Gaming on a Budget Ep. 16: Trine

This is the final episode for "Short and Sweet" month; next month is a new theme.

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Today we review Trine for the PC, made available on Steam.

In the midst of a great war with the evil forces of an unknown enemy, three character find their way to a magical artifact called the Trine. The warrior fights with his sword and shield, and can break down barriers by charging them. The rogue can shoot arrows and use a grappling hook to swing and climb. The wizard can levitate objects, and can create magical clockwork boxes and platforms to help you solve problems throughout the game.

When the three touch the trine, their souls become intertwined. The goal of the game is to guide these three heroes through an adventure to determine the source of the enemy forces, and to restore their individual bodies.

Trine is a two-dimensional, side-scrolling, physics-based platform game that uses three-dimensional characters and backgrounds. Like NyxQyuest and Street Fighter 4, Trine uses parallax scrolling to give a 3D appearance to the 2D gameplay. While the drop in drop out scheme is similar to other player swap games like The Lost Vikings, Demon Stone, and Lego Star Wars, Trine is slightly different because it doesn't separate the characters. Instead, you control a single character, but switch between the personas to determine who is in control of the body at any give time.

Trine's gameplay is very similar to that of Nyxquest. You use your keyboard to control the character and your mouse to direct the powers. The combat of the warrior feels solid and responsive, and I found the swinging controls of the rogue to be quite satisfying.

Frozenbyte has created a beautiful game with a vibrant color pallette. It's light, airy aesthetic captures that childhood vision of what a fairy tale should be. The story is peppered with comedic commentary from our three heroes, and each level is separated by the smooth, even tempoed voice of the narrator.

Unfortunately, the game is not perfect. While I enjoyed the controls of the knight and rogue, I was disappointed by the controls of the wizard. Perhaps I was spoiled by NyxQuest, but I don't like that the game doesn't allow you to fling levitated objects into the air or levitate objects that your character is standing on. In any case, it felt clunky.

In addition, Trine is noticibly lacking in online cooperative play. In the past, I've purchased online games as gifts for my friends just so that we could share in the online experience. By making the co-op site specific, Frozenbyte missed out on an opportunity to sell more copies of the game, and to deliver a more enjoyable experience to the audience.

That said, if my biggest complaint about a game is that they didn't provide a mechanism to play it more, then it is a pretty good game. If you are looking for an enjoyble single player platforming experience, then Trine is a solid game for you. Keep an eye on the steam sales, and pounce on it when the price drops.

I give this game a thumbs up.

Yow!

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[jepsen1977]

My only caveat to Trine is that it did cost 30 bucks when it came out and it only last 4-5 hours so if you are gaming on a budget this isn't the best value for you. That said the game is great and for an indie game it is worth it. Like the review said - get it on a Steam sale (like I did).

[thebgbb]

That's correct, and I definitely wouldn't have recommended at release and at full price.

Many of the games that I recommend on this show were quite expensive at full price, but now that the price has dropped, they deliver a lot more value per dollar. As you will see with the next few games that I am recommending, you should definitely not pay full price for them.

[qujo123]

is that harle from chrono cross in the intro?

[Chubzdoomer]

I haven't been able to complete it because it's just so clunky and frustrating to play. Something about switching between the three characters and hopping around to different platforms just felt "off" to me, like it wasn't refined or polished.

[ImfakinLoco]

keep going D:!

[Liquid101Kapitan]

It's a shame you stopped I liked your reviews :/

[manofninjas]

wheres the next video

[supercookiebros]

WTF M&M dfjgshfsgdfij

[TheMCAdo]

Yeah. It's been a long time.

[Arthurguy95]

Episode 17? it's been 4 months.

[Dannystar64]

It's been next month. When are you doing more videos?