Trine was a magical game. A fairly straightforward physics-based platformer at its core, it distinguished itself with eye-popping visuals, a wonderful soundtrack and fairy-tale narration worthy of Peter Falk that made it like nothing so much as a bed-time story in videogame format. So when I heard that Trine 2 is on the way, you better believe I got excited.
Trine was a magical game. A fairly straightforward physics-based platformer at its core, it distinguished itself with eye-popping visuals, a wonderful soundtrack and fairy-tale narration worthy of Peter Falk that made it like nothing so much as a bed-time story in videogame format. So when I heard that Trine 2 is on the way, you better believe I got excited.
After spending some time with a preview build, I’m happy to say that I’m looking forward to it now more than ever. Frozenbyte, the studio behind the game, wisely doesn’t appear to be trying to reinvent the wheel: Trine 2 features the same three characters – a stout warrior, mysterious thief and reasonably competent magician – once again battling their way through a dazzling fantasy realm to protect the kingdom from an unknown danger at the behest of an enchanted artifact known as the Trine. Each character begins with abilities similar to those they possessed at the start of the original game and will be able to add to and improve those talents as the game progresses, opening up new and different ways to approach puzzles, obstacles and enemies.
But if the gameplay is essentially the same, the world in which it takes place is something else altogether. It looks like more of the same at first glance – rich, lush, colorful, exotic and utterly fantastic – but the level of detail is simply stunning. As a 2D game played on a 3D backdrop, it’s almost entirely non-interactive, but I’m not exaggerating in the slightest when I say that Trine 2 is perhaps the most visually beautiful videogame I’ve ever played. Even in just the short section I toured through, there were moments when I found myself simply staring at the screen in wonder.
Gameplay in Trine 2 promises to be even more challenging than that of its predecessor, perhaps reflecting the addition of a three-player co-op multiplayer mode that allows all three characters to work together to solve various challenges. The new game also features collectible paintings and poems hidden throughout the game as well as a dozen or so conventional achievements and a sorely needed “save anywhere” function that will make life a lot easier for gamers who don’t always have time to make it to the next checkpoint.
It looks like Trine 2 is set to take everything that made the original Trine so marvelous and elevate it to a new and entirely breathtaking level. I may be biased, but I think that’s a pretty smart idea. Trine 2 has the potential to be a really special game, and I can’t wait to get my hands on the real thing.
–Andy Chalk
New screenshots have been released that showcase more of the beautiful world and characters of Trine 2, the side-scrolling adventure game that is just one month away from release and now available for pre-order on Steam.
The screenshots show the three heroes of Trine: Pontius the knight, Amadeus the wizard, and Zoya the thief. Like the first Trine adventure, players will have to rotate between these three characters in order to use each one’s unique abilities to navigate the world and its challenges.
The pre-order grants immediate access to the Trine 2 beta, which lets you play through the first few levels of the game alone or with friends in co-op mode.
The full game will launch in December for PC and Mac, as well as Xbox LIVE Arcade and the PlayStation Network, with a version for Linux to follow in early 2012.
–Erin Bell
There’s good news for fans of Trine, last year’s stunning platformer that revolved around using the unique abilities of three different characters (a wizard, thief and knight) to solve puzzles and get past obstacles. The website for the sequel, Trine 2, is up and running.
The website doesn’t offer a whole lot of info at the moment, save for some screenshots, a teaser video which boasts that the sequel will offer “online and offline co-op, giant mushrooms, a greedy toad, and 500% more rainbows!”
Based on some info that developer Frozenbyte and publisher Atlus U.S.A. have already revealed elsewhere, we can tell you that co-op will allow up to three people to team up and each take control of one of the three characters. There will also be new special abilities, including an ability that lets the thief character slow down time.
A member of Frozenbyte posting on the studio’s official forum said that the game would likely be released digitally through Steam, since that portal is best set up to support the game’s multiplayer features.
And now for the not so good news: don’t get your hopes up to see Trine 2 any time soon. According to the website, it’s launching in spring, 2011. It seems like forever, but we’ll keep you posted as new information gets released.
–Erin Bell
