There are very few games that are able to interweave a visual art style with seamless gameplay. Trine 2 hits that mark with ease. It isn’t as much a sequel as it is a continuation and refinement of the original. And the original Trine was a spectacle in its own right, but Frozenbyte has raised the bar and made Trine 2 something that any word short of breathtaking fails to describe.
The visual storytelling is wonderfully done and reminiscent of World of Warcraft, that is, if WoW had its art direction done by a team of Renaissance painters. Frozenbyte also wields a moving soundtrack and sound design that makes the immersion into this magical world all the deeper. All of this makes for a very cinematic and gripping experience, tugging on the heartstrings of your inner child and making you want to believe that a world like this actually exists somewhere out there.
Trine 2 takes you on another whimsical tale with our three heroes: Amadeus the levitating-box-making wizard, Zoya the agile grappling thief, and Pontius the smash-and-bash knight. Gameplay is very much the same as the original, with some refinements to graphics and level design, and the energy bar from the first Trine has been removed.
The biggest addition is online matchmaking, where you can link up with friends to tackle Trine 2’s many physics puzzles. The original had multiplayer as well, but it was buried in the menu and limited to local network only. I didn’t get a chance to try the online feature myself, so if any of you want to give it a whirl feel free to share your thoughts.
You play by switching between your three characters in a puff of smoke, using each one’s strengths to solve the physics challenges and action sequences that make up the game. Conjuring boxes out of thin air, grappling through terrain, smashing through stone walls with a hammer. Not much has changed from the original, and that is not a complaint. As before, you can upgrade each character’s abilities as you progress.
Frozenbyte tells the story with superb narration throughout. Even when you get stuck on a puzzle the narrator gently carries the story forward. It all makes for a wonderful, whimsical fantasy that anyone can appreciate.
I had my ten-year-old cousin Jake try out Trine 2. I didn’t explain anything or prep him at all. He normally plays shooters on his Xbox and gravitates toward Call of Duty, so I genuinely didn’t know what he would think of it. He loved it. Didn’t find it cheesy, grasped the gameplay quickly, and started asking to play it every time he came over.
I also had my girlfriend Bea try it out. She’s still fairly new to gaming but fell in love with it quickly. There were plenty of “oohs and ahhs” and more than one “ooh, pretty!” She didn’t care much for the grappling and actually refused to use Zoya’s ability entirely. And to my amazement she was still able to finish many of the puzzles and challenges without it. That’s a testament to Frozenbyte’s design: multiple solutions to the same problem, and the game never punishes you for taking the path of least resistance.
I really enjoyed reviewing Trine 2 and would highly recommend it for its visuals, sound design, and storytelling. It may not be the most intense or exhilarating of games, but it’s a wonderful break from modern gaming that takes you on a genuinely whimsical journey.