Trine

PS3, PC preview by Fraser McMillan, published on Wednesday 20th May 2009

The recent, shocking resurgence of 2D has paved the way for a revival of the side-scrolling platform game and a number of sub-genres within that loosely defined structure. We’ve seen the use of the jump button questioned in Bionic Commando Rearmed, had our sensory perception of level design retuned by Braid and marched willingly to the point of genuine outrage with the diamond-hard Mega Man 9. Even titles as diverse as Trials 2: Second Edition, the DS exclusive Contra 4 and LittleBigPlanet can be seen as playing a role in gamers’ all too late rediscovery of the joys of hopping from left to right across a screen.

Other than the deliberately and unshakably conservative games amongst these, each has attempted to give the old formula its own spin. Braid was arguably the most successful, deftly welding intelligent, time-bending puzzles to a familiar, Mario-shaped model. Everything was painstakingly considered, details agonised over, each lock and key placed to maximise the effect. It was a highly concentrated shot in the arm; short, but oh so sweet. As the next to join this highly regarded line, Frozenbyte’s upcoming Trine appears to eschew all of Braid’s teachings in favour of something much more malleable – but as a result more fragile.

First impressions are singularly positive. The developers have chosen to boost the colour saturation, lending the visuals a lively quality, and Trine looks absolutely gorgeous. Soft lighting and detailed textures complement its Medieval drapings, transforming a potentially generic setting into a dreamlike kaleido-scape. Furthermore, the rapid introduction and tutorial are very well timed indeed. Story is established on the fly, and the light-hearted, often humorous commentary from the narrator serves to set the tone as a whole. Trine thankfully doesn’t take itself too seriously, and it’s effortlessly aware of its own clichés to the point that it wallows in them. It’s a cheeky parody of the usual fantasy stereotypes that works far more effectively than yet another stony-faced riff on the typical swords and sorcery nonsense.

This guerrilla approach to storytelling extends to the gameplay. The player assumes control of three distinct characters that play very different roles. The Thief is an agile Altair-esque figure with a bow and grappling hook (and consequently the undeniably cool swinging kick), who is surprisingly the best all rounder and the default choice for basic movement across the screen. The Wizard is a womanising poser with at least a firm enough grasp of magic to spawn crates and levitate items, often essential for accessing out of reach objects. The Knight is a heavyweight brawler with a sword and shield and the most useful in close combat, but fairly ineffectual elsewhere. The catch is that the three become fused together by a magical stone, and it’s necessary for the player to quickly get to grips with switching character on the move and best utilise their different strengths.

In the demo there were some problems, however. Because basic movement is identical for all characters, it can be all too easy to stick with just the Thief until change is absolutely necessary and this certainly isn’t a dynamic use of all the skills available. As well as this, there are some very easy ways in which to exploit the characters’ abilities and jip past foes. The Wizard’s box conjuring, for example, can be combined with the physics engine against enemies. Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, however being able to pre-emptively kill adversaries from halfway across the screen means the Knight often goes underused. Skeletons charging across a pit? Magic up some crates and don’t bother fighting. Although this is arguably an interesting way of presenting challenges, it’s highly doubtful that it was by design and it’s more likely an undesirable product of the freeform nature of play. Rendering a character mostly redundant at the outset is not exactly the best way to approach the remaining fourteen stages.

Even in the twenty minute demo, it’s clear that Trine has physics up the arse. Nearly every object on screen falls under the engine’s pleasantly bouncy influence, sometimes to an overly extreme degree. Given the unpredictable nature of even the most solid and well developed physics systems, there’s plenty that can go awry. This is seemingly compensated for by puzzles that are very approachable from a number of different angles. Design genius if executed properly, but there’s something very wrong if repeated mashing of the jump button allows the protagonist(s) to pass over an obstacle. That said, it’s too early to judge how big a factor this will be in the final game, and overall the physics on display were uniquely suited to the task at hand.

Because of this, Trine has plenty scope for player creativity, and that’s not a quality to be underestimated. The inimitable marriage of leaps and simulated gravity is tied into a lovely aesthetic and endearing gameworld. Where Braid was tightly scripted in its puzzling, Trine is a different breed altogether, a roaming beast that could become disorderly at any moment. Though questions remain as to the integrity of the puzzles, there’s no doubt that charm is on its side, and if Frozenbyte can contain this animal over fourteen more levels there’s every chance it could stand proudly beside today’s side-scrolling greats.