Review: Trine

That was my mantra during my time adventuring through the gameworld in Trine – an independently produced platform game from the days of yore with up to date visuals and real (and some not so real) world physics.

Essentially Trine is a 2D scrolling platform game set in a fantasy world of knights, wizards and magic where some dark force has twisted the land and brought the dead back to annoy the hell out of anyone daft enough to venture into the dank forests, ruins or - funnily enough - graveyards.

You begin by playing three short introductory levels - one for each of the characters you will have at your disposal during your travels. You have Zoya, a thief, who can use a rope to swing from anything wooden in order to reach high platforms, leap chasms or use her bow to take down enemies from a distance. Next is Amadeus, a wizard capable of levitating objects and creating platforms of various shapes and sizes from thin air but is next to useless when it comes to self defence. Finally we have Pontius, a short, barrel-chested knight who can block with his shield and destroy any skeletal (or winged) baddies in his immediate proximity with his trusty sword or hammer.

This is where the Trine (a mystical object of great power) binds the three heroes together, allowing access to only one at a time via the click of a magical keyboard button. If you don’t have one of those handy then your own common or garden one will do.

Physics

Fifteen levels of platform puzzles await you in the form of various moving contraptions, crumbling platforms and deadly traps. Most platforms (at least early on) can be easily reached without much thought. Some though, are a little more difficult to get to and yield handy experience points, energy potions, health potions or a chest with a useful trinket locked inside. Experience points can be used to build your characters’ abilities when you gain enough to level up.

Energy potions allow you to use your abilities longer since each use drains your energy bar. The trinkets are basically bonus objects, giving your avatar extra energy, health or raising them from the dead, in the good white magic way of course.

The physics in the game work very well for the most part. Rope bridges or swinging objects react pretty much in their normal manner when jumped on or hit and moveable objects can be stacked to reach other areas, used to block or even kill the numerous cadavers that abound. Platforms or planks of wood can be used to traverse deadly drops and large stones used to break through to other areas.

Characters

The three playable characters use their different abilities throughout each level to help one another but you will find yourself using one character more than the others throughout the game. All battles are the domain of the knight (with the exception of archers hidden on high platforms) whilst the majority of the jumping and puzzling will be completed with the thief. The wizard certainly has his uses (and is at times invaluable) but never feels all that important when compared with the other two.

Especially annoying is the fact that you can levitate an object with the wizard and swing it across the screen but when you stop using magic it falls straight to the floor regardless of what speed it is travelling sideways at. Luckily though, there are many ways to circumvent most of the puzzles which adds to the fun and will, perhaps, cause many players to use the characters differently than myself.

The sound in Trine is magical, creating an air of mystic wonder at times before changing dynamically when fighting one of the rare boss battles or traversing a creepy cavern.
The voice acting on the other hand is more than a little on the cheesy side for my liking – the knight being a prime example of overacting more than a room full of drama students.

Value?

What makes Trine stand out above everything else though is its stunning good looks. The graphics are simply astounding, making great use of today’s graphical power, creating a pseudo 3D world around the retro 2D platforming fun. The little details (and there are a lot of them) and colourful lighting throughout the game really bring the land to life with gorgeous waterfalls framed by colourful rainbows, forests full of ancient ruins and shimmering underground pools that reflect light throughout. Post processing effects are used well, with great results and almost make you forget how simple the game mechanics really are.

As good as Trine is it left me slightly wanting due in part to its length-at about 6 hours maximum it’s very short for its price tag. If it’s a higher price, it should be full length. The other small niggle was the frustrating final level. It showed a lack of response in the controls at times in a level that needs a fast response.

That’s not to say I wouldn’t recommend it – I certainly would – but unless you are really hankering for a platform game right now it may be best to wait until the price drops a little. Or buy it now as a thank you for a great attempt at reviving an old favourite – the plain old platform game.