PSN Review – Trine
With video games, nostalgia can be a challenging affair. Oftentimes, the over-the-top epic from yesteryear just falls flat, which is specifically why Trine is so refreshing. It’s not a masterful remake of an old 16-bit staple, but it certainly plays like one. It’s very much inspired by old-school platforming titles, albeit designed with more contemporary hardware in mind. What sets it apart is its presentation quality and the fact that it’s a brand new IP. Contained within is a solid storyline that’s somewhat tongue in cheek, and a strong gameplay experience.
Frozenbyte is somewhat of a newcomer to the PlayStation Network, with Trine being their third game so far. The title is a bit of a departure, as their first two titles were first-person shooters. Though Trine is a platformer at its core, it has various puzzles and enough tricks to make it stand out from the bullet-ridden games that normally dominate the sales charts.
Deep inside the Astral Academy lies a strange and powerful ancient object that an opportunistic thief sets off to take. It’s strangely beautiful, and she can’t take her hands off of it. Soon after, a would be magician shows up, followed by a brave yet untested knight. All of them are transfixed by the item and unable to tear themselves away. Before they know it, the trio is fused into one, with the ability to switch back and forth between each individual. Their quest to break this curse leads them over a dozen areas filled with undead adversaries, traps, and all sorts of nasty bits.
Trine is a back-to-basics adventure game based on co-operative game mechanics, via the three in one main character. The Knight or the Thief will get the most use, depending on whether enemies require ranged or close attacks. The magician is the puzzle solver, providing safe passage through many of the areas along the quest.
What the magician lacks in lightning and fireballs, he makes up for with platforming tools. He has the ability to conjure boxes and platforms of various sizes out of thin air. And, if I dare say it, some of the puzzle elements have a feel that’s very reminiscent of LitteBigPlanet. The thief’s bow is quite vicious once you power her up, as she can eventually shoot up to four arrows at once. The warrior comes stocked with a sword and a shield with a hammer becoming available later.
Each level contains little green potions that earn you experience points. In addition to the usual XP system, there are a multitude of powerups. Some are class restricted, while others are not. Multi-usage even comes into play, such as a powerup that can give the archer an additional arrow, but the mage more platforms. It can be tricky getting all of the necessary items and experience for your characters, but it’s well worth the effort. The puzzles can be forgiving in terms of how you complete them, but can still end up being quite tricky. There is not much enemy variety, but fights can be a challenge if not approached in the correct manner.
The audio portion of Trine is a tad lacking. Some of the fighting just didn’t feel as epic as it could have if the soundtrack was more dramatic. Fighting is very simplistic, especially during the early portion of the game before the introduction of power-ups. The game does pick up in the later chapters, and makes use of each of the characters unique abilities with greater complexities. Thankfuly local co-op is supported to assist with some of the more difficult areas.
Trine comes complete with a full roster of trophies, including the highly coveted Platinum. It’s a fun romp for anyone who enjoys a good side scrolling adventure game, and will take several hours to unlock all of the cleverly hidden items.
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PlayStation LifeStyle’s Final Score
A great mix of old school side scrolling and new play mechanics Local co-op is a nice bonus |  |
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18 Responses to “PSN Review – Trine”
this is a great game i love it mony weld spent
5 stars for Mr. Allen.
Loved what I played so far very enjoyable and is great with some friends. Great review
Definitely agreed. Not the most spectacular game I ever played, but definitely fun for a simple side scroller puzzle ish experience. By the way, the ranger shoots up to 3 arrows, not 4… not that its a big deal or anything. That platinum trophy isn’t easy to get either, for anyone who thinks this looks like a cheap and easy plat.
It does look and play amazing, from the demo. However i cannot justify the 16 pounds for it. I’m not sure what it is in the US but this is way to much on the expensive side. I would consider 10, but no…
I thought the Platinum was easy, and I was pretty sure you could get an upgrade to get your theif to shoot 4 arrows.
Either way, I liked it, it was just disappointing and I thought there’d be more than that… The environments were kinda bland if you ask me, everything kinda looked the same but it looked nice.
I’d rate it about a 4 as well.
looks like a good game from the demo l played
I really enjoyed the demo s o I will have to pick this 1 up.
I’m rather happy with the game, but unfortunately I think online co-op is a missed opprotunity especially because they said they wanted it in the game. Local Co-op is nice and all but I didn’t know about it because I generally never have anyone to play locally with. If I do, he usually doesn’t feel like playing the types of games that do support it.
Yes He… I’ve had 1 single solitary person visit me in the past 4-6 months. Local Co-op means nothing to me.
I was rather disapointed by this title… it was far too easy even on very hard… I found drawing the mage items to be complex and the best way for me to make a [] was to make a O… seriously -.- thats just sad… overall i would give it a 3, maybe 2, because its NOT worth the ammount their asking
I really liked the art direction of this title, now if I had time to play it I’d be set.
Yeah I was torn on giving this a 4 out of 5. $19.99 is a fair price, but $14.99 would have made this a sweet deal. Overall its got a good amount of content, just not as much as I was expecting for a 2D game.
I can’t say I was disappointed as the game stands on its own and is a fun title. Its really just short of a 5. Reviews are tricky and when I am in doubt of a score and generally side with the lower score. Otherwise its very easy to allow your own bias to infiltrate the process.
yikes…. 20 bones is hefty. I’ll wait for a sale… even though my wait will be long and painful
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