Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power

2D side-scrolling is the gold standard in the platform genre, and advancements in graphical processing power haven’t changed that. Full 3D brings a whole slew of depth-related issues to a genre that relies on precision. Very few games have been able to find a good balance between the extra dimension and genre staples. Trine 3 takes the plunge in order to renew both itself and the genre. It succeeds. Partially.

The storyline revolves around the artifacts of power mentioned in the game's subtitle. Another evildoer is on the rise yet again. The story progresses through a series of missions in various locations, voiced by a narrator in-between to tie these scenes together. In single player mode you can switch between the three characters at will. Bring in two friends either locally or online, and you got three heroes simultaneously running about and generally making a mess of the lovely backdrops.

Pontius the Knight has a sword and shield for slashing, bashing and gliding. He can also stomp the ground to stun enemies and lift objects or smash them with a charge. Amadeus is still unable to conjure a fireball, but can create a box out of thin air and move it and other items with telekinesis. Zoya the thief can shoot arrows to pierce enemies and objects or latch onto stuff with a rope. The rope is now a full 3D object, so you can wrangle it around pillars and the like in the puzzles. The extra dimension allows heroes to traverse freely around the landscape.
It’s most beneficial to combat-happy Pontius and most detrimental to Amadeus and puzzles in general. Precision platforming is also harder than in the previous games, but luckily rarely required. The old tried and true 2.5D felt cleaner and better-suited for the puzzle sections whereas the 3D is right at home during the combat encounters.

All the characters have their uses in combat, platforming and puzzle-solving. The problems feel more streamlined compared to previous instalments. On the other hand, Amadeus isn’t necessarily the go-to guy whenever a set of levers, boxes or the like obstruct your path. In the first Trine floating boxes and platforms seemed to get you across chasms and walls either by design or accident.

Pontius and Zoya are still the two main combatants during the battle scenes dotting the adventuring. If you happen to die (usually by falling off the ledge), the immaterial form of your character floats back for the others to “rescue”. If all three die, it’s back to a previous checkpoint on the normal campaign levels. The special challenge levels require you to restart the whole short level, which is pretty punishing if you’re adventuring solo. Aside from the very end, Trine 3 isn’t a particularly difficult game for the duration of its four-to-six hour long campaign. The ending is also a clear indication of future DLC to come.

The omission of character development is a sad one. Pontius no longer has a Warhammer to toss and Amadeus can’t conjure more than one box at a time, or electrify them. The third dimension is no doubt the reason for removing some of the old abilities. Spinning a platform on all three axises during a fight would be a nightmare, but it still feels like too much was lost in translation. As a result, Trine 3 is more like a straightforward action platforming game with puzzle elements, for better of worse.

The visuals are still top of the line, with incredible colourful views ranging from fairy-tale kingdoms to icy caverns and lost temples. Watching a trailer is worth more than a thousand words in this regard. Returning composer Pulkkinen nails the theme and mood perfectly once more. As an added bonus the graphical style makes a short trip to the old school around the halfway point in the story.

The preview and Early Access versions suffered from numerous problems in the online mode and the final release hasn’t quite rid itself of those issues. The issues with physics objects going haywire seems to be a thing of the past now, but character sync across all players isn’t perfect. De-sync causes occasional lag, rubber-banding or physics issues, but to a lot lesser extent than in the Early Access version. Hopefully the remaining kinks are ironed out as soon as possible.

One has to credit Frozenbyte for their courage to renew the series even when everything didn’t go quite according to plan. Trine 3: Artifacts of Power is still as pretty as ever and a joy to play especially with two friends. The third dimension hasn’t been implemented without its issues, but offers new gameplay and a good building platform in return. The technical issues during online sessions along with streamlined puzzle elements drag the overall score down a bit along with 3D platforming. We still enjoyed our time with the game, but the experience mightn't linger as long nor with the same intensity as with the previous games.