Written by Patrick Orquia
Title: Trine 2: Complete Story
Developer: Frozenbyte
Publisher: Frozenbyte
Genre: Platformer, Action, Adventure, Puzzle
Number of Players: Up to 3 players
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Release Date: 18, Feb. 2019
Price: $16.99
Trine 2 is a sequel to critically-praised Trine that got ported to the Nintendo Switch in November 2018. This game itself is also a port, the original having been released way back in 2011 and got released to different platforms, including the Wii U in 2013. This game follows a new adventure of the three heroes of the last game: Amadeus the Wizard, Zoya the Thief, and Pontius the Knight. Set a few years after the event of the first game, the game starts with the Trine summoning the three heroes anew for another mission: to save the kingdom from overgrown plants that are wreaking havoc across the land. The trio have to find the source of such curse with the help of the Trine before it is too late.
Frozenbyte probably believes in the saying "when it's not broken, don't fix it" as this game doesn't look or play or sound very differently from the first game. Like in the first game, you control the heroes with the ability to switch between them on the fly. Nothing much was changed gameplay-wise. It is so similar to the first game that this sequel seems to be just a direct continuation of the former. If you have just played the first one, you would not skip a beat when you begin playing this game. Well, the power-ups and upgrades would reset, but you will soon re-acquire the power-ups as you progress through the game.
One significant change perhaps is the physics in the game, but still not really that much. I noticed that, this time around, the objects in the environment moves more fluidly and the controls not as floaty as the first one. And to go along with this change is the slightly higher level of difficulty and challenge in some of the environmental puzzles. Some of these require higher accuracy and precision in the required placement of boxes or placement of planks or jumping around, etc.
Experience orbs and vials are also more abundant on this game and thus you would be able to level up more frequently (you level up for every 50 experience points that you get). The skill tree for each of the characters now more abilities and power ups that can be acquired, like elemental effects on weapons, use of new weaponry, etc. The skills vary in the amount of skill points that needs to be spent to learn them, with higher level ones requiring up to four skill point to learn. You only use one skill point per instance that you level up for all of the three characters. With the game having 20 levels (which could take an average like me about 20 minutes to 1 hour to finish each) and also being able to go for another run via new game+, there is plenty of chance to level up. You can also reset the skills points at any time so that you can focus on the skills that you require or is the most suitable to your playing style.
Like in the first game, multiplayer gameplay is also supported, Invite up to two of your friends and help each other solve puzzles and battle against enemies to complete levels faster. If you don't have friends to play locally with, you can try to find online players to play with. Connecting to an online session or having anyone connect to yours is a bit hard, though (or maybe there are not much players who play the gamer online).
So the game plays as good as the first game, if not better, but the one characteristic of this game that is to give praises for is its visuals. This game looks even more stunning that the first, with the environment's lush flora really pops up even more. It is quite unbelievable how the developers from Frozenbyte even managed to make this game as beautiful as it is. And of course, to complement the visuals is the fantastic musical score. The medieval motifs on the score of the first one are not as prominent here, but on this game, more emphasis on melodies that highlight the ambience of the levels.
Overall, this game really just takes the best ideas in the first game that worked, which are most of them, and made them better, even if ever so slightly, to maybe make the transition from the first one to this game as seamless as possible. Sure, there may be better games in the eShop that are around the same price point or even cheaper, but this game stands on its own merits and if you liked the first game, you would surely like this one as well. From the awesome visuals to the fantastic musical score to the outstanding gameplay, this game is a complete package and the best iteration of Trine 2 to date, with all the DLCs included. So if you feel the need to test your platforming and analytical skills, grab the controls and guide Amadeus, Zoya, and Pontius in completing their quest. And of course, enjoy the ride with them.
REPLAY VALUE: high
PROS
- Awesome visuals, with lush environment, cool effects, and stable frame rate
- Fantastic musical score that sets the mood and ambience to complement the visuals
- Better controls compared to the first game
- More challenging environmental puzzles
- The physics mechanics is better
- Experience orbs are now more abundant and some are very well-hidden or located at seemingly unreachable places, thus encouraging exploration
- Good use of HD Rumble
CONS
- Hard to find online players to play online multiplayer game sessions with
- Bland story
- Little variety on enemy types
RATING: 4.5/5 wizards, thieves, and knights
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