You can also affect the environment like jamming a summoned box into the gears of some machine, moving pieces of pipe to create new air streams, or tug on a curled leaf to redirect water flow to irrigate a seed into a climbable plant. He can also levitate the environment like rocks, logs, leaves, and even these deadly spore-shooting plants that can be aimed at the enemy. His ability to conjure boxes and planks is critical in just getting through the levels, and the more boxes and planks he can summon, the easier it is to get through the game and get a 100% collection. While worthless in combat, Amadeus is by far the most versatile. Way too often you are fighting the edge of the screen (and the other players) to grab an object just out of reach. The camera also needs to pull out a bit more in co-op play. Summoned objects still make collecting jars stashed on high ledges a breeze by still being able to knock them down to the ground. You can still use created objects as quick stepping stones for other players, but the designers finally fixed a major flaw in the co-op play. Unlike previous versions of the game where you could use Amadeus to create a box or plank and have co-op players ride the object like a magic carpet, summoned objects will cease to levitate when another player steps on them. I came away from 60% of the puzzles in this game thinking I had “tricked the designers” and had done something “nobody else would ever think of”.
And thanks to a wonderful physics system, there is an unparalleled ability to experiment and solve these navigation, combat, and item collection puzzles in a multitude of ways. Gameplay, or at least the concept, is eloquently simple by design but the actual game provides some of the most fiendish puzzles of any game to date.
The various upgrades get progressively more expensive, so you often have to bank your skill points and save up for the more powerful enhancements.
TRINE 2 COUCH CO OP UPGRADE
Zoya can upgrade to fire and ice arrows or even unlock a stealth ability while Pontius can upgrade his shield so it freezes his enemies or give his hammer a Thor-like throwing ability. For every 50 you collect you will obtain one skill point that can be spent to upgrade any of the three characters in various ways.Īmadeus’ skill tree allows him to levitate a monster or increase his initial conjuring ability to include multiple objects or even a plank a nice alternative to the normal boxes he can summon. Some are quite obvious while others require special feats of navigation and acrobatics, or perhaps magical intervention or even the forceful smash of Pontius’ blade or hammer. There is also a nice leveling-up process that requires you to collect these glass jars scattered about the levels. Together, these three are an unstoppable force once you learn to master their unique talents. Pontius is your fighter armed with sword, shield and hammer while Zoya uses her bow and grapple for ranged combat and platform navigation. Once Amadeus meets up with the Trine (a magical beacon of light), you will link up with the other two members of your team, Pontius the Knight, and Zoya the Thief, who each have their own introductory lessons that showcase their unique skills and abilities.
Amadeus staggers outside into a lush storybook wonderland that serves as your first of three-character tutorials. A rush of wind forces the door of his cottage open extinguishing the lights, and then a bright light shines through the window waking him up. Obviously, Trine 2 is a sequel, although it doesn’t require any knowledge of the first game as we meet up with Amadeus the Wizard, comfortably napping after long hours researching the elusive Fireball spell. Many things are unchanged but a few are different for sure.īeing the “C omplete Story” brings with it the “Goblin Menace” as well as “Dwarven Caravan” expansions that add a total of 7 additional levels, new story and additional skills you can attain. It brings a certain pizzazz that much of the puzzle game industry is still grasping for, it’s about the only puzzle platformer that I can still replay more than once, as made obvious by the third time I’m playing this. This is about the third time I’ve played Trine 2 in some capacity but I still enjoyed it nonetheless. Trine 2: Complete Story, developed and published by Frozenbyte, has once again brought the magic to the masses by rolling out on the Nintendo Switch.