Trine

Players are given a set of tools (three characters with unique abilities) and are presented with problems that can be solved in several ways, resulting in an adventure that feels wide open despite being relegated to a mere two dimensions. The beautiful visuals and sound bring this world to life and there is something new to discover around every corner. A lack of enemy variety, disappointing conclusion, and the wonky multiplayer keep Trine from greatness, but this is still a highly recommended puzzle platformer.

Played alone, the second half of Trine sours into a fiddly, irritating flagellation. In co-op, these final three hours are still measurably worse, but the levity of mocking each other’s failures and sharing in truly collaborative successes brightens the mood dramatically. In single-player, the first four hours are just about good enough to be worth the not-to-be sneezed-at price on Steam. With friends and a couple of gamepads, though, it’s too much fun to miss.

Trine isn't as new and exciting as current 2D platforming king Braid was on its release, but its combination of tight controls, exiting action and physics-based puzzles makes it easy to recommend to platforming fans. It's a shame the multiplayer isn't more interesting, but when played alone it shouldn't be hard to get many hours of fun out of Frozenbyte's impressive looking title.