I would be lying if I said that execution did not rub me wrong. I am perfectly fine with DLC that adds something to a storyline, but in this case it feels like future DLC or a future sequel completes the storyline, and that I am not good with, especially given the already short length of the game at its current price point. If I am being honest, it’s more like rushed and incomplete, as though this iteration is setting us up for some DLC later. If we are being generous, one could called it a cliffhanger. While having a short game is not a death knell, it is concerning because of the way Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power ended. I believe both of the prior games rang in at at least twice the duration. This is a relatively short game (you can complete everything there is to do in just a few hours or so, including side challenges). Unfortunately the story fails to deliver, for all its good intentions. For whatever reason, here the characters have had their abilities stripped down, with less talents and no progression to speak of. While their abilities defined the characters in the past, it made the progression of the characters more interesting as they learned more skills. However, in the same vein, the pendulum may have swung too far. This was a welcome change of pace from the past two games where the characters were more defined by their abilities than any attempt to give them personalities. Zoya is a thief who still revels in adventures, the warrior Pontius is shown as kind-hearted if a bit dim while our wizard Amadeus is relaxing by a waterfront. Trine 3 attempts to reconcile this by giving us a lengthier introduction and a setting that allows us to delve deeper into our three protagonist’s stories. Thankfully the fluid character animations and imaginative background environments still appeal.Īs beautiful as the Trine games have always looked and sounded (the music scores have always appealed to me as well, and in The Artifacts of Power this is no different), the stories in the prior two games were always quite thin. It is clearly the same style, but but the presentation is what I think suffers the most as the camera angle sometimes forces an unflattering view that can range from ‘just fine’ to ‘annoying’ and everything in between (I would even go so far as to use the term ‘awkward’ at times). Visually the Trine games have always been striking, and while Trine 3 is still vibrant, colourful and full of interesting detail, the transition to a 3D environment engine does takes a bit of something away from the beauty of the game, as odd as that sounds. While it did not happen in a single night or sitting this time, my suspicion was confirmed as I found the latest entry of the series very difficult to put down. I knew that the level list was not complete and I also had a sneaking suspicion based on my history with the prior two games, that I would wind up wanting to play through all at once. I actually refrained from playing Trine 3 during Early Access for this reason. I forgot all about those other games and stayed up almost all of the night as I played through Trine in one incredibly long but entertaining session that night. I dove into Trine with the intention of getting those requisite achievements and then moving on to other games in the list so I could do the same, but a funny thing happened along the way. I fired it up to unlock a couple of achievements because that was part of the summer sale: complete some goals and earn some extra chances at winning free games. I knew nothing about it at the time, and happened to pick it up on Steam as part of a summer sale bundle. The very first Trine really snuck up on me. However, not all the changes have worked out for the best, and some of the differences are backwards steps from the prior releases. The team at Frozenbyte deserves credit for staying true to the heart of what has made this series work over the last several years, while making sure to innovate enough to make this latest iteration in the series feel fresh and rewarding. The third entry in the Trine series shows an evolution of sorts by taking chances seldom found in established franchises.
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