Regular readers will know that one of our first reviews was
Trine 2 on the Wii U some time ago. We liked it a lot and gave it an impressive
9/10. Now, the whole trilogy is making its way to the Switch. We will be
putting all three of the games through their paces to see if they still hold up
and how suitable they are for play on the go.
If you haven’t come across a Trine game before it’s basically
a platform/puzzle game where you control three different characters. You have
the Knight who can fight and use his shield to block and gains abilities to
break down walls. The wizard can create blocks and shapes which can then be
used as platforms and the thief uses a bow and can attach to wood with her
grappling hook.
The characters can be cycled through as you play and the
real genius is that most of the puzzles don’t have a set way of being completed
so that any of characters can get through. This allows players to work things
out in a way that best suits them and gives a wonderful range of flexibility to
play. Co-op is also available for added chaos.
As characters progress they level up by killing monsters and
collecting vials of experience from within the levels. This then allows them to
unlock and upgrade their abilities allowing for more shapes to be summoned,
fire arrows or charge attacks. Any essential skills are given to you so you
can’t level up in the ‘wrong’ way.
The real stars of the show are the levels themselves as they
are brilliantly designed. Perhaps not quite as flawless as the levels in Trine
2 - but of a stupidly high standard none the less. They also look absolutely
gorgeous running in the Trine 2 engine. If ever you were waiting for a game to
use that share button on the Switch then this is it.
It’s also worth saying that the game is different enough
from Trine 2 to be worth looking at as well. The basic gameplay is the same but
the levels are unique enough and the enemies moving from goblins to the undead
also further separates it from the sequel. The plot is just as stupid but it
all moves along at a quick pace and the whole thing never stops being
enjoyable.
The game runs well in handheld mode as well. We didn’t
notice anything that got in the way of the flow of the game and it still looks
absolutely beautiful. The only real issue is the sheer amount of detail on
screen. We found it difficult at times to identify objects and the separation
between the backgrounds and foregrounds could be clearer. This could be a
colour blind issue on our part or simply that the screen is too busy for
handheld mode. It’s a tricky one as its lovely to see all the detail make the
transition to a smaller screen but it is clear that Trine is meant to be viewed
on something larger.
Overall, it would have been easy to dismiss the original
Trine with a new game in the series on the horizon but it is still well worth
getting into for newcomers of the series and fans looking for a mobile
adventure. The mechanics still work as well as ever we found it to be an
impressive and magical adventure throughout.
Overall 8/10
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