I was excited to try the original, however, as I wondered how it would differ from its sequel. As it turns out, however, it doesn’t differ very strongly. The game concerns three protagonist joined at the hip by a magical artifact called the Trine-what this really means is that you can magically switch between characters at the tap of a button. They’re on a quest to save their realm from an ancient evil, of course, and their journey is told through an omnipresent narrator. The three heroes-Pontius the Knight, Amadeus the Wizard, and Zoya the Thief-must use their unique abilities to traverse the environment, solve puzzles, and defeat enemies. This is a thinking man’s puzzle platformer. There is no level timer, and you are encouraged to take things slowly, noticing every detail of a given puzzle before acting. Pontius has a sword and shield and will be your main undead-dispatcher. His shield can also reflect projectile attacks. Amadeus can lift certain objects in the world, like boxes, and also conjure clockwork boxes out of thin air. Zoya can fire a bow for a distance attack and use a grappling hook to cross large gaps. As your progress, each character gains two more abilities. For example, Pontius’ first “upgrade” is the ability to carry and throw small objects using a “Gravity Shield.” Aside from surviving to the end of each level, your main goal will be collecting all the green experience orbs and treasure chests. Collecting 50 orbs allows you to upgrade one of your characters’ abilities. For Amadeus, for example, upgrading may mean being able to conjure TWO boxes at a time. Like its sequel, Trine is stunningly gorgeous although there’s way too much bloom lighting, especially in outdoor sections. The colors, the attention to detail, the fact that no two rooms look alike-it’s all inspiring. Every game developer should play Trine and learn something from it. But they might also want to take a step back, because too often, the game’s beauty actually obscured the underlying level design. You have the option of local or online multiplayer, as well.Ĭan I jump there? Can I step there? Is that a wooden panel that Zoya’s grapple can attach to? Is that a wall I can break through? It’s often difficult to say until you actually try it, which probably isn’t the intention, especially when taking damage (or dying) is the result of a failed experiment. Three players can get in on the Trine goodness, and having all three players on screen at once is quite a feat. Unfortunately, the online multiplayer component is hampered by two untoward facts: (1) nobody is actually playing * and (2) when you do connect to somebody, you may hit connection issues, as I did. Local is the way to go unless you’re connecting to somebody on your Friends list.
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