warrior? Do you swing up and over that pit or do you conjure a box or plank and place it on that ledge to jump over it? These are the choices you'll be making as you go and although the puzzles and the conundrums themselves may not be incredibly mind-blowing or revolutionary, it's the open-ended choices on how to overcome such traps and pitfalls that makes the gameplay unique. There are 16 levels to tackle altogether with the main idea being to keep moving until you get to the end. You can elect to pick up the green experience vials as you go but if you miss them first time round you can go back again to get them by replaying the level.

PRESENTATION & DESIGN
It's the beautifully crafted environments that capture the fairy-tale mood so effectively. Indeed, the graphics rival the visual appeal of any triple A title with zero chop or stutter. The voice acting, although too young for a wise old wizard and overly-cheesy in parts, is obviously exaggerated for effect but suits the mood well. The narrator's cosy voice meanwhile is like settling down for that mysterious bed-time story you looked forward to hearing as a kid. Navigating around the menus to Trine is a little confusing at times. Granted, the start screen is all well and good with everything clearly sign-posted but it's the strange, counter-intuitive save/load game mechanic that can take some getting used to. Changing resolution and graphics settings needs to be done in a small window outside of the game and before the game starts as well. 
 

PROGRESS SYSTEM
Trine contains 16 levels altogether which, when completed, can be returned to later as and when you wish by clicking the Choose Level option. With a quick run-through, each level could be completed in about 20-30 minutes - but I advise savouring the game as you go and taking your time. Gaining those more hard-to-get-at green experience vials would be the main reason to return to a level and many of these can be accessed, the second time around, by using the wizard's floating pyramid skill which you do not have in the early stages of the game. Clicking on the name of the level brings up info on experience vials, experience gained, how many secrets there are and how many have yet to be claimed.

CONCLUSION

Controlling and switching between the characters so the game adapts to how you want to play is a superb USP - and it's all done so seamlessly and smoothly that the game is an absolute treat. The puzzles are also perfectly pitched - not so easy that it's a simple breeze and not so difficult that you have to break the immersion and run off to a YouTube walkthrough every five minutes. Couple all this with the fact that the game is as stable and as solid as the Rock of Gibraltar, you'll understand why every fan of the platformer-puzzler genre needs to own this game. Even more Trinesome goodness comes in the form of Trine 2 which rejoins the terrific trio in their second quest for justice. The environments are as stunning as ever and there is even an add on, entitled The Goblin Menace, for those who need a further fix.