REVIEW – Frozenbyte is „trining” for the third time, but they are now making use of the third dimension as well. However, Trine’s third installment has changed in other aspects as well compared to the previous two, but I don’t think the three heroes are on the right path…

I have to point out at the start that I was playing the game alone. I know there’s a chance to play with two friends, but playing the game online isn’t a problem. (Online play is not possible due to technical issues – all you get is couch co-op.) The game is good, but not decent after the first two games. Let me get into details then.

In a single sitting!

While Trine 3 had around triple the budget of the second one (roughly six million dollars), you can still feel how the game has some cheap solutions throughout the story. Oh yeah, story: for me, completing it took me around 2 hours and 32 minutes, and that included picking up all the artifacts as well. The funny thing is that you can beat the game even faster! I saw a playlist on YouTube that took less than 100 minutes, although that run doesn’t include the 11 Lost Pages extra levels. Still… you can get the point.

Okay, it’s not a PS4-related subject, but when the game got on Steam’s Early Access, two levels were playable with the promise that there will be way more than that in the final. Oh yeah, eight levels total. That’s not a lot! I didn’t bring up the story, though: it has never really been a sparking point of Trine titles. Trine calls the three heroes to rescue a wizard academy, and that’s pretty much it. Not that big of a deal.

Heroes and skills

The game still has the three classic characters for us. You can switch between them anytime if you are playing the game alone. Pontius, the knight, can move around in combat without much hassle, and he can pull stones away, not to mention destroying certain blocks to proceed below. He can also float with his shield and wall jump, too – however; I don’t think getting through a gap should be possible with abusing a wall jump…

Amadeus is still not the composer Mozart; instead, we get the wizard, who can levitate and move objects around. He isn’t able to fight, so make sure to protect him at all costs. (Maybe with a wooden block that you can call for? Nah…) Zoya, the thief, is excellent for ranged combat with her bow and arrow, plus his grappling can help the team through some large gaps. You can very quickly learn the grips of Trine 3, especially because each character has a tutorial stage. Three out of eight levels. Only that particular hero/heroine is available on that given chapter. What the hell…

The issues of 3D

Seeing how Frozenbyte changed the gameplay style after the second installment, I was worried that there will be camera issues with The Artifacts of Power. And thus, there were problems! Sometimes the camera got „stuck”, and it ended up way behind me, which obviously isn’t helpful while solving the puzzles. If I add the fact that the controls aren’t always perfect – it’s very important to have good controls -, then sadly, I end up scratching my head.

Falling ba- that’s the end of my word

Trine 3 also devolved in something else: you cannot get skill points to tune your characters even further. Why?! Frozenbyte decided to bin this entirely after the first two games. Okay, I understand that you need changes as you proceed with your franchise, but don’t do it by throwing out classic, well-regarded elements of the gameplay!

I didn’t even bring up the way how the game ends yet. It’s like the Trine 3 yells WAIT UNTIL THE FOURTH TITLE, DUMBASSES into my face. Seriously! Let me quote Amadeus: „just one more adventure and everything will be back to normal” – all this as part of an approximately fifty-second cutscene, followed by the staff roll. What a joke.

It does have its style, though

Despite Trine 3 becoming 3D, the visuals are still the same enjoyable and likable affair. If something has some good quality, I have to bring it up: the game runs nicely on sixty frames per second on PS4. This is still one of the highly regarded elements of Trine, including the audio, too. Ari Pulkkinen – the composer for the first two games – returned to do the soundtrack for the third episode and he did his best. No problems.

I’d rather wait for it to become a free PS Plus title

I don’t want to spend more than five dollars on this game. Seeing Sony’s recent free PS Plus games, I think Trine 3 will become one of the freebies for the subscribers by the end of the year. The gameplay is alright, the puzzles are okay, but the basics had way more on them in Trine 1 and 2, so I cannot rate Trine 3 high. It’s a devolution in many aspects, so Frozenbyte has to provide something brilliant again in the fourth game. (Because we all know it’s going to happen, especially after THAT atrocious ending.)

-V-

Publisher: Frozenbyte

Developer: Frozenbyte

Genre: 3D platformer, beat’em up

Relase date: December 16, 2015 (PS4)