If you’ve ever heard the mantra “Do one thing, but do it right”, Trine embodies it. That one thing was simple, intelligent interaction. And my goodness, did they do it right. The story sounds like something from a Disney movie and doesn’t really suck you in like many other fantasy action/adventure games. There are points in the game, where if you stopped to consider the level you are currently in, it would make no sense at all. But you quickly forget all of that once you start playing.

The graphics, quite simply, are gorgeous, and are made even more astounding, when you factor in that it’s a 2D game. You wander through underwater caverns and sewers beautifully lit with streaming light, glowing mushrooms, giant wheels and deadly spikes. What these would be doing in the cellar of a castle is questionable, but the rendering and detail is beautiful nonetheless. At times, Trine looks like the love child of Super Mario Bros, Prince of Persia, and Warcraft 3.

Throughout the game, you can control any one of three characters: a wizard, a knight, and a thief. Each character has its own special abilities that can be controlled through a simple and very intuitive interface. The wizard can conjure objects out of thin air and control them telekinetically, the thief has a grappling hook and bow, and the knight has his trusty sword and shield.

While these may sound simple and mundane, proper usages of these abilities are what add to the games allure. The thief can swing from almost anything using her grappling hook, and even use her hook to hang on objects and move them. The knight can bash his way through skeletons and knock objects around. And the wizard can create platforms to cross gaps and crush enemies by telekinetically moving a box over their heads and letting it drop on them.

Trine’s trump card is its physics. The physics in the game are realistic, intuitive, and incredibly well done. Boxes will bounce when dropped, you can use a swings momentum to jump higher and farther, the knight will sink faster in water than the thief and wizard thanks to his heavier armour, and so on. Throughout the game the physics challenges your creativity to find fun ways to solve puzzles. Unlike so many other games, each puzzle can be solved in many different ways making it even more fun to go back and try it again.

For example, in one area we were able to use the wizard to levitate a box and throw it across a chasm, then quickly switch to the thief and swing across the chasm by latching the grappling hook onto the thrown box. The box falls into the chasm, but not before the thief makes it to the other side. This took several tries to get right, but once we did, it was well worth the effort and looked phenomenal. Most of the puzzles are fairly simple and can be solved in a try or three, but some will require much more creativity. Furthermore, the puzzles don’t always get more difficult and are rarely the same keeping the game play fresh and fun.

As you progress through the levels, your characters gain experience and level up allowing you to unlock new abilities. You can also pick up items from chests that will give whichever character carries it special abilities. There are also “bosses” whom you have to battle to complete stages. The combat is quite dull, and there are many times when you wish you could just get back to the puzzles. Trine is also a very forgiving game. Even if one of your characters dies, you can resurrect them with health packs or by waiting long enough.

Final Word:

It’s a testament to how interactive Trine is and how well it was designed, that in spite of the flaws that ruin most games, Trine keeps you involved and playing if only so you can see what new abilities you can unlock and what fun puzzles lay ahead. It won’t tax your graphics card, but will deliver stunning visuals nonetheless. It’ll tickle your creative bone while never getting boring or repetitive. Trine is a fun and refreshing take on the fantasy action/adventure genre giving its players several hours of fun play.

Genre: Action / Adventure

Platforms: PC($30), PS3 ($20) (Reviewed on PC) The game can be downloaded through Steam.

Developed by: Nobilis

Published by: Frozenbyte