Trine

Overview

Trine is 2D side-scrolling puzzle platform game that was developed by Frozenbyte, Inc. and released for the PC and PlayStation 3 (via PSN) during the summer of 2009. Then on July 24th 2014 the game a remake / enhanced version of the game (Trine: Enchanted Edition) was released on the PlayStation 4 and Wii U featuring a graphical overhaul using the engine used to create the sequel Trine 2 and online multiplayer.

Characters

The characters in Trine are very much lighter versions of the archetypal definition of three very famous fantasy classes:

Amadeus, the Wizard Amadeus is an "old" wizard still "studying" at the Astral Academy. Through a series of accidents, he's left behind in the castle when the undead army approaches. Usually, at Amadeus' age, wizards would have graduated and left, but Amadeus never quite passed the wizarding exams. He's never even learned the fireball spell, having always been more interested in flirting with the girls and going to great lengths to pretend that he's a magnificent wizard. However, this traditionally only leads to failure. Abilities: Despite not having learned the fireball spell, Amadeus knows still a few useful spells. He can summon Boxes and Planks and he can also levitate objects. Through the course of the game, he will learn to cast Boxes and Planks in larger quantities.
Pontius, the Knight Pontius isn't really a Knight, but he does dream of joining the King's army and what better way to do that than to battle against the undead and prove himself worthy of knighthood? The problem is that Pontius doesn't really know what "undead" means, and he thinks he's the only one staying behind to face the enemy in the castle. Pontius is a large individual and enjoys a fine dose of meat at every hour or so. He's a friendly, happy fellow, and thinks good of everything and everyone. Unless he's hungry, of course. Pontius is a bit on the slow side, though -- he never gets a joke, and doesn't quite understand all the magic business going on around him. Abilities: Pontius has an impressive arsenal of melee weapons. His strength also comes in handy when it comes to lifting heavy objects, or throwing them upon your enemies. Pontius also has a shield that he can use to block attacks. He cannot swim in his armor, though.
Zoya, the Thief Zoya is from a distant land. She heard there was an ancient object with tremendous value in the castle and realizing that the Undead army marching towards the castle had already done half the job for her by leaving the castle abandoned, she feels that the time is right to break in and steal the precious treasure. Zoya is a great thief and has a soft spot for all things shiny, but not much else is known about her. She keeps to herself and doesn't like anyone asking her any questions. She's not one to reveal any kind of secrets about her. Abilities: Zoya is an amazing archer. Her ranged attacks are great for hitting enemies at a long distances. Zoya also carries a grappling-hook that she can attach to wooden surfaces. She can then grab onto them and swing herself over ledges and climb up or down with the rope.

Gameplay

Trine bills itself as a "physics-based action game", and focuses on platforming, combat, and simple puzzle solving. The player uses the knight, the thief, and the wizard to work their way through this 2D side scrolling environment, and can switch between the characters throughout the game at any time. Each character has their own individual abilities that can be used to solve various conundrums faced by the player.

The Knight uses a heavy sword, and can lift, carry and throw heavy objects, and can lift his shield to block attacks. The Thief can use a grappling hook on wooden surfaces and use her bow and arrow to kill enemies and activate remote switches. The Wizard is unique in that he has the ability to summon physical objects, such as boxes and planks, which can be used as a stepping stone for higher jumps, to drop on enemies, or to block projectiles. Each character has their own health and energy bar as well which adds a layer of management to the game's equation.

Leveling Up

There are two ways to gain experience in Trine:

1. Killing enemies and taking the "auras" or "souls" they leave behind
2. By finding green potions scattered and hidden throughout all the levels

The latter creates interesting mini-challenges as you go, as these potions are often hidden or just apparently out of reach, causing the player to use creative problem solving to retrieve the potion. Once the player recovers a certain amount of green potions or enemy "souls", they are allowed to level up one of the characters, granting upgrades like increased damage and new attacks. The secret treasure chests are generally hidden much more discreetly and requires the player to get creative in order to find & reach their location. Treasures grant the characters other special abilities, and while some can be swapped between more than one character, others are character specific.

Local Co-Op

The game has local co-op multiplayer, allowing up to two other players to join your game. This adds a new element to the gameplay, by allowing new ways to overcome obstacles by combining each characters abilities. To play the game co-op on the PC, you may now use any PC gamepad (including the Xbox 360 controller), or multiple keyboards and mice. Each player may also assign their own controls if they wish.

Trine designer and Frozenbyte CEO, Lauri Hyvärinen has said they plan to add online multiplayer at a later date, but this seems less likely of possibility as time passes.

Inventory Items

Throughout the course of the game, the player -- if adventurous enough -- can find a series of items inside of treasure chests (some of them hidden away from the game's main path) that will make his/her journey through the world of Trine a lot easier.

Item	Item Description	Buffs	Usable By
	Increases the effect of energy potions by 5%	Energy	Any
	Increases maximum health by 15%	Health	Any
	Uses health as a substitute for energy if energy has run out	Energy	Any
	Increases number of boxes or arrows by 1	Ability	Wizard Thief
	Restores 30% of energy when energy is depleted. Reloads at checkpoint.	Energy	Any
	Increases number of boxes by 2	Ability	Wizard
	Increases maximum energy by 5%	Energy	Any
	Reduces energy cost of levitation	Energy	Wizard
	Increases effect energy vials by 5%	Energy	Any
	Increases maximum energy by 10%	Energy	Any
	Increases maximum energy by 15%	Energy	Any
	Restores 25% health when health drops below 25%. Reloads at checkpoint.	Health	Any
	Reduces damage hitting arms	Armor	Any
	Allows the bearer to resurrect, once per level.	Ability	Any
	Reduces damage hitting legs	Armor	Any
	Increases damage by 25% for weapons that use energy	Ability	Any
	Increases maximum health by 5%	Health	Any
	Underwater breathing	Ability	Any
	Increases number of planks by 1 (Wizard) or health by 10% (Knight)	Ability Health	Wizard Knight
	Increases damage from basic sword or basic arrows	Weapons	Knight Thief
	25% more health and energy from checkpoints.	Health Energy	Any
	Increases maximum health by 10%	Health	Any
	Increases the effect of health potions by 5%	Health	Any
	Restores 2 points of health per killed monster when the owner is inactive	Health	Any
	Reduces damage from spikes and hazardous surfaces	Armor	Any
	Increases number of planks by 2	Ability	Wizard

Levels

Level No.	Level	Total Potion Experience	Total Enemy Experience	Secrets
1		10	0	0
2		30	20	2
3		20	15	2
4		25	20	2
5		35	25	2
6		25	20	2
7		30	20	2
8		25	20	2
9		30	20	2
10		20	15	2
11		35	20	2
12		30	20	2
13		35	20	2
14		40	25	2
15		10	15	2

PSN Delay & Controversy

Although released for PC on July 2, 2009, the release for the PlayStation Network was delayed, likely in order to optimize it for the PS3 platform. In mid-July, a Frozenbyte employee posted on the game's official forums saying that the game would be released on July 30. However, on July 29 the same Frozenbyte employee wrote, "Unfortunately, Trine isn't coming to PSN this week, and this time it's our fault as there was discovered yet another small bug, which needed to be fixed."

Some cited the release of Sony's Fat Princess, also scheduled for release on July 30, as the reason for the delay. They hypothesized that Sony must have forced Frozenbyte to push back the release of Trine, fearing low sales due to competition. However, that theory seemed less and less likely as more time passed without a Trine release.

Trine was eventually released on PSN in Europe on September 17th 2009, and on October 22nd in North America. One of the advantages of buying the game on PSN was supposed to be that it would be $10 cheaper than the PC version, but the price of the PC version dropped $10 before the PSN release, leaving that advantage unrealized.

Free DLC...and Hint of a Sequel

On April 19th 2010, Frozenbyte released a free DLC level for the PC titled "Path to New Dawn" (the level was later released on the PSN on August 3rd, 2010 for $0.99). The level becomes available upon completion of the game and features 10 unique items for players to collect.

Upon completing the level, an image of a dragon appears on screen with a note reading "The story has just begun...". While this teased that this might not be the end of the Trine storyline, the sequel for the game, Trine 2, wasn't officially unveiled until E3 2010.

Enchanted Edition

In 2014, a new version of Trine, dubbed Enchanted Edition, was released for PC, Linux, Mac, PlayStation 4 and Wii U. The Enchanted Edition is a free update for owners of the Steam version but players can choose between it and the original base version upon starting the game. Now running on the more capable Trine 2 engine, the Enchanted Edition introduces an online co-op mode, mid-level saving.

Story

Trine is set in a fantasy kingdom, which was once beautiful and prosperous, but has since fallen into ruin due to an undead army that attacked the kingdom. Trine starts with three adventurers, a knight named Pontius, a thief named Zoya, and a wizard named Amadeus, who simultaneously stumble upon an ancient artifact called the Trine. All three touch the Trine at the same time, which magically fuses all three souls into one body. They each maintain their individual voices & consciousnesses, but can only inhabit the single body one at a time. Luckily, they are able to transform into any one of the three characters at any time they choose.

The trio are reluctant to work together, but in order to find a way to counteract the Trine and separate their souls from each other, they are forced to battle their way through the kingdom and the undead armies to find a cure. The Wizard is able to decipher some ancient inscriptions, and they soon discover that the Trine is one part of a trio of ancient artifacts, representing the mind, the body, and the soul. The three artifacts are scattered through the kingdom, but the Wizard theorizes that if these three artifacts are brought together, it may free them from the Trine.

As the adventurers battle their way through the kingdom, they eventually do bring the three artifacts together, which indeed unbinds their souls from the Trine. Reuniting the artifacts also has the fortunate side effect of liberating the kingdom from the undead armies, and Pontius, Amadeus and Zoya are hailed as heroes.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack for Trine was composed by Ari Pulkkinen. The main theme can be downloaded for free at the musician's website.

PC System Requirements

Minimum system requirements

• Processor: 2.0 GHz CPU
• Operating System: Windows XP / Windows Vista
• System Memory: 512 MB (XP), 1 GB (Vista)
• Hard-Disk Space: 1 GB
• Sound Card: (not required)
• Video Card: Radeon X800 or GeForce 6800 or better

Recommended system requirements

• Processor: Dual-Core CPU or better
• Operating System: Windows XP / Windows Vista
• System Memory: 2 GB
• Hard-Disk Space: 1 GB
• Sound Card: DirectX compatible soundcard.
• Video Card: Radeon HD 3800 series or GeForce 8800 series or better
• Other: Gamepad(s) for co-op play

Useful Links

• Official Website:

http://trine-thegame.com/site/

• Official Forums:

http://frozenbyte.com/board/viewforum.php?f=15

• Soundtrack:

http://www.aripulkkinen.com/projects/project-trine/