The original Trine excited fans of physics, puzzles and friendship back in 2009 when it launched, and it was no surprise that developers Frozenbyte would want to build on that success with a sequel.



Trine 2 is utterly gorgeous, and its heavy use of saturated colour washes leave the environments dripping with vibrancy and life - which is in many ways a pity, because the game generally rips along at a cracking pace with too much to think about to bother stopping and smelling the roses. In what few quiet moments you do have (mostly when standing around trying to figure out how to solve a puzzle) your eye will wander and appreciate all the details that have been lovingly worked into the environments, and you might even find yourself wishing that the game had three dimensions, so you could open that door or explore that crevice. Alas, Trine 2 is more than happy to stick to its traditional two dimensions, which is probably just as well because the game’s slick puzzle and platforming mechanics wouldn’t work nearly as well otherwise.

Puzzles and platforming (rather than story or seriousness) are where it’s thoroughly at: the game’s tongue has punched firmly through and out of its own cheek and is doubtless now flopping around on the floor somewhere, wondering if it will ever return. The characters keep up the same delightful banter from the original and the storyline continues to revolve around the titular “Trine” which once again shows up to bring the heroes together. You’re probably sensing a theme here, and if you guessed “Trine 2 is very similar to Trine, only better” then you’re pretty much on the mark.

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There’s a number of improvements including slicker graphics, some new water-based physics puzzles (which look excellent) and some new boss fights (which, somewhat disappointingly, are over very quickly). Pleasingly, Trine 2 now features online co-op as well as local (or a combination of local and online!), and setting up and joining a game is a breeze with the game even offering you the option to save a local version of your progress if you’re not the host.

The game can be played in either classic mode (where each player is locked to one character) or universal mode (where you can swap freely around). Although classic is perhaps more rewarding and is, strictly speaking, how the game is meant to be played, universal mode is much more suited to the sort of balls-out stupid fun that a co-operative game should entail. Unfortunately it can also tend to break some of the puzzles, as having two (or three) wizards in a level means that you can literally just levitate each other across nearly any gap or obstacle - especially since the energy bars from the first game have been removed and you can now use your abilities non-stop! - but it’s all fun and games, and who really cares in the end as long as you get those elusive chests and experience orbs.

It gets an almost arcade-romp feeling in parts, which is no doubt helped by the ability to instantly resurrect your friends at any checkpoint. You could play it in single player of course if you were after a real puzzler, but the essence of the series is truly about co-op gaming and you’re really missing out on two-thirds of the fun if you’re going to do it that way. Although it’s not a quantum leap forwards from the original, Trine 2’s low price point and improved co-operative play make it a welcome addition to the burgeoning franchise, and one that you’d be crazy to pass up if you’re even remotely interested in a good chunk of co-op fun.

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